Doug Hughes' Frisco Reading List Edited by Douglas J. Hughes Farrington, S. Kip, "Railroading the modern Way." This was from the 1950's and was the first one I ever read about the Frisco. It had two chapters telling how Clark Hungerford brought the road out of bankruptcy in the late 40's. Bain, William F., "Frisco Folks." Tales from employees - old book that Alan Schmitt of the Frisco Museum reprinted a few years ago. Folksy. Miner, H. Craig, "The St Louis-San Francisco Transcontinental Railroad, The Thirty-fifth Parallel Project, 1853-1890", University of Kansas Press, 1972. very dry doctoral dissertation mostly about financing the road. It stops at the 1890 depression and take over by the ATSF.; Bryant, H. Stafford Jr., "The Georgian Locomotive", Weathervane Books, New York, 1962. Some great steam locomotive photos. Stagner, Lloyd E., "Steam Locomotives of the Frisco Line", Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder, CO, 1976. My favorite! McCall, John, and Schultz, Frank A. III, "Frisco Southwest, A Late Steam-Early Diesel Pictorial", Kachina Press, 1025 Elm St., Dallas, TX 75202, 1982. A great soft-bound photo book full of modeling ideas. Banwart, Donald, D., "Rails, Rivalry, and Romance", Sekan Printing Co., 2210 S. Main, Fort Scott, KS 66701, 1982. Everything you ever wanted to know about Ft. Scott. 75% of the photos are of trains - the author is a train fan and modeler. He also published the book. You'll need this one if you want to do period Frisco modeling. Collias, Joe G., "Frisco Power - Locomotives and Trains of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway 1903-1953", MM Books, P.O. Box 29318, Crestwood, MO 63126. Good author who is a model railroader, big, lots of photos, several mistakes, good modeling reference. Joe's address is 9114 Pennant Lane, Crestwood, MO 63126. "The Quanah Route," was written by Don L. Hofsommer and printed by the Texas A&M University Press. Marre, Louis A., and ? Harper, "Frisco Diesel Power". I didn't buy it, but I've looked through it. Looks great! Dubin, Arthur F., "More Classic Trains". This expensive book has a chapter on the Frisco & Katy passenger varnish. A work colleague has a copy. The magazine PASSENGER TRAIN JOURNAL featured Frisco in their February and December 1984 issues with lots of passenger train photos. The steam locomotive roster was published by Bob Lorenz, 1939 Whittaker Drive, Fremont, OH 43420 many years ago as taken from the 1903 and 1917 ICC rosters. I have used the same sources to put the roster into a spread sheet. Send me a floppy and return postage and I'll copy it for you. The classic steam photographers also covered the steam roster very well. Almost any engine you want to model was photographed. The railroad was photographed extensively during the 1940-50-60's by deceased bachelor Art Johnson. His brother owns the collection and sometimes lets copies be made. Check with Alan at the Frisco Museum . The railroad was color slide photographed extensively during the 1960's by Dr. Mike Condren, P.O. Box 12102, Memphis, TN 38112 (901) 276-4667. Mike's slides have been sold, stolen, given improper credit in magazines, etc. Call him to see if he will still sell copies. Charlie Dischinger also has an extensive slide collection. 3452 S. Parkmont Court, Springfield, MO 65807-3888 (417) 887-0747. Several of the smaller roads that later merged with the Frisco have also been the subject of books. I think Hoffstetter did one on the QAP. Two I've read are Dew's on the Jonesboro, Lake City & Eastern (NE Arkansas - source of 2-8-0's 76 &77) and Mahlon Weill White's "The Leaky Roof" about the Kansas City, Clinton & Springfield reprinted in 1970 by The Printery, Clinton, MO
More Frisco photos and info are in: "Locomotive Quarterly" Vols.XVIII, 1987 No.3 (spring) and No. 4 (summer). "Baldwin Locomotives" "The St.Louis-San Francisco Railway and It's Motive Power" January and April 1929. "Railroad Magazine" "Locomotive of the Frisco" July 1948 "Railroad Magazine" "The Frisco" January 1953 This is a very interesting article by William R.Draper and has lots of photos of older engines
E. S. Dellinger Fiction. This fellow worked for the Frisco & MoPac during the First World War and later became a teacher and prolific railroad fiction writer. I used his THE BALLAST SCORCHER as background for designing my layout featuring the Eastern Division between Springfield and Newburg. The library at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque has a collection of Dellinger's work. It's described at: http://elibrary.unm.edu/oanm/NmU/nmu1%23mss550bc/ Can someone check it out for us and report back on other fictional works of his with a Frisco feel? Thanks, Doug Hughes, Annapolis, CEO The Dixon, Jerome & Hancock Railway
I found this thread in my search for books. I notice "Frisco in Color" is not listed. Any thoughts on this book, re: quality, detail(i.e., number/variety of locos, etc.)? I have no book on Frisco yet, and am interested in as comprehensive a text as might be possible(combination of motive power, freight and passenger cars, etc.). From reading Frisco Mike's list from a couple of years ago, appears a single text might not cover all of this. Thanks, Jim
Another resource is “Midwest Railroader Remembers-The Frisco and Steam” published in 1982. It includes the Chicago & Eastern Illinois as that line was once owned by the Frisco circa 1911. It contains history and specs of each engine -21,000 facts according to the cover.
