Thanks to a heads-up from Don Wirth, I recently acquired the Train Register Book from North Clinton. The book covers operations from about mid-January 1929 through mid-April 1929. The register includes details from the Clinton Subdivision (KCOS) and the Osceola Subdivision (KCCS), aka, the Leaky Roof. I have been in hog heaven ever since the book arrived, as I uncover operational details at North Clinton. I have been transcribing the book into EXCEL with the hope that trends with regard to car movements, tonnage, locomotive assignments, crew assignments, et al might be discerned. I hope that the book might be the seed for a presentation at the next Frisco dot Org get together. During the first quarter of 1929, four passenger trains, nine freight trains, and a couple of extra trains passed through North Clinton Monday through Saturday. In my father’s vernacular, North Clinton was a “real go’n’ Jesse”! It’s my opinion that the book records the final Happy Times of the Leaky Roof before the private automobile/truck and the Great Depression killed the railroad branch line. At this time, the Leaky Roof was no longer an independent road, and it was designated as the Frisco’s Osceola Subdivision. Of the original twelve, Manchester 4-4-0’s, only number 79 was extant, and she was stored out-of-service in Springfield. Once safely into the Frisco operating scheme, rationalization began to reduce the redundant trackage. The first bit to go was the Belton to Stanley segment. The northern “terminal” of the Osceola sub became Grandview, where the KCS provided its facilities to service the Frisco motive power. The Frisco built the Brownington-Cutoff, which connected the Highline at Brownington with the Leaky Roof at Deepwater. This connection allowed the Frisco to select the better segments from each line to create a single, joint track between North Clinton and Tracy Junction. The KCCS depot and shops at South Clinton had been retired, and Osceola Sub trains called on the Clinton Sub depot, and used the Frisco yards and facilities at North Clinton. Operations seemed to be routine. Occasionally a 4-4-0 would substitute for one of the Bull Mooses. A former KCOS engine (Frisco 94) was a frequent sub for the Osceola Subdivision Brill cars. KC-Clinton freights, 58 & 59 were on rare occasions annulled on Sundays, 500 and 600 class ten-wheelers were the motive power of choice for the tri-weekly locals, 1266-class 2-8-0’s handled trains 58 & 59, and a daily except Sunday extra operated in and out of Clinton (a Deepwater turn perhaps?). On Tuesday April 16, something occurred that I didn’t catch at first. Train 74, the time table south (TTS) Osceola Sub Local from Ash Grove arrived in the North Clinton yards with 31 loads and no empties (1404 tons). During its work between Ash Grove and Clinton, the local handled a total of forty three loads and two empties (1959 tons). The ascending grades out of the Sac River Valley reduced the capacity of 29-Class Tonnage locomotives to 800 tons. So it was on April 16, 1929, two nearly identical Baldwin 4-6-0 ten-wheelers, 664 and 613, handled Train 74. It’s the heaviest train operated on the former Leaky Roof during the time covered by the register book, and it’s the only “modern” example of a double header to be operated on the Leaky Roof. I think that it’s an interesting discovery. So whenever Mr. Peabody’s “Wayback” machine becomes available, I’d like to set it for 5:50 PM, April 16, 1929, Clinton, MO just to watch number 74 arrive and plug up the North Clinton Yards.
Excellent stuff Karl. Look forward to more insights. I have a soft spot for the Leaky Roof and Blair Line since I grew up in Harrisonville.
Karl, I for one can't wait to see the end result of your research. What you've posted thus far would be satisfactory enough, but knowing there's more...well, that will be something else. 2130 is one of the bull mooses, correct? I see one in Collias' rosters it was built in 1926 by J G Brill Co. with a 275 HP Westinghouse Engine. I can't quite make out the number below it on the register (21??) but I figure it's also a motor car. I really need to buckle down and either get the bifocals or grab a cheap pair of readers. My family - supportive though they may be - has ruled out a monocle. Best Regads,
Chris, EMC motor cars 2124 and 2125 handled trains 20 and 21 over the Clinton Sub. Brill cars 2130 and 2131 handled trains 26 and 27 over the Osceola Sub. The EMC cars seemed to be more reliable(?) because they rarely missed a trip. The steam power substituted for the Brill cars a bit more often. The reason behind the change in equipment is open for speculation, which could be higher passenger /express volume, mechanical issues, high water, etc.
Fascinating stuff, Karl. Thanks for the additional insight and register images. These are right up there with old train orders in terms of helping a guy piece together what a given day in Friscoland was really like. Looking forward to more to come. Best Regards,
Extremely interesting. Question - on the last register, 4/13, train 54, shows Conductor as Wirth. Any known relation to Don???
Still having fun looking over these registers. Extra 663 in both directions caught my eye. If I'm reading correctly, and that's highly dubious, Extra 663 headed north with a call time of 5:45am on 4/3/1929, and then arrived SB in Clinton at 10 am, tying up at 1:20 pm. Would it have been doing all of the local switching, as necessary? In any event, I can't make out what it "stopped for" on the SB sheet - thoughts? Best Regards,
Chris, It's possible that Extra 663-north and Extra 663-south may have been a turn to Harvey and/or Maurine to work the mine(s). After it's OS at N Clinton at 10:00 AM, the crew and 663 may have switched the N Clinton Yard before tying up for the day at 1:20 PM. I read the notation as Stop for Caboose - Cab 20. Once departing North Clinton the crew may have grabbed caboose 20 from the depot lead before leaving town.
Thanks very much, Karl, That notation makes sense. I'd wondered about the possibility of switching at North Clinton, but didn't know enough to gauge whether that could show as an extra or if it would have been a job otherwise assigned. If two of us our thinking it, that's good enough for me. I thoroughly enjoy the layers upon layers of fun that these types of documents unveil for us. Now I'm going to need to try to learn more about Harvey and Maurine. Best Regards,
Another item as I re-peruse these a year or so later: I tend to associate the 2-10-0s - specifically 1632 - with the Clinton Sub. But based on the 1929 data, 1632 and comrades seem to have been a bunch of Boris-Come-Latelys to the Highline. I'm sure I've seen it somewhere, but when did they start to be regularly assigned to Clinton? Best Regards,
Karl, Giving this thread a bump after several years of inactivity. Did you complete your analysis of the Train Register Book? Did you develop a presentation of your analysis of movements and other data? We would love to see the analysis presentation, Excel spreadsheet document and / or additional copies of pages from the book. Hope This helps. Thanks! Mark
Mark, My apologies for my tardy response; we have been on a lengthy Christmas holiday tour, and we are just returned to Texas. My efforts were distilled into an operating script, which I prepared for Chris Abernathy, and posted on this site. I have crew rosters and power assignments, which turned out to be rather uninteresting... locomotives weren’t limited to either subdivision, although 58 and 59 always had a 1200-class consolidation. Initially, I wanted to see if there was a determine tonnage volumes in some meaningful manner, but ultimately I couldn’t determine much beyond arriving tonnage and departing tonnage. I also tried summing car totals through Clinton, but I had trouble balancing the ledger if you will. Thanks for the nudge; I will have to take a fresh look at things. Do you have any thoughts? Best, -keb-
