Titan Tow & Repair answers calls across Wabaunsee County, Kansas, 24 hours a day: Alma, the county seat, Paxico, Eskridge, Harveyville and the Flint Hills roads between them. We tow heavy, medium and light duty, handle winch-outs and recovery, and repair trucks and trailers at the roadside on K-18, K-31 and K-99, dispatched from our yard in Liberty, Missouri.
Wabaunsee County is all rural, the Flint Hills country west of Topeka. The main line built from Topeka to Herington in 1887, later the Rock Island and now Union Pacific, runs through Willard, Maple Hill, Paxico, McFarland, Alma and Alta Vista, and several of those towns were founded or moved to sit beside it. K-18 starts at K-99 and runs west through Wabaunsee and Zeandale toward Manhattan. Down at Harveyville, K-31 runs along the south edge of town, and the Kansas Turnpike passes a short way to the south-east, but its nearest exit is well to the south-west on US-56 in Lyon County.
Out here the gaps between towns are long, so the road you are on and the last town or crossroad you passed matter more than anything else you tell us. Lake Wabaunsee lies west of Eskridge, where a branch prisoner-of-war camp was set up during the Second World War. Harveyville sits in the Osage Cuestas, and Alta Vista, named for its high view, is on Union Pacific's Golden State main line to El Paso. In the rail towns, say which side of the tracks you are on. Paxico holds a Meatloaf Festival and Car Show in June and a Blues Fest in September, and Alma has Hot Alma Nights in August.
| County | Wabaunsee County, Kansas |
|---|---|
| County seat | Alma |
| Main roads | K-18, K-99, K-31, Kansas Turnpike near Harveyville |
| Towns covered | 7 |
| Hours | 24 hours a day, every day |
| Dispatched from | 2751 Liberty Landing Rd., Liberty, MO |
| Dispatch | (816) 888-8732 |
Alma is the county seat, south of Wamego and west of Topeka, and a stop on the old Rock Island main line from Topeka to Herington that Union Pacific owns today. Wabaunsee High School, the high school for the district that merged the Alma, Maple Hill, McFarland and Paxico schools, is here. Hot Alma Nights is held on the third Saturday in August.
Maple Hill is named for a grove of maples that grew on a rise, and it lies west of Topeka and south-east of Wamego. The railroad came through in 1887 with Maple Hill as the next stop west of Willard, and Union Pacific trains still use that line. The town lost its own high school to unification, so older students attend Wabaunsee High in Alma.
Eskridge, south-west of Topeka and north of Emporia, was laid out in 1868 and grew when the railroad reached it in 1880. It is named for Charles V. Eskridge, an Emporia newspaperman who became lieutenant governor. Lake Wabaunsee is west of town, and Mission Valley High School, which Eskridge shares with Harveyville and Dover, stands to the north-east.
Alta Vista, south of Manhattan and Wamego and north-west of Emporia, takes its name from the Spanish for high view, for its lofty elevation. It sits on Union Pacific's Golden State main line to El Paso, Texas, first built by the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska and run for years by the Rock Island. Its schools belong to the Morris County district.
McFarland was founded in 1887 beside the new main line between Topeka and Herington and named for J. N. McFarland, a Topeka judge in the town company. Around 1910 passenger trains passed through town in a steady stream on that line, which Union Pacific runs today. It lies south of Wamego and west of Topeka, and its schools are part of Wabaunsee USD 329.
Paxico began as Strong Mill, a little east of where it stands now, then moved in 1886 to sit beside the railroad; the line still runs past town under Union Pacific, though locals call it the Rock Island. It lies west of Topeka and south-east of Wamego. Its Meatloaf Festival and Car Show falls on the fourth Saturday in June and its Blues Fest on the third Saturday in September.
Harveyville sits in the Osage Cuestas north-west of Burlingame, with K-31 along its south edge. The Kansas Turnpike runs a short way to the south-east, but there is no exit near town; the nearest is well to the south-west on US-56 in Lyon County, so tell us whether you are on the turnpike or on K-31. The town is named for Henry Harvey, a missionary to the Shawnee, and is home to the Harveyville Project, an artist residency and sculpture garden.
Willard is partly in Wabaunsee County; it is described in the Shawnee County section.
Part of St. Marys lies in Wabaunsee County; the city is described in the Pottawatomie County section.
Yes. Titan Tow & Repair runs winch-outs and recoveries on county and farm roads across Wabaunsee County, not only on K-18, K-31 and K-99. Tell us the road name or number, the last town or crossroad you passed, whether the road is gravel or dirt and how wet it is, and how the truck is sitting. A photo helps us choose between a winch-out and a full recovery and send the right wrecker the first time, which matters on a long run into the Flint Hills.
Start with K-18 and your direction. The road leaves K-99 and runs west through Wabaunsee and Zeandale to K-177 at Manhattan, so tell Titan Tow & Repair which of those places you passed last and which is ahead. Add whether you are on the shoulder or in the lane, whether the truck is loaded and what it did before it stopped, so we can decide between a roadside repair and a tow before anyone leaves the yard.
Get everyone out and away from the tracks, then call 911 so the railroad can be warned before anything else happens. Titan Tow & Repair comes next: Alta Vista is on Union Pacific's Golden State main line, and nobody should try to drag a trailer off a crossing until the railroad knows. Once it is safe, tell us whether the trailer is high-centered or has a wheel off the crossing, whether it is loaded and which street you are on, and we will send a heavy wrecker to lift it clear.
