VOLUME 4 June. 1989 NUMBER 1

RAILROAD MUSEUM INC.

OFFICERS & BOARD OF DERECTORS

PRESIDENT Alan SchmittVICE-PRESIDENT Clarence PearceSECRETARY-TREASURER Saundra SchmittBOARD MEMBERS Charles E. Mahaffey Warren Hall Richard Napper

NEWSLETTER STAFF

EDITOR Alan SchmittFMIS EDITOR Richard NapperCONTRIBUTING EDITOR Kenneth WulfertDISTRIBUTION Rachel Schmitt Sarah Schmitt

PRINTER Greg Porterfield

The ALL ABOARD Newsletter is publishedmonthly for members of the FRISCO FOLKS, asupport organization of The FriscoRailroad Museum Inc. The museum facilityis located at 500 Walker St. in Ash Grove,MO. All correspondence should beaddressed to P.O. Box 276, Ash Grove, MO65604. All material in the newsletter iscopyrighted by The Frisco Railroad MuseumInc. and may not be reproduced in anymanner without the expressed writtenconsent of the museum President. TheFrisco Railroad Museum Inc. is notaffiliated with the St. Louis-SanFrancisco Railway Co., the BurlingtonNorthern Railroad Co., or any of itssubsidiaries.

ABOUT THE COVER

"The Firefly" Cafe-Lounge#1501 on the ready line at theSpringfield, MO, West CoachShops, March 22, 1940. Story andmore photos on pages 2-3.

MUSEUM DISPATCH

Beginning June 7, the museumwill be observing Summer hours ofoperation. They are 10:00 a.m. to5:00 p.m. Wednesday throughSaturday and 2:00 p.m. to 5:00p.m. on Sunday. The museum willbe closed on Monday and Tuesday.Other times are available byappointment.

In our on-going program toprovide photographic, historical,and technical information toFrisco modelers, the museum ispleased to announce that as ofthe June, 1989 issue, we are nowadvertising in MODELRAILROADER Magazine.

LOOKING BACKWARD is a monthlyfeature of the ALL ABOARD thattakes a look back through our filesat the people and events thatwere a part of the Frisco 25, 50,and 75 years ago.

25 YEARS — 1964

In 1964, a unique graduationparty aboard a Frisco train washeld by the graduating class ofCarthage Missouri High School. Aspecial train consist of two chaircars and two baggage cars carried150 members of the senior classfrom Carthage, MO to Cherryvale,KS, and back. The special traindeparted Carthage at 11:00 p.m.on May 21 and arrived back at 6:00a.m. on May 22. The baggage cars,appropriately decorated, wereused for dancing, servingrefreshments, and otherrecreational activities.

50 YEARS — 1939

In 1939, the Frisco operatedeleven named passenger trainsand three freight counterparts.The passenger roster included thefollowing:

Meteor, Will Rogers, TexasSpecial, Bluebonnet, KansasCity-Florida Special, Sunnyland,Memphian, Firefly, Oklahoman,The Black Gold, and The TulsaTexan.

The Frisco Faster Freight fleetof freight flashes included:

Texas Flash, Oklahoma Flash, andthe Dixie Flash.

75 YEARS — 1914

In 1914, the Frisco operated aweekend-only train between St.Louis and the Gasconade River atJerome, MO, called "TheFisherman." Train #17 departedSt. Louis on Saturday at 2:45 p.m.and arrived in Jerome at 7:35 p.m.The return trip on Sunday wouldleave Jerome, via #18, at 4:35p.m. and arrive in St. Louis at9:25 p.m.