Frisco Bibliography Howdy folks, We used to have a good Frisco bibliography, but it is probably out of date. What do folks think about starting another one, along with reviews of the books? We could also list articles in periodicals, etc. As usual, I'll make a table if folks are interested. Here is the old FMIG bibliography edit by Douglas J. Hughes - Farrington, S. Kip, Railroading the modern Way. This was from the 1950's and was the first one I ever read about the Frisco. It had two chapters telling how Clark Hungerford brought the road out of bankruptcy in the late 40's. - Bain, William F., Frisco Folks. Tales from employees - old book that Alan Schmitt of the Frisco Museum reprinted a few years ago. Folksy. - Miner, H. Craig, The St Louis-San Francisco Transcontinental Railroad, The Thirty-fifth Parallel Project, 1853-1890, University of Kansas Press, 1972. very dry doctoral dissertation mostly about financing the road. It stops at the 1890 depression and take over by the ATSF.; - Bryant, H. Stafford Jr., The Georgian Locomotive, Weathervane Books, New York, 1962. Some great steam locomotive photos. - Stagner, Lloyd E., Steam Locomotives of the Frisco Line, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder, CO, 1976. My favorite! - McCall, John, and Schultz, Frank A. III, Frisco Southwest, A Late Steam-Early Diesel Pictorial, Kachina Press, 1025 Elm St., Dallas, TX 75202, 1982. A great soft-bound photo book full of modeling ideas. - Banwart, Donald, D., Rails, Rivalry, and Romance, Sekan Printing Co., 2210 S. Main, Fort Scott, KS 66701, 1982. Everything you ever wanted to know about Ft. Scott. 75% of the photos are of trains - the author is a train fan and modeler. He also published the book. You'll need this one if you want to do period Frisco modeling. - Collias, Joe G., Frisco Power - Locomotives and Trains of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway 1903-1953, MM Books, P.O. Box 29318, Crestwood, MO 63126. Good author who is a model railroader, big, lots of photos, several mistakes, good modeling reference. Joe's address is 9114 Pennant Lane, Crestwood, MO 63126. - The Quanah Route, was written by Don L. Hofsommer and printed by the Texas A&M University Press. - Marre, Louis A., and ? Harper, Frisco Diesel Power. I didn't buy it, but I've looked through it. Looks great! - Dubin, Arthur F., More Classic Trains. This expensive book has a chapter on the Frisco & Katy passenger varnish. A work colleague has a copy. - The magazine PASSENGER TRAIN JOURNAL featured Frisco in their February and December 1984 issues with lots of passenger train photos. - The steam locomotive roster was published by Bob Lorenz, 1939 Whittaker Drive, Fremont, OH 43420 many years ago as taken from the 1903 and 1917 ICC rosters. I have used the same sources to put the roster into a spread sheet. Send me a floppy and return postage and I'll copy it for you. - The classic steam photographers also covered the steam roster very well. Almost any engine you want to model was photographed. - The railroad was photographed extensively during the 1940-50-60's by deceased bachelor Art Johnson. His brother owns the collection and sometimes lets copies be made. Check with Alan at the Frisco Museum . - The railroad was color slide photographed extensively during the 1960's by Dr. Mike Condren, P.O. Box 12102, Memphis, TN 38112 (901) 276-4667. Mike's slides have been sold, stolen, given improper credit in magazines, etc. Call him to see if he will still sell copies. - Charlie Dischinger also has an extensive slide collection. 3452 S. Parkmont Court, Springfield, MO 65807-3888 (417) 887-0747. - Several of the smaller roads that later merged with the Frisco have also been the subject of books. I think Hoffstetter did one on the QAP. Two I've read are Dew's on the Jonesboro, Lake City & Eastern (NE Arkansas - source of 2-8-0's 76 &77) and Mahlon Weill White's The Leaky Roof about the Kansas City, Clinton & Springfield reprinted in 1970 by The Printery, Clinton, MO Best regards, mike
Re: Frisco Bibliography I hate to be this guy There is also Frisco in Color by Louis A. Marre and Gregory J. Sommers and there was an article...maybe two in Trains magazine around the time of the takeover called 24 hours on the Frisco and/or Sunset on the Frisco our club has a massive collection of old magazines. I will make it my weeks work to see if I can uncoverthe one I referenced Thanks for the list
Re: Frisco Bibliography The Lorenz Frisco steam engine rosters originally appeared in Midwest Railroader Remembers-The Frisco and Steam published in 1982 by the Midwest Railroader Magazine of Shelby, Ohio. The magazine also includes rosters for the Chicago & Eastern Illinois and the Alabama, Tenessee & Northern. I got my copy from the late Lloyd Stagner and based on the numerous notations, I believe it was the source of the rosters published in Stagners's Steam Locomotives of the Frisco. Robert Winn's Railroads of Northwest Arkansas includes some material on the Frisco's Central Division with a special focus on the Winslow, AR area. It was published in 1986 by the Washington County Historical Society of Fayetteville, AR. Winn's book is more recollections than documented history, it has a number of errors, but it fills a need.
