View attachment Pittsburg KS trip 1955.pdf More Frisco Memories. We made a car trip from Oklahoma City to Pittsburg Kansas in 1955. These are the snapshots of that trip. I know fuzzy images and overcast skies. They are what they are. John Moore Albuquerque
More GREAT stuff! Thanks John! BTW Friscophiles: Did you notice what appears to be some form of SPARK ARRESTORS on the Geep???? IF that is so, this is a new find for this Frisco enthusiast. Andre
The notation on the old snapshots must have been in error about Claremore engine facilities. I don't remember where they were taken outside of out the car window as we were traveling along and the suggestion that the location could be Afton may well be where they were from. I yeild to better informed Frisco fans. John Moore Albuquerque
Andre - Agree! I have not seen that type of spark arrestor on Frisco GP7's before to my recollection. Maybe some type of trial experiment when they were considering adding sparkys to the geeps? My other pics of 539 show it carrying either no spark arrestors or the normal lifting type. Neat! Ken
The unknown Plymouth switcher is off the Joplin - Pittsburg Railroad. I'll look it up in some of my books tonight and get the correct number and dispo. Very neat photo's. I'm going to take them and do some railroad archealogy when it gets cooler. John Chambers
1 500 Plym 65 ton B-B 32500 130,000 1936 Orig Joplin-Pitssburg #2003; to Ft Dodge, Des Moines, & Southern #501; to Sonken-Galanka, 12/56; to KC & Westport Belt(KCPSFO) #1, 7/57; donated to Nat'l Museum of Transport
Also of interest is the narrow gauge (2 feet) railroad used to carry parts to service the RIP tracks. Other locations had similar arrangements. Chaffee even had a a narrow gauge turntable. Modern off-track vehicles made the narrow gauge obsolete.
Here's a recent photo of Joplin-Pittsburg #2003. A caption on page 399 of Jerry Pinkepank's The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide states "In September, 1936 a 65 ton, 500-hp unit of similar design, built for propane (model PE), was sold to Joplin-Pittsburg Railway as no. 2003." Taken July 11, 2007 at the National Museum of Transport in Kirkwood MO.
Karl, that caught my eye, too...I would not have known about the mini-turntable in Chaffee if not for the plans you shared a few years back... http://www.frisco.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=2118&d=1137811846 While I've not seen them, my Dad claims to have a bucket full o' miniature spikes from the track in Chaffee given to him by former engineer J.C. Eastwood (deceased). I'm realizing that I need to scan a higher-resolution image of these plans. John Moore, once again the photo essay is fascinating for the wealth of detail that it shows. Many thanks! Best Regards,
