VOLUME 4 May, 1990 NUMBER 12

These cars were originallyassigned to Texas Specialservice.

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

NOTE: All twelve units retired in1965 were sold to the CanadianNational Railroad, renumbered,renamed, and placed in service.

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

SECRETARY.............Rachel SchmittEXCESS BAGGAGE ...... ...Sarah Schmitt

EDITOR Alan SchmittFMIS EDITOR ..... ...Richard E. NapperDISTRIBUTION Rachel Schmitt Sarah Schmitt

The ALL ABOARD is published monthlyfor members of the FRISCO FOLKS, asupport organization of The FriscoRailroad Museum Inc. The museumfacility is located at 500 Walker St. inAsh Grove, MO. All correspondenceshould be addressed to P.O. Box 276,Ash Grove, MO 65604. All material inthe ALL ABOARD is copyrighted by TheFrisco Railroad Museum Inc. and may notbe reproduced or duplicated in anymanner or form without the expressedwritten consent of the MuseumPresident. The Frisco Railroad MuseumInc. is not affiliated with the St.Louis-San Francisco Railway Co., theBurlington Northern Railroad Co., or anyof its subsidiaries.

This month's front and backcovers are taken from the cover ofthe April, 1928, "FriscoEmployes' Magazine," whichpromoted services on the"Bluebonnet" and "Texas Special"train Nos. 7 & 8 and 1 & 2respectively, both of which werejointly operated by the Frisco andthe Katy.

Martin Lofton........SwitchmanCaliforniaHal Smith............SwitchmanLouisianaRobert Plough........SwitchmanMissouriLloyd Stagner........SwitchmanKansas

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

David Holland........SwitchmanKansas

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 — 1965

Due to declining passengertrain traffic, the Frisco's fleet ofstreamlined sleepers wasdecreased by twelve with the1965 retirement of the followingunits:

*1450 Pierre Laclede*1451 Thomas Hart Benton*1454 Auguste Choteau

1457 Meramec River1458 Osage River1459 Gasconade River1460 Niangua River1461 James River1462 Grand River1464 Neosho River1465 Spring River1466 Cimarron River

50 YEARS — 1940

In 1940 five Santa Fe typelocomotives were rebuilt asMountain Type engines, asfollows:

#4 rebuilt to #4407#18 rebuilt to #4406#20 rebuilt to #4408#23 rebuilt to #4409#26 rebuilt to #4405

'75 YEARS — 1915

The top five commoditiesshipped by the Frisco in 1915, intons carried, were as follows:

Bituminous Coal 5,323,104Lumber...... 2,081,042Stones/Gravel/Chatt 1,368,239Petroleum Products 1,082,097Wheat 1,023,752

NEW MUSEUM HOURS

Beginning June 1, 1990, themuseum will be open year-around,10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesdaythru Saturday. Other times areavailable by appointment.If you are going to be travelingthrough the Ash Grove area at atime other that our regular hours,please call ahead and makearrangements!

If you have questionspertaining to the museum,PLEASE call our 417-672-3110number, not the Frisco Cafe! TheCafe is a separate business andthe staff cannot answer yourquestions or inquiries. Thanksfor your cooperation!

Due to the recent publication ofa history of the Quanah, Acme, &Pacific Railroad, part two of ourseries on the A.T.& N. and Q.A. &P. will be delayed.

"The little yellow moon far upthe darkened track seemed togrow bigger. Then it was bigger,and a beam of light picked upevery object along the depotplatform. Slowly the beam oflight enlarged to a flood. Thewater tank, looming high on itsbig posts, was black against it.With almost no sound at all, afreight engine rolled alongsidethe tower and came to a crackingstop.

"Butch, eight years old, under astraw hat and inside a pair ofpatchy bib overalls, was havinghis first close-up look at a steamengine. He had watched them asthey puffed past his house, fromtwo miles away. But this was amouth-opener; he was seeing oneright there on the track... and alllit up too!

"Boy would he have somethingto tell his brothers! Thisengine... bigger that alloutdoors... was sitting there infront of him. Not even hearinghis anxious mother's call to comeback, Butch let his bare feet havetheir way. When they stopped, hewas standing close to the cab,looking up. Man, oh man, was sheever big!

"Butch was standing on onefoot, scratching an itchy chiggerbite with his toes, when WHOOM!Without any warning at all, avolcano jumped out of the'chimney.' Smoke rolled up and allaround, and a cinder shower fellaround him like rain drops. Thedrivers rolled backwards, slippedand spun. Sparks flew from therails, and Butch too startled torun, jumped backward and out fromunder his hat.

"Retrieving his hat in a cloud ofsteam, Butch looked just in timeto see that 'ornery' fireman wavea greasy glove, and grin. He ranback towards the depot. Hismother met him half-way. 'Butch,if you ever do that again, I'll boxyour ears, and good...'