The Museum is pleased toacknowledge the followingmembership renewals in theFRISCO FOLKS:

Don Niewald BrakemanMissouriJ.W. Jordan SwitchmanArkansasMarshall Napper SwitchmanKansasJames Mart in SwitchmanMissouriKenneth McEl reath Swi tchmanIowaEmil Eskengren SwitchmanMissouri

The Museum is pleased towelcome the following newmembers to the FRISCO FOLKS:

H.Y. Walker EngineerTexasRichard Hal l FiremanIllinoisRobert Chadderdon . . .. ConductorOklahomaFrank Birkhead, Jr ...ConductorTexasL . A . Reed SwitchmanWisconsinRodney Zona SwitchmanMinnesotaFrederick Clem SwitchmanWisconsin

Friday, March 29, 1940, markedthe beginning of a new era inFrisco passenger service whenthe new streamlined "Firefly"made its maiden revenue run fromTulsa, OK to Kansas City, MO.Named after Charles Friml's 1912operetta, "The Firefly," the newtrain was the first streamliner onthe Frisco, the first streamlinerto be designed and built in thesouthwest, and, at the time, oneof only three such trains in theU.S. While heavier that thetypical lightweight streamlinersof the diesel era, the "Firefly"was equiped with every modernaerodynamic feature of its timeincluding a torpedo type jacket onthe locomotive, enclosedarticulated vestibules, and lowerpanel skirting on the tender andcars.

Construction on the first setof "Firefly" equipment started inNovember, 1939, and the inauguralconsist included engine #1026,Mail-Coach Combination #82,Chair Car #754, and Cafe-Lounge#1501. All three cars werepainted Zephyr Blue with a centerband and sash of Silver Gray. Thetrucks, roof, and underbodyequipment boxes were Dove Grayand the underframe and diaphramswere black. Exterior lettering onsome of the cars was imitationgold Duco and others wereimitation gold enamel. They werethe first of what would become afleet of eighty-nine passengercars painted in the blue and graylivery.NOTE: A complete 1945 roster ofthe blue and gray cars isavailable from the FriscoResearch Service for $1.00.

While the Chair Car and Coachwere tastefully decorated withtan walls, ceilings, and seats ofdark rose in the Chair Car andmedium brown in the Coach, the

PRIDE of the inaugural Fireflyconsist was Cafe-Lounge #1501.The car was originally built inMay, 1912, at the American Car &Foundry Company's St. Charles,MO. plant as Cafe-Club Car#1801. It was one of three suchcars built for the Frisco in Lot#6368 at a cost of $19,267.00each. The car was all steel, 82'long, 10'3" wide, weighed 206,800lbs., and had a Turtle Back roofdesign. Number 1801 was rebuiltand renumbered to #1501 inSeptember, 1930. Nine yearslater, November, 1939, it wasonce again remodeled this time asa streamlined Cafe-Lounge.

March 23, 1940 Frisco Photo

The dining room was trimed inlight green with deep nap carpet,and venetian blinds. Three tablesseating four persons and threetables seating two, providedfacilities for eighteen diners atone time. The initial diningcompliments included Frisco'sthen standard Blue Denmarkchina, etched water classes, and acombination of Cromwell and

March 13, 1940 Frisco Photo

Chester pattern silverware.There is strong evidence tosuggest that a special "Thistle"pattern of china was used on theFirefly, possibly at a later date.The china was white with a lightgreen "Thistle" boader.

March 23, 1940 Frisco Photo

The lounge section of the carinitially featured large,overstuffed chairs, card tables,and ample magazine racks. Thechairs were highlighted by thedistinctive "Firefly" embroideriedin red on white headrest covers.The lounge section was laterequiped with seventeen Frisco'Sleepy Hollow" seats.

Two distinctive features ofthe car were the red-white-black'Firefly" drumhead (cover photo)and the Imperial Prismatic PlateGlass windows in the restrooms.Manufactured by the PressedPrism Plate Glass Co. of Chicago,the glass in fluid form was rolledin flat sheets approximately 1/2"thick. While still hot the uppersurface of the sheet was broughtinto contact with a steel die,

forming the entire surface at onceinto the pattern desired. The ,endresult on #1501 was a unique,leaded glass style window withthe distinctive Frisco logo in themiddle.

March 22, 1940 Frisco Photo

A companion set of equipmentwent into service on April 30,1940, and included locomotive#1018, Mail-Coach Combination#83, Chair Car #757, andCafe-Lounge #1502. It should benoted that in addition to othercars built and painted for use onthe Firefly, a third streamlinedlocomotive, #1031, was also inservice.