Re: Frisco Bibliography There have been a few important additions to the list since it was published. I'd like to add the ones that I know of. HWB mentioned Frisco in Color by Louis A. Marre and Gregory J. Sommers, Morning Sun Books, 1995, 128 pages long, all printed in color, hardbound. It covers mostly diesel locomotives although there are a few pages devoted to steam locomotives, passenger cars, frieight cars, cranes and cabooses. Some of the photographs are color versions of ones found in Frisco Diesel Power. Frisco/Katy Color Guide to Freight Equipment by Nicholas John Molo, Morning Sun Books, 2003, 128 pages all printed in color, with 72 pages devoted to the Frisco, hardbound. As well as freight cars it covers tractors and trailers, maintanence-of-way equipment, cabooses and even tug boats and a barge! Frisco Steam Finale 1946-1952 by Lloyd E. Stagner, South Platte Press, 1995, 48 pages, black and white photographs, softbound. Trackside around St. Louis 1952-1959 with Jim Ozment by James Sandrin, Morning Sun Books, 2000, 128 pages, all in color, hardbound. 14 pages are devoted to the Frisco's operations in the St. Louis area. 2 pages are of stored steam locomotives. Also worth mentioning is another edition of Frisco Power by Joe G. Collias, Frisco Railroad Museum Inc, 1997, 322 pages, hardbound. The "go to" reference for Frisco steam locomotives also has chapters on motorcars, diesels and physical plant. The Frisco Museum edition has a different dust jacket and 18 additional pages of color photographs. Rich Lawler
Re: Frisco Bibliography Thanks for the lists, guys. I have been lucky enough to get a couple for gifts over the years, and recently, actually won bids on e-bay! I posted a notice last night about " Frisco In Color" on e-bay for a bid of $27.. and some change. Maybe still there? Best regards, Dan
Re: Frisco Bibliography Recommended additions from my library include the following: - The Quanah Route, A Texas Short Line Railroad, by Charles C. Britton, published by Joed Books, P.O. Box 1322, Fort Collins, CO 80522, 1990. Softbound, 59 black and white photographs, 5 maps, 100 pages. - Trackside Around Kansas 1960-1975, by Lloyd E. Stagner, published by Morning Sun Books, Inc., 2006. Hardbound with color dust jacket, color photographs, 128 pages. The St. Louis-San Francisco "Frisco" is covered in Chapter 8, pages 113-117. There are 12 photographs and a copy of the front cover of The Frisco's Condensed Schedules Public Timetable dated August 1954. Other chapters include the ATSF, CRIP, CBQ, CGW, KCS, MKT, MoP and UP (don't miss the Frisco power in the photo on page 123). Maps include Kansas Railroads Pre World War II. - Tri-State Traction, The Interurban Trolleys of Southwest Missouri, Southeast Kansas and Northeast Oklahoma, by Robert A. Conrad, published by HeartlandRails Publishing Company, P.O. Box 160, Blue Springs, MO 64013-0160, 2004. Softbound with numerous black and white photographs, maps, 240 pages. Extensive coverage of the Northeast Oklahoma Railroad - The Fishhook Line, that was acquired by the Frisco. Coverage includes equipment rosters, photographs, detailed maps and a great chapter, What's Left - Remnants From a Bygone Era. This section includes photographs, detailed maps and directions for how to get there. - Railroads of Northwest Arkansas, by Robert G.Winn, Wahington County Historical Society, 118 East Dickson Street, Fayetteville, AR 72701, 1986, Second Printing 1990, Fourth Printing 1993. Softbound with 121 black and white photographs, 1 map, 136 pages. Thirty-one chapters include The Frisco Railroad Comes to Northwest Arkansas, Wrecks Along the Frisco, Operation "Big Bore", Two Fayetteville Depots, The St. Paul Branch, Ozark & Cherokee Central and Arkansas & Oklahoma. Also included are chapters on the the Eureka Springs Street Railway, The Missouri and North Arkansas Line and Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Line. - Railroad Stations and Trains through Arkansas and the Southwest, by Clifton E. Hull, Little Rock Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society Arkansas Railroad Club, published by WhiteRiver Publications, Inc., 1997. Hardbound, color dust jacket, with black and white and color (chapter 3 only) photographs and maps, 120 pages. Chapter 5 covers the Frisco with 16 black and white photographs, 2 maps and a copy of a Public Timetable dated October, 1954. Unfortunately, in Chapter 3, Arkansas Railroads in Color, there is only one Frisco photo. It is a colorized postcard view of the Frisco's Fort Smith depot around 1907. Hope this helps. Thanks! Mark
