On July 17, 1963, Frisco train No 106, The Kansas City-Florida Special, detoured over the Missouri Pacific from Hoxie to Diaz, Arkansas. At Diaz, the train went up the MoP White River Division, obviously detouring around a derailment or other blockage on the Frisco mainline. Locomotives were EMD E8As SLSF 2022, Champion, and SLSF 2017, Pensive, operating as a passenger extra on the MoP. The train left Hoxie 1:05 am, about 4 hours late, and arrived Diaz 1:50 am. At least one Frisco freight train also detoured over the MoP. They could have used the MoP branch from Crane to Springfield, or gone to Aurora and then doubled back to Springfield, or Lamar and continued on to Kansas City. Has anyone ever seen any newspaper coverage of this event? Particularly, where did Train No 106 return to Frisco rails? With likely heavy mail and express traffic to and from Springfield, would some accommodation have been made for that traffic? Of those possible interchange points, where were track connections favorable for a passenger train moving from MP to Frisco? Thanks, Bill Pollard
That train went to Aurora, then was pulled to Springfield backward. After all the mail and express was transferred, then a switch engine pulled the train up through the high line wye and then 106 was headed the right way to continue to Kansas City. Tom G. Edit: I should have added at Springfield the engines were changed to the correct end before the switcher coupled up.
Thanks very much Tom. I should have known that you would have the answer. I guessed that it would need to get to Springfield one way or another for the mail and express. Do you recall what caused the detour in the first place? Bill
I vaguely remember my Dad having to run over the MP. I'm hazy on how it went, but think it was MP to Sedalia, MKT to Ft. Scott and then Frisco to Springfield. I'm probably wrong on this but remember Ft. Scott being mentioned. I do remember his story of the MP pilot engineer he had on a 4300 and a long troop train. The pilot was bragging about their 5330 class 4-8-2s and how much better they were than the Frisco's power. Dad finally got up and said "Here, try a real engine". The pilot laughed and sat down and widened out on the 4300. Then he started getting sheepish, notching the throttle in and finally just said "Damn"!
I would have guessed a derailment, but I don't have any information as such. I went to the depot and watched how they did it. I was surprised that the depot switcher could pull the whole train?? Tom G.
MoPac dispatcher sheets of that era generally included passenger train consists, and this detour Frisco train was no exception. For those who enjoy consists, the train was made up of EMD E-units SLSF 2022 and SLSF 2017, Frisco head end cars 339, 211, 387, 436, 373, chair car 1053, unknown -1558, chair car 1259, Pullman Osage River, and diner-lounge Kansas City. For car 1558, the number is distinct on the dispatcher sheet and it is shown as a Frisco car, but a number must have been misread somewhere along the way. Bill Pollard
The diner was the heavyweight Kansas City, which was exchanged at Springfield for one of its mates. 1550 or 1551 were regulars on the Meteor. Tom G.
Some years back, I was in the little museum in Newburg and they had a dispatcher's sheet on the wall and it showed a MP train through town. Maybe they did the same loop as the Frisco, only backwards.
Hmmm.. cool. I wonder if that was an Eagle or some other train? I could see a detour through Springfield and probably on to Aroura for either a train between St. Louis and Kansas City or St Louis and Memphis, or Little Rock even.