Does anyone have any photos or operational knowledge of the Anderson Pritchard (APCO) refinery in Cyril, OK? Have seen on overhead shot of the refinery from about 1962, it appears to have 80 to 100 tank cars in the yard and spotted around the refinery. Did the Frisco have a switcher based in Cyril? Any info is appreciated. Jay
As far as I know there was never a switcher at Cyril, OK. It was always switched by the local between Oklahoma City and Lawton or Quanah. Also, on and off a Fletcher turn was run out of OKC to switch the refinery and pull and spot the gypsum cars at Fletcher. When the turn wasn't running, generally speaking, the loads were pulled by the east bound local and the plant was spotted by the west bound local. Most loads went east and the plant was set up to be switched from the east end. Going west on the main line the first switch on the right side went to the rack for naphtha loading and the 2nd switch was for ethyl unloading and rip track. Going west on the main line the first switch on the left side went to the racks for asphalt loading, both box car and tank. The next switch was the lead into the storage tracks and loading racks. I don’t remember the track names but the first track south of the main was used for storage, the 2nd & 3rd tracks had a loading rack in between and I believe were called #1 & #2 and the next track was a storage track I believe called #3. It connected on the west end with the siding. On the west end of the refinery was a crossing and west of the crossing was the pocket track and siding. The depot set on the northwest corner of the road/track crossing. I believe it is still standing. West of the depot on the north side of the main was a track with a stub end on the west end. The Frisco got a lot of business out of the refinery. Sometimes there would be 10-15 tank cars going to OKC, with a lot of yellow dome’s going all over the system. In the late 70’s/earlier 80’s an outfit started loading gypsum rock in the stub track west of the depot. Cyril was also the agency for gypsum rock loading at Fletcher. I looked at Cyril on Google Earth the other day and it would appear that all that is left is the gypsum loading. Where the refinery was is nothing but a vacant field. I hope this helps. Jerome
Thanks Jerome! The information you provided is appreciated and helps a great deal in my modeling efforts. Jay
Jay and Jerome: Jerome-nice info! Appreciate it. Jay-be sure to post photos of your work if you end up modeling the refinery. What scale? And are you doing Lawton as well? John WF TX
John, Modeling Chickasha, Cyril and Snyder with operations being the focus of the HO scale railroad. Jay
Jay: Now you have peaked my interest. I would be very curious to hear what the specs are on your layout. Size, single or double deck, era, etc. Please share. Thanks much. John WF TX
John, Era is mid 60's with operation the reason behind modeling a high traffic area like Cyril's Apco refinery. The road will be single leveled focused on Cyril, Snyder's grain elevators including the one on the Enid to Davidson sub. It will always be wheat harvest time to increase traffic density and switching chores. Chickasha will include Pet Milk, Wadsworth Oil, the small grain elevator, the cotton gin, drilling mud supply, a pipe yard and the Rock Island interchange. OKC and Quanah staging will be incorporated with a card operation system providing a couple of operators plenty to do over a 2 to 3 hours session. The layout will occupy a spare room. Thanks for the interest, Jay
Jay- I think I overlooked this one upon my return from vacation... Your layout concept sounds pretty good. If you have any track plans feel free to post them here. I also look forward to any work-in-progress pics! Best Regards,
Jay, While searching Google Maps ran across a link to this photo of the former Apco Refinery in Cyril, OK. http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/7491848.jpg Hope this helps. Thanks! Mark
Hello I am interested in finding out whether there exists a source for information on the rail car traffic out of the old Anderson-Prichard (a/k/a APCO) Oil Corporation Refinery formerly located at Cyril. The period that I am most interested in is from December 1941 through the end of the decade. The types of information I am interested in would be the number of tank cars, quantity and identity of materials in the tank cars, and whether the loaded tank cars where delivered to the old Champlin Oil Company refinery in Enid. Any help or thoughts on the matter will be greatly appreciated. By the way, I just happened on to this site. It's very nice to see that there are so many old Frisco fans. As an aside, I grew up in SW Oklahoma and have fond memories of the rail traffic through my home town. 2K
2KDOJ: I would be interested in learning what you dig up regarding the refinery. What town are you from in SW OK? Thanks. John WF TX
Still Looking. I would appreciate hearing from anyone with information on the rail loading facility at the old Anderson-Prichard/APCO refinery in Cyril, OK. In order of priority I would like to acquire: photos, maps, drawings and general historical information on the refinery and its rail facilities. Any help is greatly appreciated. Please contact me at (202) 514-9009 to discuss any of the above items and of course payment for your materials. Thank you, 2KDOJ
Some of the old Frisco Employee's Magazines may have information or an article on the refinery. You should be able to access and search free of charge. https://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/magazines/magazines.cfm (http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/frisco/frisco.cfm) I did find in the April, 1927 Frisco Employee's Magazine has an advertisement on p. 77 for Anderson-Pritchard Oil Corporation and makes reference to their refinery in Cyril, OK. https://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/magazines/fem_1927_04/fem_1927_04_76.pdf So, at the very least, the refinery was in operation by this date. Best Regards, Edit 1/1/2024: Repaired broken link to Springfield Greene County Library, Frisco Pages, Frisco Employee Magazines. Added link to Frisco Employee Magazine, April 1927, page 74-78. MKD
