By the middle of the 19th century it became apparent that railroads needed to interchange freight cars to efficiently transport freight. Over the years a complex interconnected transportation system evolved. The NKP was an important bridge route from the Midwestern gateways of St. Louis, Peoria, and Chicago to the east thru its connections in Buffalo.
We have this cool map from the NKP Traffic Department in the archives that shows the connecting line junction points in cities and towns served by the NKP. The map is from 1934 so it doesn’t include the W&LE as part of the NKP. The W&LE does show up at junctions..
You may access a scan of the map here.
Brian J Carlson, P.E., NKPHTS Collections Management Director