"Away up the track Butch couldsee the 'moon' again. What if hismother was mad? A womanwouldn't understand. It was darkaround the depot now, and Butchwanted to go home. Would he evertell his brothers something. Andhe was standing right there whenshe 'WOOMED,' too!"*

*From FRISCO FOLKS written bythe late William E. Bain, 1961.

During World War II the Friscowaged a large-scale program of"Institutional Advertising" inwhich they promoted publicsupport of the war effort throughvarious forms of advertising. Thereasoning behind the program wassimple: A little "flag waving"never hurt business!

Shown above are two examples,both of which were taken from aJuly, 1943, public timetable.

HIGH SIDE GONDOLA83000-G3014

SLSF 63007 Saginaw, TX April, 1983Edward J. Stoll photo

In 1957, the Frisco tookdelivery of 400 140M capacity52'6" all steel gondolas fromPullman Standard Co., lot #8317,at a cost of $9,632.00 each. In1959, forty cars in the series(64000-64039) were equipped withroofs and in 1962, twenty units(64040-64059) were modified withroofs, cradles, and wood floorsfor shipment of coil steel.

Between 1965 and 1968, fifteencars in the series were rebuilt asHigh Side Gondolas andrenumbered 63000-63014. Thecapacity of the cars was almost

doubled with the addition of sideand end height extensions in sucha way that made it look like onecar was stacked on top of another.Used initially for shipment ofautomobile body scrap, fourteenof the units were still in serviceat the time of the Frisco/BNmerger. They were eventuallyrenumbered BN 580365-580378.

To model one of thesedistinctive gondolas, begin withtwo undecorated Model DieCasting 50' Mill Gondolas (#1680).Remove the bottom from one body

and graft it to the top of theother body by carefully using asolvent type glue (apply glue fromthe inside of the car body). Addgrab irons from DetailsAssociates (#2202) and laddersfrom Central Valley (#1601). Ireworked the ends of my gondolato approximate the Dreadnoughtlower half and braced sheet metalupper half along with a styrenebrakewheel mount. This is not anabsolute necessity for a "closeenough" model but the modelerwould probably want to fill in thelower brakewheel hole and sandflush.

QUESTION: I have a non-railroadFrisco question. Did the Friscoever operate any of the blue andwhite mail sorting trucks?

ANSWER: Yes! According to aFebruary 23, 1961 FriscoTransportation Company (asubsidiary truck line of theFrisco) equipment list, the F.T.C.owned and operated sevenHighway Post Office coaches. Theunit pictured below, No. 51E, wasone of two "Twin Coach" unitspurchased in 1959.

selected questions will appear inthe MAIL CAR feature.

Rick McClellan photo

The resulting car body is nowready for a coat of Floquil BoxcarRed (#110074) and a later coat ofCrystal Cote (#110004) for thedecals to adhere to. Afterthroughly drying, letter the carusing Herald King's set #G-460.While all of the lettering is notpresent in the set, it is theclosest available. A final coat ofCrystal Cote will seal the decalsin place and a light coat ofFloquil's Rust (#110073) willsimulate a car that has been inservice.

Assemble the balance of the carper the manufacturer's directionsand you have another piece ofequipment for shipper's to "ShipIt On The Frisco!"

Good Luck!

Quick, Clean Service on Short PassengerRuns Provided by Frisco Motor Cars

EDITOR"S NOTE: Thanks and a tipof the Frisco hat to Frisco FolkRick McClellan for providing themodeling "how to" portion of thisarticle.

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 and

"Quick, Clean Service on ShortPassenger Runs Provided byFrisco Motor Cars," was theheadline of an article in theOctober, 1925, issue of theFRISCO EMPLOYE'S MAGAZINEannouncing the arrival of whatwould be the first of seven newmotor cars built by ElectraMotive Co. in St. Louis. The cars,Nos. 2120-2126, were builtbetween 1925 (2120-2121) and1928 (2122-2126)

The first two units in theseries were both Baggage-Coachcombinations, built at a cost of$65,000.00 each. No. 2120 arrivedon Frisco property in July, 1925,and No. 2121 was delivered inOctober of the same year.

The cars were 58'3" long with arear enclosed vestibule entrance.The all steel body wasmanufactured by The St. LouisCar. Co. and the 200 H.P. Wintonengine and running gear wereprovided by Electra Motive. Theinterior finish of the car was thestandard mahogany paneling withyellow pine floor. Total seatingcapacity in car No. 2120 wasthirty-three and No. 2121 seatedforty-nine passengers due to asmaller baggage compartment.

A unique feature of the cars inthis series was that the roofswere constructed using steelframes, wood decking, coveredwith canvas roofing. According toour records, No. 2120 was fitted

with a rear diaphragm for usewith a trailer unit.

Photographic evidenceindicates that the original archedwindows located at either end ofthe car sides when new were latermodified to conform with theother window units on No. 2121,and the front windows changed on2120.