Re: Frisco Bibliography Not to toot my own horn, but you can add a few of my books to the bibliography. The Border Tier Road: history of the former Frisco line from Kansas City to Baxter Springs. It covers from when the founders of Kansas City created the original company, to the KCSF&M era, to Frisco, and to BNSF. Published by South Platte Press. Kansas Train Tales: three Frisco articles; the Andover train robbery; the Kansas Southwestern (founded by Frisco, later owned by SF); and the 1880s Halstead branch. Ghost Railroads of Kansas (2009): includes brief histories of the Frisco and some of the companies that became part of it; also has a KCFS&M photo, and Frisco photos from Augusta and Beaumont. The 1997 edition had some similar information but different photos. The Race to Indian Territory: covers the race between the Katy, the LL&G, and the Border Tier to be the first to the southern border of Kansas in 1869-70. A bit more period material on the Border Tier. Self-published in booklet form; 3 maps, no pix. I hope this helps the effort. Robert Collins
Re: Frisco Bibliography My library is puny but I'll add Night Trains: The Pullman System in the Golden Years of American Rail Travel, by Peter T. Maiken (The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD, 1989) Not only does it give a state-by-state description of which towns and cities and railroads had dedicated Pullman service, but it also includes data in the back summarizing which passenger trains were generally located where at midnight in May, 1952. Not suprisingly, the author's 1989 forward thanks Ken McElreath of the FMIG for contributing to the book. Best Regards,
Re: Frisco Bibliography James R. Fair, Jr.; The North Arkansas Line, Howell-North Books 1969, 1982: Mostly about the Missouri and North Arkansas (not the current one) but with discussion of early Frisco involvement, running over track from Seligman to make Joplin connection. Clifton E. Hull; Shortline Railroads of Arkansas, University of Oklahoma Press, 1966: History and stories about the many short lines in the state, some of which came under Frisco ownership or control.
Re: Frisco Bibliography About every Frisco question that arises here on this chat board can be answered or explained in the books mentioned here. HOWEVER, many of these are out of print and/or are VERY expensive. Likely out of reach of some (Especially younger) rail fans and modelers. I'd like to suggest checking with your local library if you can't find or can't afford a certain RR book. If your library doesn't have the title you're looking for, they can most always order it (for a period of time) for you through the inter-library system. You usually can't borrow the inter-library books as long as the books owned by your library, but you can keep them long enough to take some notes and maybe make some photocopies. The inter-library loan rules probably vary from town to town, but your local library can give you all the details. FYI. Tom
Re: Frisco Bibliography I looked at the website of the internet used book seller "Alibris" and here are the prices of some of the Frisco books currently (10-5-09): --Frisco Power................................................$93.00 --Frisco Diesel Power.......................................$72.00 --Frisco In Color..............................................$78.61 --Frisco/Katy Color Guide To Freight Equipment.$74.73 --Steam Locomotives Of The Frisco Line............$24.77 * --Frisco Steam Finale......................................$60.00 * Better grab this one! (Edit) Some of these titles are cheaper on the "ABE Books" website (Similar book seller to Alibris). Tom
Re: Frisco Bibliography The second edition of Frisco Power is still relatively readily available. According to Rick McClellan, (I believe I remember correctly) the publisher has plenty in shrink wrap setting in his basement, and will sell them for the original release price but would consider taking the exhorbitant $93.00 that is listed on Alibris!
Re: Frisco Bibliography Another great reference is Edmund Keilty's "INTERURBANS WITHOUT WIRES" about the self-propelled motor cars. Just inside the front cover is a fantastic two-page photo of SL-SF 2133 (big Brill) and RPO trailer. Yet another is Marvin Clemons & Lyle Key's "BIRMINGHAM RAILS THE LAST GOLDEN ERA". One or both authors are frisco.org members.
Re: Frisco Bibliography Charlie, For some reason I can´t view the entire book list you have compiled on my computer. Did you list these titles? A History of the Texas Railroads, S.G. Reed, St. Clair Pub. Co., Houston, TX, 1941. The Came the Railroads, the Century from Steam to Diesel in the Southwest, Ira. G. Clark, OU Press, Norman, OK, 1958. Mike, Great Idea! More books on the Frisco, the subsidiaries and related roads out there than I knew about! Joe Toth