Cafe-Lounge #1501 wasreconditioned in 1951 andrepainted standard Pullman green.In May, 1959, it was removed fromactive service and on April 20,1961, it was dismantled at theSpringfield reclamation plant.The Firefly train made its finalrun on May 22, 1960.

FRISCO TUNNELS

Part 1

At one time the Frisco operatedover 5,200 miles of mainlinetrack, in nine states, .60 miles ofwhich were underground! Therewere three tunnels on the FriscoSystem with one in Arkansas, onein Missouri, and one in Oklahoma.Combined, the three accounted forapproximately 3,200 ft. oftrackage. Built between 1882 and1886, two are still in service.One is currently owned andoperated by the Arkansas andMissouri Railroad Co. and theother is in service on the KansasCity Southern Railroad. This isthe first in a series of threearticles profiling FRISCOTUNNELS.

North Portal July 9, 1988

R.E. Napper Photo

The oldest and possibly mostwell known Frisco tunnel waslocated at mile posts 375-375.3on the Ft. Smith Subdivision,Central Division, just south ofthe town of Winslow, AR. Whileknown by some as the "BostonMountain Tunnel," both the tunneland the town were named forEdward F. Winslow, President ofthe Frisco between 1880 and1889. They also have the addeddistinctions of being located atthe highest point on the entireFrisco System, 1,731.6 ft. abovesea level, and the highestincorporated town and rail pointbetween the Appalachians and theplateaus approaching the Rockiesto the west.

According to our records, it wasthe Missouri, Arkansas, andSouthern Railway Co. who madethe initial decision to cut throughthe top of an Arkansas mountainrather than go miles around it.When the Frisco acquired the linein 1882, it completed the tunnellinking the Ft. Smith, AR areawith Frisco's main line at Monett.

Winslow Tunnel liestwenty-five miles south ofFayetteville and approximatelyforty-miles north of Ft. Smith.When first put into service, the1,726 ft. tunnel sides and ceilingswere not walled. Consequently,chunks of dirt and rocks wouldoccasionally fall on the trackscreating a safety hazard forpassing trains. For many years, aguard would follow every trainthrough the tunnel checking fordebris on the tracks. To remedythe problem, two shifts of Friscoworkman spent over two yearsmeticulously lining the full lengthof the tunnel with bricks, in someplaces as thick as four feet.When the brick lining wasinstalled indentions, called"man-holes," were placed atcertain intervals. Their purposewas to provide a protectiveshelter for anyone unfortunateenough to be in the tunnel at thesame time a train was passingthrough.

South Portal December 25, 1988

R.E. Napper Photo

In August, 1967, the Friscoinitiated "Operation Big Bore," anine-month project to enlarge andstrengthen Winslow Tunnel. Theheight was increased from 19 ft.

to 24 ft. and the width wasenlarged from 14 ft. to 18 ft. Inaddition, eight inch steel ribswere installed on four-footcenters along the roof and a newlining of concrete was installedthree to four feet thick."Operation Big Bore" wascompleted in April, 1968, at anestimated cost of 1.5 milliondollars.

On September 1, 1986, theMonett to Ft. Smith line waspurchased from the BN and is nowoperated, Winslow Tunnelincluded, by the Arkansas andMissouri Railroad.

Next month... "Big Ben Tunnel."

COVERED HOPPER #31072

In 1969, the Frisco leased 29554 ft. covered hopper cars fromUnited States Railway EquipmentCo., number series 31000 to31307. The cars were built byAmerican Car & Foundry Co. in1967. They were all steel with acapacity of 4,427 cu ft, and wereequiped with Through TypeHatches. Between 1970 and 1975,Nos. 31000-31057 were equipedwith combination pneumatic andgravity feed outlets and wererenumbered 131000-131057.

In. May, 1980, 193 of the carswere still on the Frisco roster,142 in series 31058-31211 and 51in series 131000-131057. Whenthe Frisco/BN merger wascompleted, Nos. 31058-31211were renumbered BN439600-439740 and units131000-131051 were changed to439749-439799.

