http://frisco.org/mainline/2016/03/26/2-6-2-351/#comment-1636 Recently The Frisco Archive posted an image of 2-6-0, 351, in the dead line at Chaffee, MO. Terry Jankowski remarked in the comments: “..In researching this type in Collias’ Frisco Power, I found that the Mogul class had the least(sic) photographs (3) and text (1 page) of all the engines in his book which makes this picture (not included in the book) a great addition to the Frisco Archives…” Terry has a very good point. At one time I had started a brief article to mark this group of Frisco steam locomotives. Unfortunately, I placed the work aside, and did not finish it. It is a shame that these locomotives have been given short shrift in the hobby media, but it is easy to empathize with the authors. The Frisco cumulative roster of 2-6-0’s totaled 84 locomotives; however, many of the Moguls were retired by the mid-teens, so it’s easy to see why there is a paucity of photographs. Most of the survivors from the mid-teens “mass extinction” were in the deadlines by the 1930’s. The last of the Moguls came from the JLC&E, and these disappeared from the roster during 1945. I have produced a histogram, which details the service career of each Mogul. When a retirement date was unavailable, I used ETT’s to approximate a retirement date. These are marked with question marks in the bar. The histogram shows that for the most part, the Moguls were long-lived, and they served for 20-30 years; in a few cases they served 35 years. The Frisco certainly received full economic worth from this group of engines. It is interesting to note that Memphis Road eschewed Moguls, so the roster was filled with Frisco engines and locomotives from other acquisitions. It should also be noted that the histogram uses the build date for the locomotive, and not the acquisition date.
Thanks for this post, Karl. I love the early years of the Frisco, especially during the construction years of the Central Division from Monett to Hugo, the mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma in particular. Here's a picture of the second order (#307-#316) of Moguls that was photographed at Talihina, I.T. (Indian Territory, later to become Oklahoma). This would have been sometime in 1887 or so, during the construction of the south line from Fort Smith, AR, to Paris, TX. Love this picture!
I seem to remember having issued an issue of The FMIG Newsletter that featured Mogals. I was unable to find any matching models back then, but that has changed. Thanks Karl.
Wow, Karl. For those of us who are more visually inclined, this is very good to have. This very graphically displays the "mini-purge" of Moguls 1906-1910, and a great purge c. 1915. It's almost like looking at fossil records where a fossil of a particular critter suddenly and precipitously disappears. Not quickly enough, though, to prevent Chaffee from utilizing them as their yearbook name for upwards of a century, as Tim Cannon has noted: http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/chaffee-high-school-yearbook-the-mogul.14/#post-94 You are correct, sir. Newsletter #21, which includes: Roster Data (pp. 23-26) Various Photos (pp. 26-27) Excerpts from the 1912 Frisco loco diagram book provided by Ed Heiss (pp. 27-30) Info on HO-Scale Models available (pp. 30-31). Best Regards,