Since it's getting close to vacation time, how about a list of museums to visit that has Frisco equipment. Mike Patrylo
To All: The Great Plains Transportation Museum in Wichita, KS http://www.gptm.us/ has NW2 #261 and a wooden Frisco caboose. If you are coming from the east on Highway 400 the town of Beaumont has a restored wooden water tower http://beaumonthotelks.com/frisco-water-tower that is on the registry of National Historical Sites. Beaumont also has a self-guided walking tour that also takes you to the pond that supplied the tank http://beaumonthotelks.com/walking-tour .Also on Highway 400 about a mile or two east of Beaumont is an art deco bridge http://bridgehunter.com/ks/butler/bh45417/ . It is below the new highway on the north side of the road.
Enid Oklahoma has a very nice rail museum. There are several Frisco items there as well as other railroads. There is a fantastic collection of silver and china from all railroads. Many other items and if you are lucky, there will be a gentleman named "Watermelon" there and can he spin the stories. Tony L.
The Heart of the Heartlands museum in Carona, Kansas near Pittsburg has Frisco cement hopper #84184 and a nice collection of Frisco china and other objects. The Fort Smith Trolley Museum has a Frisco 2-8-2 and 40 ft boxcar. The Museum of Transport in St. Louis has many pieces of Frisco rolling stock including our beloved 4-8-2 #1522. The route 66 park in West Tulsa, OK has recently restored 4-8-4 #4500 and a side door caboose. There are several cabooses and depots that have been preserved and made into displays or museums. John Chambers
The Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL (I don't recommend visiting it just now) has a 2-10-0 "Russian" Decapod that until recently was part of their operating fleet. I believe right now it is down for repairs. GS
Since you are coming from St. Louis on your way to Carona, KS and Enid on I-44, take the side trip from Jerome up to Dixon, past Crocker and Swedeborg to get back on I-44 at Laquey (I think). I am going to let Meteor910 tell you why you should stop at Rolla first though George Nelson
Tulsa, OK has Frisco 4500 on display, in full "Meteor" regaila, along with a Frisco side-door caboose. Just northeast in the small community of Catoosa, you can find a former BN caboose repainted Frisco colors next to a replica of the Catoosa depot. Ft. Smith, AR has their Trolley Museum which also sports a Mikado steam locomotive on display. You can also ride the trolley along Garrison Avenue and the National Cemetery. The doors on the main shop building came from the Frisco roundhouse, demolished by BN. And if you like, cross the river to Van Buren, which besides a beautifully restored downtown area sports a retored Frisco brick depot, and is a destination of excursion trains operated by the Arkansas & Missouri RR over their former Frisco line thru the Boston Mountains between Springdale, AR and Van Buren. In Hugo, OK, you can tour the Frisco depot there- it's a 2-story building restored & used as a museum by the Choctaw County Historical Society, and features a Frisco baggage car as well as a former KCS F-units slug painted in the colors of the Kiamichi RR. Inside you'll find various items for display, including a model of a 5-ring circus (Hugo is the winter home of Carson & Barnes and KelleyMiller Brothers circuses).
In the actual town of 'Frisco,' north of Dallas, Tx, is a new museum that replaces the old "Age of Steam" museum at the Dallas fairgrounds. I believe they have two Frisco steam locos, and lots of other stuff. I haven't gotten over there yet. As a side note, the city of Frisco now uses the coonskin herald as it's city symbol, and I always do a double-take when I see it on city vehicles. Up in Oklahoma, don't forget that at the theme park "Frontier City" they've got an old Frisco heavyweight coach!
The 'museum full of Frisco memorabilia " went out of business in 2002. Fort Smith (AR)Trolley Museum is home to steam engine 4003.