To model the car, begin with anAthearn undecorated 55' coveredhopper #140-1900. There isphotographic evidence that thecars in the series were paintedboth yellow and gray. For theyellow cars, use Floquil ReeferYellow #110031. SP Letter Grey#110130 will be a close match forthe gray units. The correctdecals are available from MicroScale #87-149. Good Luck!

THE MAIL. CAR

The MAIL CAR is aregular feature ofthe ALL ABOARD inwhich we attempt toanswer some of themany questions thatare mailed to ourRESEARCHSERVICE.

If you have a question about theequipment, facilities, oroperation of the Frisco, pleasesend them to the RESEARCHSERVICE. All requests areanswered individually andselected questions will appear inthe MAIL CAR feature.

QUESTION: What are thosecolored stripes of red, white, andblue on the sides of freight cars?

ANSWER: They are ACI labels(Automatic Car Identification)

that were first applied to Friscocars in 1969. They were part ofan industry-wide Automatic CarIdentification System formonitoring freight car movementsthroughout the country.

The system consist of specialplastic labels placed on each sideof a car, plus electronic devicesthat can scan the cars at anyspeed and transform theinformation into printed lists.Each label, 11"x 22", has thirteenseperate coded reflective tapesarranged to denote the type ofcar, container, or trailer and itsnumber.

The scanner reads the panelfrom bottom to top: Start(red-blue), 0 (blue-white), 1(white-white), 0 (blue-white), 2(white-red), 9 (blue-blue), 5(blue-black), 2 (white-red), 9(blue-blue), 7 (red-white), stop(blue-red), 6 (white-blue).Translation: car is type 0 (freightcar), belongs to railway 105, it iscar No. 295297; its validity checkis number 6.R.E. Napper Photo

Doodlebugging On The Frisco

PART 14

In March, 1912, Frisco motorcar #2108 arrived in Dallas, TX,for service as trains #7 & #8 onthe seventy-six mile run betweenDallas and Sherman, TX. The 3.65hour trip departed Sherman astrain #7, Southbound, at 5:40 a.m.daily and arrived in Dallas at 9:05a.m. The Northbound car, train#8, left Dallas at 7:00 p.m. andarrived in Sherman at 10:40 p.m.Serial #3725, 2108 was numbernine in the Frisco's original orderof ten G.E. units.

The car was a 70' 8"Baggage-Coach combination witha center vestibule entrance and anon-vestibule closed end. The allsteel body was manufactured byWasson, Model #10400, trucks byALCo, and the 175 H.P. GM-16-A3engine and 205D traction motorswere built by G.E. The interiorfinish of the car was the standardmahogany paneling with yellowpine floor. Like its sister car,#2107, #2108 was equipped withtwenty-six seats, five of whichwere located to the front of thecenter entrance. Total seatingcapacity of the car was fifty-two.

During the 1913-16 Friscoreorganization, #2108 was sold tothe Gulf Coast Line's NewOrleans, Texas, and MexicoRailroad Co. When the MissouriPacific purchased the G.C.L. inApril, 1926, #2108 became MP#502. In April, 1943, the car wasconverted to a trailer coach at theKingsville, TX, MP Shops andretained its 502 number. A fewyears later, it was once againremodeled this time for serviceas bunk car, #X-4125, for M.O.W.service. On January 13, 1948,#X-4125-#502-#2108 wasdismissed from active service anddismantled at the Kingsvillefacility. NOTE: No SLSFreplacement car was acquired for#2108.

THE FRISCO FAMILY

On Friday evening, November 6,1931, radio station KWKH atShreveport, LA, broadcast the"HISTORY OF THE FRISCO." Thisis Part 8 of that broadcast.

"On July 4, 1901, whileconstruction from Enid souththrough Drummond, Ames, Okeeneand other cities on the presentline was progressing at a rapidrate, President McKinley issued aproclamation providing for theopening and alloting of all Kiowa,Commanche, and ApacheReservations, through which theline was to be built, andPresident McKinley's proclamationassured settlement in theterritory and gave added impetusto the construction program.

