The original KAW was a Kansas City Southern Railway Company property and was the first shortline Watco began operating for KCS, serving customers in the Greater Kansas City area and handling interchanges among the BNSF, KCS, and Union Pacific.

Collectively, the KAW and KCTL handle approximately 15,000 carloads of animal byproducts, chemicals, plastics and industrial products annually.

The KAW also has a transload site available for handling dry bulk products and other carload traffic.

In March 2006 the KAW took up operations for the Kansas City Terminal Railway (KCTL), adding more than 30 customers.

In May 2007, nearly 15 miles of industrial track were added to serve customers of the Bedford Yard.