Hello Everyone, I'm Ed Heiss from Cincinnati. I grew up in Springfield, MO, and worked for the Frisco briefly in '61-'63. I'm from a Frisco family. My dad was E.W. Heiss (also called Ed) and my mother was Lillian Heiss. My brother is Bill and he worked for the Frisco as well during his college years. I treasure the time I spent in train service in OK, KS & MO. I regret not taking any pictures. I was taking other photos at the time but felt that the railroad wouldn't be happy with an employee taking photos... What can I say?? It was a lost opportunity. I do recall the first U-25B's that showed up in Springfield. It didn't take long for them to get the nickname of "Coffee Grinders" because of the peculiar sound of their turbochargers. It was many years later that I discovered that most others called them "U-boats". One other nickname I heard was at the time the Frisco began repainting some of the freight diesels to all black minus the yellow striping. Some wag named them "Peposodent Engines" ----- "You wonder where the yellow went.... etc." I've always carried a fondness for the red & gold E-7's & 8's that were named for famous horses. I rode many a passenger train pulled by them. It's a shame that at least one of them was not preserved. Well, that's about all there is. Now that I'm retired, I can devote more time to learning a bit more about the Frisco and railfanning in general. Cheers, Ed ###
Hi Ed. Welcome to the group! I spent a lot of good time with your dad in the 1980's - I think I bought a ton of Frisco stuff from him! Ken Wulfert St Louis ps - We lived in Cincinnati from 1974-1978. Mariemont. Great place!
Hello "Meteor Ken"... Thanks for the reply. Glad you had good times with Dad. Small world, huh!!! I live fairly close in Anderson Twp. Did you ever do any snooping along the old traction that ran through Mariemont?? Cheers, Ed ####
Ed - Yes, I gave it a good look a number of times. Also spent some time at the Mariemont overlook gazing down at N&W's Claire(sp?) Yard. Ken
I got really concerned when I saw Ed Heiss posting here. I thought I had been called home for a minute until I read it. Your Dad was a good guy and we had some nice times together modeling and railfanning. Welcome to the group. Don Wirth
Ed, Welcome to the group, your dad was a fine gentleman. I remember well a lunch we had at the Steak and Shake in downtown Springfield after one of the OMRA meets. I know Rick McClellan was present, I don't remember who else. There wasn't much about the Frisco that your dad didn't know. Brad Slone
Thanks for the reply Don. Yup... I figured there might be a "little" confusion. Trust me, you're still on the planet Earth, alive and well. Many thanks for your kind comments about Dad... Cheers, "young" Ed... LOL!!
Hi Brad, many thanks for the reply. You indeed have a long memory. I appreciate your comments. Cheers, Ed ### |-|
Hi Ken.... Yup Claire is a shadow of its old self. Of course the Pennsy line east out of Claire is long gone. The N&W Peavine originated at Claire and meandered over to Portsmouth. It's now severed and several large customers in the Cincinnati area have pulled up stakes (in particular, the Ford Transmission Plant in Batavia). It's a long story but the NS seems to be content to run trains the long way around from Portsmouth to Columbus to Cincinnati. Glad you took some good looks at the traction ROW. Cincinnati is "considering" a trolley line but there is major resitance to it. Time will tell. Cheers, Ed ### |-|
Welcome Ed, your Dad was the best! We used to go by the house after the Springfield shows and remember visiting with him and Lee Buffington and Ed would run trains for us. Your Dad was the best! Welcome to the group. Dave Lindquist
Now until we see steam through Lenexa and Jan Jester talking to Lee Buffington on the depot platform, we know which side we are on. Dave Lindquist