"It is interesting to know thatmany stations on the Bes Linewere named for men who werefinancially interested in theenterprise, including the town ofBreckinridge, named for Mr.Breckinridge Jones of St. Louis;Ames, for Henry Semple Ames, avice-president of the MississippiValley Trust Company of St.Louis, and Carleton, for the lateMurray Carleton of the CarletonDry Goods Company of St. Louis.

"Coincident with the completionof the Bes Line, the Frisco builtinto Quanah, TX, in 1903, an actwhich eventually resulted in theQuanah Line's constructionsouthwardly in 1909, to McBain,and in 1928 to Floydada, TX. Theline to Quanah was built fromOklahoma City and passed throughthe famous government militarypost at Ft. Sill, which was laterto be the scene of such stirringtimes during the training days of1917-18.

"In reaching Quanah the Friscotouched a historic town, situatedin the original vast Texaswilderness known as the lowerpanhandle. Quanah was foundedin 1885, when the Ft. Worth &Denver Railroad was surveyedthrough the region, and receivedits name from Chief Quanah, thelast and most famous of theCommanches, and means "Bed ofFlowers." Today it is a moderncity of approximately 5,000people, and is the center of theplaster industry in the Quanahterritory.

"In 1904 the Frisco completedits line from St. Louis toMemphis, and this was really anevent of great importance in thedevelopment of the Friscosystem. Following theMississippi River for a great partof the way from St. Louis to CapeGirardeau, and then through thefamous cotton fields of southeastMissouri and northeast Arkansas,the line traversed a country, richboth in natural resources and inthe history of America."

to be continued

DOWN AT THE DEPOT

Bristow, Oklahoma

On November 20, 1895, the St.Louis & Oklahoma Railroad Co.was incorporated in the Territoryof Oklahoma with a charter tobuild a line from Sapulpa toOklahoma City. On February 10,1898, prior to the beginning ofconstruction, control of thecompany passed to the IndianomaConstruction Co. who in turn madean agreement with the St. Louis &San Francisco Railroad Co. for thepurchase of all the formercompany's securities, franchises,and properties upon completion ofthe line. On March 28, 1899,formal conveyance of the propertywas executed and the Friscoassumed ownership ofapproximately 104 miles ofstandard guage, single trackrailroad, extending from Sapulpato Oklahoma City.

Shortly after the line wascompleted between Sapulpa andChandler in 1898, a 136'3" x 18'1"frame depot was constructed atBristow, OK, station G459 on theOklhaoma Sub-Division of theSouthwest Division. The stationwas set on a pile head foundation,had a 1/3 pitch gable roof coveredwith wood shingles, and exteriorboards & battons and 1"x6" dropsiding. The interior floor waspine and the 11'4" ceilings were 31/4" beaded V joint boards. Thedepot was heated with coalstoves and while electricity waseventually installed, the buildingwas piped for gas lights.

The station included a whitewaiting room, ticket office, negrowaiting room, and a 54' freight

passed a resolution in an attemptto acquire the depot from theFrisco. Their initial efforts wereunsuccessful due in part to themerger negotiations with the BN.In 1982, an effort by localcitizens to save the depot wasonce again initiated and it toowas met with railroad opposition.In 1984, the station haddeteriorated to the point that itwas placed on the BN's "hit list"for demolition. Not willing toaccept defeat, on October 18,1984, a lawsuit was filed by agroup of die-hard citizens seekinga restraining order to prevent theBN from destroying the station.After what the BN promisedwould be a long and costly legalbattle, the citizens dropped theirlawsuit.

From the collection of H.D. Conner

and baggage room to handle thelarge volume of cotton, peanuts,general merchantile, and oilrelated equipment and parts forthe Bristow area. The platformwas gravel with a concrete curb.This depot served the freight andpassenger needs of the communityfor twenty -five years.

In 1923, a new depot was builtnorth of the original station,between sixth and seventhstreets. The first depot wasconverted into a freight-onlydepot. The new 121'6" x 24'8"station, which opened forbusiness on April 17, 1923, wasall brick and stuco with a tile roofand featured a large general(white) waiting room, centrallylocated ticket office, negrowaiting room, and small baggageroom. The platform was brickwith a concrete curb.

