Seen here on January 24, 1978 is the MKT local switching the Master Mix grain elevator at Ladue, MO. The local, which worked south out of Clinton, was led by GP7 #98, and was spotting an old "Katy" 40 ft. boxcar at the elevator for loading. Notice the poor condition of the mainline at the front of the picture. In the early 1980s (and with the help of state grants), it was completely rebuilt from the ground up. A new ballasted roadbed was put in (elevating the mainline by a few feet), and new ties and welded rail was installed. LaDue is where the KCPL spur diverges from the mainline and heads west to the Kansas City Power & Light power plant. The picturesque grain elevator was torn down around 1995, and today, LaDue only sees a few trains per month in the way of the KCPL unit coal trains and the MNA locals heading to the current "end of the line" at Clinton.
Rick Morgan photo.