Cape Girardeau, MO, St. Louis Subdivision, MP 131.3

Wednesday, June 10, 2015 I was in Cape Girardeau to get pictures of the river front for the backdrop on my layout.

I took a helicopter ride with Paul Salmon, my cousin's husband, who is a partner in Cape Copters and a certified flight instructor. We flew in a Robinson R44, four place helicopter, to fly low and slow enough to get the best pictures for my use.

I have provided a sample of a river front shot and a composite of ground-based shots of the quarry at the cement plant that will be on the wall in an access aisle seen across the layout at Marquette Cement. The quarry image will be 12' long x 3' high.

Incidentally, the shot of the Common Pleas Court House is one of over 200 consecutive shots from right at the Emerson Bridge to just north of Cape Rock. The composite can make a mural backdrop that is about 20 feet long.

 

That is so cool!

Both are perfect backdrop shots.

I bet that was a fun ride.

 

Keith, that is impressive.

Very nice shot of the courthouse, the Water Street and Main Street buildings.

A quarry that long should be most impressive.

Looking forward to seeing how it all pans out.

Best Regards,

 

"How it all pans out".

No pun intended?

My bolding in quote.

 

Well spotted!

It was not initially intended, but after proofreading, I opted to leave it.

 

Yes, they had their own cement hoppers for transporting cement to the river terminal for loading onto barges.

The strange looking car in the first picture was the type of cement hoppers used only on-site.

They also had their own gondolas, metal and composite, for transporting coal from barges to the crusher for the kilns and their own drop bottom hoppers for hauling gumbo from the gumbo pits south of the plant for use in cement production.

They were not necessarily consistent on reporting marks; sometimes using MCMCo and sometimes using simply MC.

Here is another of coal being loaded into a feed hopper for the kilns.

 

Nice photographs.

Seems as if the cement plant would be a good switching layout.

 

Do not think that I had not considered just modeling a very large model of just the cement plant in my space.

 

Take a second look at that color photograph of Marquette's sign and read the scroll.

It says, "The history of liberty is the history of the limitation of the powers of government." Woodrow Wilson

That is not an exact quote, but is it an accurate observation.

 

While I was waiting in the office to take the ride with Paul, the gentleman that had just completed a two-hour flight lesson with him came into the office.

I introduced myself as Keith Robinson and his eyebrows raised and he said, "Oh".

I then explained that I was not associated with Robinson Helicopters but was a cousin of Paul's wife.

 

Karl,

This question is probably one you can answer.

What was the purpose of the two upper-quadrant semaphores at about MP T131.8 just south of the old Cape Girardeau river bridge in 1967?

http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?attachments/slsf-main-north-at-cape-bridge-jpg.12326/

 

Fred Lynch's "f/8 and Be There" blog for the Southeast Missourian has the following Frisco photo from Cape Girardeau posted:

http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/flynch/entry/68155

Since it is daylight, apparently heading southbound and not flying white flags as far as I can make out, I would wager that it is train No 807.

No date is listed, but based on the Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) slogan on the billboard, and having heard that slogan a lot in "The Life of Riley" from late WW II to post-WW II years, i would guess maybe around 1945?

This does seem like an oddity to have a ten-wheeler assigned to either train No 807 or No 808. This would be a first that I have ever seen.

I will be interested to see and hear what other River Division aficionados have to say about it.

Best Regards,

 

Ken,

The odds of someone here actually "being there" is quite incredible, and I am exceedingly grateful that you have shared the story.

I am particularly amazed that "Frony" had the inspiration - or the insight - to place himself at a point where he could get a photograph of what is presumably one of the last steam-powered runs of "Sunnyland". Certainly the only instance I have ever seen of this type of motive power being used on either trains No 807 or No 808.

Is the creamery the one-story building on the southwest corner of William Street and Aquamsi / South Main Street across from the current depot?

I believe I have seen a spur there on old Sanborn maps, but I do not recall the use of that building siding.

As far as I am concerned, you have remembered the important stuff, Ken. I guess that is what they call a flashbulb memory or recollection.

Again, many thanks on behalf of many of us for sharing.

Best Regards,

 

Don,

Take note of my post #26 on page 3 of this thread.

http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/cape-girardeau-mo.769/page-2#post-4718

Here is a closer view of the gumbo hoppers.