Riga is an unincorporated community in Trego County, Kansas, United States.[1]

Riga, Kansas
Unincorporated community
KDOT map of Trego County (legend)
Riga Show map of Kansas Riga Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 38°57′2″N 99°39′1″W[1]
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Trego
Township	Glencoe
Elevation [1]	2,221 ft (677 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	67656[2]
Area code	785
FIPS code	20-59850 [1]
GNIS ID	484721 [1]

Geography

Riga is located at 39°06′12″N 99°14′44″W at an elevation of 2,221 feet (677 m).[1] It is in far east-central Trego County roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Ellis in neighboring Ellis County[3] It lies to the north of Big Creek in the western extent of the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains.[3]

Transportation

Rail

• The Kansas Pacific (KP)[4][5] line of the Union Pacific Railroad runs southeast–northwest through Riga, with a siding for the grain elevator.
  • Until 1946, Riga received scheduled local passenger service, at least twice daily; e.g., morning westbound train 69-369 and evening eastbound train 370-70.[6][7]
    • However, there is recollection that, in the 1950's, the eastbound and westbound Portland Rose trains would meet at Riga.[8]
    • In the 50s and 60s, the eastbound and westbound Portland Rose trains were scheduled to leave Oakley and Ellis, respectively, at about the same time in the early afternoon; and, would have to meet each other at a passing siding on the single track in between.[9][10]
    • If the westbound was delayed in leaving Ellis, Riga was the last siding outside of Ellis where the eastbound could wait for the westbound to clear the station.
  • When the Union Pacific rebuilt the Kansas Pacific line in the late 1990s, a new 9300 ft. siding was built just west of Riga.[8]

Highways

• Riga Road (FAS 1854)[4] runs north–south through the location, connecting to Exit 140 of Interstate 70 a mile to the north.[3]
  • The first section of Interstate 70 to be built in western Kansas was completed by 1961 from Riga to Collyer.[11]
• 40 Hwy (FAS 1977),[4] parallel to and south of the railroad tracks, an old alignment of U.S. Route 40,[11] runs southeast–northwest through Riga and is a direct connection between the downtowns of WaKeeney (county seat) and Ellis.[12]

References

Further reading

External links

• Trego County maps: Current, Historic, KDOT