West Tulsa, OK - Yardmaster‘s Office and Engine Dispatching Operations - 1942 Various photos of Tulsa, OK Yardmaster‘s Office and Engine Dispatching Operations. Photos by John Vachon, October 1942. Pictures are from the Library of Congress’ American Memory Collection, “America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945 “. I have posted since they are not eligible for copyright protection within the United States. For more information on searching or , information on Reproduction and Rights, refer to Library of Congress American Memory [size=+1]Crew waiting at Tulsa Yard Office.[/size] [size=+1]Engine Dispatching at Tulsa[/size] [size=+1]More Engine Dispatching…[/size] [size=+1]Interior of Tulsa Yardmaster’s Office[/size]
MODERATOR'S NOTE: The following is from a 1950s magazine article that was reprinted in the FMIG newsletters. Unfortunately, I can not remember the magazine of origin. It provides some interesting insight into operational facets of the Frisco immediately after the steam-to-diesel transition. CLA <font size="+1">Rip Track Operations</font> The Frisco keeps rip tracks clean and neat to a degree not commonly found on the theory that neat surroundings have a physchological effect on causing a man to want to do higher quality work. All concreted rip tracks are swept several times a day with power sweepers. Several points paint work equipment (jacks, stands, A-frames, etc.) bright yellow so that it is evident, even from a distance, whether or not these items are being stored neatly and safely. Highway movement of mounted wheel sets for emergency changes out on the road will be tried with a truck hauling a trailer. The wheel set will be raised and "snugged" into position by a jack against a pair of concave supports shaped to the tread contour. The lifting jack is built into the trailer and chains which wrap around the axle are fastened to a mounting fixture on the end of the shaft. To protect rip track areas by putting out small fires quickly before they become big ones, four-wheel fire fighting wagons are being installed at the larger points. These can be pulled along the concrete runway either by the workmen or by a shop truck. They extinguish the blaze either by fog nozzles or by dry extinguishers. The wagons carry 275 gal. of water (a seven-minute supply), two CO2 dry extinguishers, two axes, and two reels, each with 50 ft. of 1-in. hose. The wagons are charged with air for water delivery from one of the rip track outlets. Anti-freeze (calcium chloride or similar solution) is added to the water during the winter to permit storage outdoors. The Frisco has also found it to be a worthwhile practice to remove the grease, oil and road dirt from the wheel plates on used mounted car wheels before turning journals. The cleaning takes about a minute a wheel and is done by a steam gun. Two principal advantages result from removal of this accumulation: (1) elimination of fouled up cutting tools and burnishing rollers of axle lathes, which would otherwise be caused by this accumulation falling off while the journals were being turned; and (2) better inspection of the plates of the wheels for cracks or other defects.
Hi. I've been trying for a long time to find some information. I grew up in Ardmore, OK in the 60's and early 70's. The train station there was shared by the ATSF Newton, Kansas -, Houston, Texas mainline, and a Frisco branch that terminated there. The Santa Fe used the east side of the depot and the Frisco the west. The Frisco line is now long abandoned but I well remember short freights coming to town about once a week. I also took a few pics of them. But my question is this, on the Frisco's side of the depot, above the door, is the logo of the Rock Island cast in concrete. It's still there today. And when I was in junior high in about 1968, a friend said her grandfather was an engineer on the Rock Island out of Ardmore years earlier. I've been able to find nothing about a Rock Island line to Ardmore, but it clearly existed and I suspect it was taken over by the Frisco. I also have an Official Guide from 1953 that lists Frisco passenger service out of Ardmore using a gas-electric Doodlebug, so it would be before that. Does anyone know if the Frisco line was taken over from the Rock Island and when? Thanks!
I have some pictures of a Frisco engine pulling a freight train through northeastern Arkansas in 1980 or 1981. The little town was Hardy. I don't know anything more about the Frisco but I always liked the paint scheme. I am currently evacuated from the Florida panhandle due to hurricane Ivan. Went to a local hobby shop and low and behold, a Frisco engine and matching caboose by Atlas. I got both for $90 and won't have to install a decoder. Chris
According to the Oklahoma State Transportation map, the Rock was abandoned to Ardmore on 2/4/1938. The map still shows the SLSF going into Ardmore.
