Richie Kennedy | route56.com

Welcome to route56.com

Welcome to my anchor point on the web. For over 20 years, I have shared various subjects regarding highway, railways, local radio, and more.

I chose the name “route56” in honor of the green and white variant of the US Highway shield that the Kansas Department of Transportation and its predecessor agency used specifically to mark US 56 from the designation of US 56 in 1956 until KDOT elected to adopt the standard black-and-white design in the mid-1980s

Click on the links above to access the pages devoted to the history of local radio and Kansas Highways, along with other creative outlets.

You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and Flickr.

Latest Blog Posts

  • July, 2019 KDOT lettings

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    I’ve been writing a summary of the monthly lettings of the Kansas Department of Transportation on the aaroads.com forum as a sneak peak of the planned projects that the state is working on. So, I might as well publish them here as well.

  • End of the road….

    End of the road….

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    I may have just turned 40, but it’s not the end of the road for me. My red Nissan Sentra, on the other hand, is a different story. I was on the home stretch of heading home from the Turkey Creek train club meeting on Tuesday Night, when I had a chance encounter on US…

  • First new page moved to WordPress

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    I finally got around from moving a page from a Raw HTML page and into the WordPress system. That page is a minor update to the History of former radio station KAIR in Atchison. The station had left the air on Halloween in 2017 and was never able to return to the air before a…

  • Truck Parking, Part 2

    Truck Parking, Part 2

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    With the new Truck Parking Information Management System system now in place at the rest areas along I-70 in Kansas, the KTA is now following suit at its service areas

  • Truck Parking

    Truck Parking

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    Back in January, KDOT introduced a new system to inform drivers of the availability of Truck Parking at the Rest Areas along I-70. Yesterday, I finally got around to checking the new feature out.

  • Topeka Sub Antics

    Topeka Sub Antics

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    I woke up on a Sunday Morning and got wind that BNSF was running eastbound trains through Lawrence on the Topeka Sub.

  • Santa Fe Station rededication

    Santa Fe Station rededication

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    We had quite the crowd for the Lawrence Santa Fe Depot rededication last Friday, February 22.

  • Administrative note

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    For several years (and at least three hosting providers) I’ve had a WordPress based blog on this site. Although WordPress is primarily known as a blogging platform, it’s also designed to be complete website back-end. Although I’m more than familiar with most of the intricacies of HTML, having maintained a personal website for over 20…

  • Turn left at the mirror

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    The titular mirror stands over the corner of 21st Street and Wellman Road, the closest point from the paved road to my new election site: Sarcoxie Township station #2. Kansas Governor: I promised back in August that if Kris Kobach won the primary, I would vote for the Democrat. Not only did I vote for…

  • Labor Day weekend on the Marcelline Sub

    Labor Day weekend on the Marcelline Sub

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    Usually, Labor Day weekend means that I’m out doing something train related. I decided this year to head out to Camden, Missouri on the Marcelline Sub. I arrived a little before 10:00 and found that I wasn’t alone – there was another car, and two railfans wearing day-glo orange vests already there waiting on the…