On July 11, 1925, car No. 2120made its maiden run from St.Louis to Joplin, MO. The 339 miletrip, running on train schedules,took nine hours traveling at anaverage speed of thirty-sevenmiles an hour! Nos. 2120 and

various residents of OklahomaTerritory, but aside fromcompleting the organization,nothing was done until the earlypart of 1900. Johnston Brothersand Faught, contractors of St.Elmo, IL, having obtained controlof the company, on January 10,1900, entered into an agreementwith the St. Louis and SanFrancisco Railroad Co., for theconstruction of a railroad in theinterests of the latter, fromSapulpa, Indian Territory, toDenison, TX. This agreementprovided for the use of thefranchise of the company for the

It should be noted that theportion of the line in Texas wasconstructed under the corporationof the St. Louis, San Francisco,and Texas Railway Co. and thatthe connection between the twowas had by the use of a bridgeacross the Red River belonging tothe Missouri, Kansas, and TexasRailway Co.

Eighty-one miles north of theOklahoma-Texas State Line, at ajunction point with the Santa Fe,Katy, and the Frisco, was locatedStation No. E548 at Ada, OK, In1901, when the Frisco tookcontrol of the line, it was listedon the Red River District of theSouthwestern Division. It isinteresting to note that while thestation number remained thesame, the Ada stationexperienced a number of changesin its Division, Sub-Division, andDistrict classification, asfollows:

2121 were placed in servicebetween Afton, OK, Joplin, MO,and Columbus, KS, protectingtrains Nos. 186, 181, 175,176,315, and 356.

Both cars remained in servicefor over twenty-five years withNo. 2120 being retired on July 27,1954 and 2120 on January 30,1952.

DOWN AT THE DEPOT

Ada, OK

The St. Louis, Oklahoma, andSouthern Railway Co. wasincorporated August 13, 1895, by

construction of that part of theproposed line in the Indian andOklahoma Territories, and for theorganization of a new companyunder the laws of Texas for thatpart of the line in Texas, and forcontrol of both companies tobecome vested in the St. Louisand San Francisco Railroad Co.

Construction was commenced inJanuary, 1900, and proceededfrom Sapulpa, southward. Theline was completed to Okmulgee,Indian Territory, in July 1900,and to Denison, TX, in June, 1901,and was placed in operation as awhole on June 22, 1901.

1905 Southwestern DivisionCreek & Red River District

1907 Red River DivisionCreek & Red River District

1909 Red River DivisionCreek & Sherman District

1913 Red River DivisionCreek Sub-Division

1916 Southwest DivisionSherman Sub-Division

1920 Red River DivisionSherman Sub-Division

1926 Southwestern DivisionSherman Sub-Division

NOTE: The 1926 listing remaineduntil the 1980 merger with theBN, when Ada became Station94548 on the Tulsa Division, 9th,Sub-Division

While an earlier structureserved the passenger traffic ofAda, in 1913, a new depot wasbuilt that represented a drasticdeparture from any standarddepot plan and one of only twosuch structural designs on theentire Frisco system. The otherwas built the same year, atValley Park, MO.

NOTE: The depot at Bolivar, MOand the Union Station at Joplin,MO were designed by the sameKansas City, MO architect that didthe Ada and Valley Park stations.While different in overallappearance, close examination ofthe depots shows a number ofdetail similarities.

The Ada depot was a 108' longall concrete building with 12"Curtis No. 5 concrete walls. Theceilings were 13°6" high and theroof was flat covered with tar andgravel. The building had a centralboiler plant that provided hotwater heat and the stationincluded inside restroomfacilities and electric lights. Itwas divided into a large generalwaiting room on the northeastend, ticket office and boiler roomin the middle, and negro waitingroom, baggage, and express officeto the southwest. The interiorwalls were finished with plasterand the ex terior was covered witha sand-color stucco finish. Theplatform was 451'10" long andwas brick with concrete curbs.

One unique and unusual featureof the Ada station was a largeconcrete planter located at thenortheast track-side corner.

(NOTE: The Valley Park depot hadsimilar planters at bothtrack-side corners.)

During its forty-seven yeartenure of service, the Ada depotwas served by a number ofpassenger trains including the"Southwest Limited," Nos.507-508, the "Oil Fields Special,"Nos. 117-118, the "Texas Tulsan,"and the "Black Gold," Nos.504-507. The last passengertrain to depart the Ada depot wasthe "Black Gold," which made itsfinal run on January 18, 1960.

Between 1975 and 1977, the Adadepot, long since abandoned, wasreplaced with a metal ARMCobuilding.

In addition to the depot, theAda facilities included a largebrick freight house locatednortheast of the depot, a 25,000gal. water tank and treatmentplant, a car department supplyhouse, section tool house, oilstorage tank, scales, and sevenstock pens located to the east ofthe depot in conjunction with theAda stock yards.

Ada, OK 1920, .H.D. Conner collection

OBSERVATION CAR TO DALLAS

DRAWING ROOM SLEEPING CARSto Dallas, Ft. Worth and San Antonio

SUNPARLOR CARDRAWING ROOM SLEEPING CARS

DINING CAR SERVICE ALL THE WAY

FRED HARVEY MEALS ON THE FRISCO