This modern station providedpassenger facilities for theresidents of Bristow for overforty-four years. During itstenure of operation, as many assix daily trains served the depotincluding the Will Rogers, Meteor,Texas Special, Blue Bonnet, TheFirefly, and the Oklahoman.Passenger service to Bristow wasdiscontinued on May 13, 1967,when the Oklahoman, trains 1 & 2,

made its final run between St.Louis and Oklahoma City.

Following the end of service toBristow, the depot gradually fellinto a sad state of existance andrepair typical of many of itsFrisco counterparts. In 1975,however, the City of Bristow

Negotiations did not end,however, and after manyadditional months of intenseconversation by local citizens,politicians, and "friends in highplaces," the BN finally agreed tothe transfer of the depot to theCity of Bristow. In July, 1987,after twelve years ofdetermination and hard work, thecitizens of Bristow weresuccessful in their efforts andthe BN gave the city a bill of salefor the depot for the price of$1.00.

Currently, the depot is in the

From the collection of H.D. Conner

hands of the Bristow HistoricalSociety, who has a twenty yearlease it. Restoration is expectedto take nine months to a year andwill be completed with privatefunds, with the total cost nowexpected to exceed $300,000.00The facility will be used by theChamber of Commerce and as aMuseum.

For more information about therestoration project, contactFrisco Folk Robert G. Chadderdon,P.O. Box 1218, Bristow, OK 74010.

The Officers and Board ofDirectors of the Frisco RailroadMuseum Inc., along with Friscofans across the country, salutethe efforts of the folks atBristow and give a hearty tip ofthe Frisco hat for yourdetermination and success inpreserving yet another FriscoSurvivor!

THE WHYTE SYSTEM

In the late 1800's, an engineernamed Frederic M. Whytedeveloped a system forclassifying the many types ofsteam locomotives that werebeing produced. His system wasbased on the total number ofwheels. The first numberindicated the number of wheels inthe leading truck, the secondnumber listed the driving wheels,and the third number was for thewheels on the trailing axle.

This is Part 2 of the fifth in aseries of articles profiling theengine types of the Whyte systemthat were in service on theFrisco.

When placed in service, the1600's were used on thePensacola line out of Amory, theWestern Division out of OklahomaCity, and occasionally on the"High Line" and "Leaky Roof"routes between Springfield andKansas City. Two of the engines,1617 and 1628, were assigned toFrisco's western subsidiary linethe Quanah, Acme, and Pacific.

It should be noted that therewere in reallity twenty-oneengines that carried the 1600designation. On June 14, 1921, amysterious explosion at aWallerville, MS, coal field

completely destroyed No. 1621.In need of a replacement, theFrisco negotiated a trade. Inexchange for No. 614, a former4-6-0 Kansas City, Ft. Scott, andMemphis engine, the Friscoacquired No. 101, the only 2-10-0"Decapod" on the roster of the Ft.Smith, Subiaco, and Rock IslandRailroad, a short line operation innorthwest Arkansas. Engine 101thus became the second Frisco1621.

By September, 1951, eleven ofthe 1600's were still on theFrisco roster. By the end on theyear, only six remained. (1613,1615, 1621, 1625, 1630, 1632). No.1613, the last "Decapod" in activeservice on the Frisco, wasscrapped on October 28, 1952.The other five 1600's foundsalvation from the scrapper'storch when the were purchased by

Date & Photo Credit Unknown

the Eagle Picher Mining Co., atMiami, OK., between October andDecember, 1951. When thecompany closed down itsoperation in 1957, the engineswere placed in storage. Sevenyears later, they entered theranks of Frisco Survivors whenthe Eagle Picher Co. donated themto the following locations:

1615 Al tus, OK1621 St. Louis, MO1625 Dallas, TX1630 Union, IL1632 Ottawa, KS

NEXT MONTH IN THE

)3 CD R

Frisco Tunnels - Part 2, TheWhyte System 2-8-2 "Mikado,"Water Treatment on the Frisco,NEW CAR SHOP: GP-38-2 & VO1000, plus much, much, more!

September, 1987 Dr. Phil Henson Photo