KANSAS CITY, Mo., Saturday, Sept 30. (1865)
The first through train from St. Louis over the Missouri Pacific Railroad, reached here this morning, bringing the following distinguished persons; D.H. Gomson, Vice-President; Thomas McKissock, Superintendent of the Pacific Road; Thomas A. Scott, Vice-President of the Pennsylvania Central; H.J. Jewett, President Ohio Central; John D. Perry, President Union Pacific; A. Green, New-York; J.M. Davidson, Saratoga; Jas. Fisher, M.O. Partridge and, Giles F. Filley, of St. Louis; J.P. Usher and lady, and Samuel Stinson and lady. This party will proceed on an excursion over the Union Pacific Railroad to Lawrence, Kansas, this afternoon, and return to-morrow. The Missouri Pacific Road is now in complete running order its entire length, and regular through train will commence moving on Monday next.

By July 1858 the Pacific Railroad was completed the 160 miles to Tipton, Mo., then the end of the line from St. Louis. Tipton was also the eastern terminus for a new overland mail service to San Francisco. This service, called "The Overland Mail', made its initial eastward stagecoach run from San Francisco on September 16, 1858, arriving at Tipton on October 10. At Tipton, the mail and passengers were transferred to a waiting Pacific Railroad special train for the run to St. Louis. The time from San Francisco to St. Louis was 24 days, 18 hours and 26 minutes, about 10 days faster than the old Isthmus of Panama route.
During the Civil War, raids were made against all of the Missouri railroads and great damage was done. The most serious one on the Pacific was that led by Sterling Price in the fall of 1864. Bridges, buildings, tracks and rolling stock were destroyed all the way from Franklin to Kansas City. Early in 1864, rails, locomotives and cars had been taken by Missouri River steamboats to Kansas City and construction eastward from that point started. The line from Kansas City to Independence (Kansas City's first railroad) had been opened to the public on August 1, 1864, but even this disconnected section did not escape Price's fury.
Repairs to the damaged property were ultimately completed and the railroad resumed construction. On September 19, 1865, the last spike was driven connecting the two parts of the railroad, and the next day a train was run through from Kansas City to St. Louis, leaving at 3:00 a.m. and arriving in St. Louis at 5:00 p.m.
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    In 1852 Benjamin W. Grover, who was elected as state governor, introduced a bill to authorize the construction of a railroad. The bill was passed and in 1852 citizens started to work on the new railroad.
When people heard about our town being on the route, they started to come and settlers homesteaded every acre of land for miles around the county. Because the railroad caused so much growth, they had an election for a mayor. The election took place on the first Monday of April in 1856, and Dr. John Foushee won.
    The railroad brought four large stores that sold groceries, dry goods, hardware, and merchandise. In 1864 Warrensburg also frequently hauled freights from the Warrensburg station to trading posts because we were the last connection to the railroad for many towns around. Six to eight cars of merchandise per day were received and twenty or more freight teams worked on hauling the merchandise farther west and south to the towns of Clinton, Butler, Harrisonville, Nevada, and Fort Scott.

    On July 4, 1864 a flag waved over the Missouri Pacific Depot in St. Louis, because it had been connected to a town in the west;  Warrensburg.

    The railroad went through Sedalia in 1861 and stopped because of the Civil War. It came to Warrensburg in 1864 and went on to Kansas City in 1865. The first depot was made out of wood but burned down in 1889. The next one was built in 1890 out of sandstone in the architectural style known as Richardsonian Romanesque. This depot is present today but has been enlarged and remodeled. in 1984 the baggage section and the loading platform were added.  Sometime after 1930, the large arch window on the east was changed to a doorway when water drainage problems came.

    In the 1950s the new diesel engine came through and remodeling was done to prepare for it.  In 1962 the freight office was enclosed in glass, the ceiling was replaced, new lights were put in, a new tile floor was put in, and the whole place was painted.  However ten years later, in 1972, it was closed from public use.

    The train changed Warrensburg in big ways.  It increased the population and growth of the town and helped us travel and get supplies.  The train has also made Warrensburg a little better known because it carried Harry S. Truman through Warrensburg, and it carried the world series through here in 1985 on its way to St. Louis.

May 10, 1869
The ceremony for the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869; completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. At center left, Samuel S. Montague, Central Pacific Railroad, shakes hands with Grenville M. Dodge, Union Pacific Railroad

Missouri Railway Map 1888