Orchard Farm is our next stop on the CB&Q’s Keokuk – St Louis “K” line, 16 miles from West Alton. Orchard Farm is a small community, at the time hosting an elevator and a depot, each with its own siding. CB&Q U25B # 103 is on the point of another westbound freight as it rolls through Orchard Farm in September 1969. Though still a small, rural town, this scene is dramatically different today in keeping with the growth of St Charles county. (Mike Haper, photo; Jan Kohl collection)

This selection from “Rails Around Missouri” can be found in Chapter One: North Central Missouri. “Rails Around Missouri” will be released on May 1, 2013 as a 224-page, hard cover book with over 500 all-color photos like this one. You can reserve your copy today at the pre-release price of $47.95 plus shipping. Choose between the KCS or Frisco cover. (Contents identical) Books will ship the week of May 1.