Very nice! Now you are hitting close to the heart of my layout. Mr. Moss was a friend of Louis Houck and across the tracks from the Zalma depot was a Moss Lumber office. I saw it in an old photograph and the original Moss building was moved and still stands in Zalma. It is in very poor condition. Mr. Moss died very young and unexpectedly. I will model this Moss Lumber store soon for my layout. I will also use a Jordan Products steam shovel mounted on a swamp skiff for a diversion channel scene. The diversion channel ended at Greenbrier, MO by the way. How handy for me! Thanks for the write up!
T. J. Moss Tie Co. The mention of the T. J. Moss Tie Company reminded me of a book that has come down through my family, Handbook of the Trees of the Northern States and Canada by Romeyn Beck Hough. An inspection of its cover shows the logo of the Moss Tie Co. in the center and my grandfather's name, F. J. Lawler, in the lower right-hand corner. My grandfather worked for the Frisco from 1894 to 1946, and retired as a traffic manager, though I am not sure what kind of job that was. His connection with the Moss Tie Co. is unknown. The book is unusual in that in addition to the main portion devoted to identifying trees, there is an unnumbered appendix which explained the process of how ties were manufactured from choosing the trees to delivery to the railroads. I have included a sample of these pages. The book has a copyright date of 1907, but the section on ties mentions statistics from 1922, so I assume that this third edition was published soon after that. The Moss Tie Co. seemed like a big operation by then as it mentioned tie treatment plants in Granville, Wisconsin, Mount Vernon, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois with headquarters in St. Louis. Rich
Clicking around some of these below links, one can search within those and find more links, Ozark videos, books in local libraries, where to find on-topic books by inserting your zip code, logging the Ozarks, Louis Houck and a lot more. Louis Houck: He is often called the "Father of Southeast Missouri" because he brought the railroad to the region. https://www.ebay.com/p/240514329?norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-153677-346401-4&mkcid=2&keyword=&crlp=311518102075_&MT_ID=&geo_id=&rlsatarget=dsa-489447202031&adpos=&device=c&mktype=&loc=9018763&poi=&abcId=&cmpgn=1615587334&sitelnk=&adgroupid=62322116576&network=s&matchtype=b&gclid=CjwKCAjwos-HBhB3EiwAe4xM97zHfTQaXsPIjgFls92JCV2qO-Q7vIHQKblrOvK0YBHN_Lx79pdq6BoCSxkQAvD_BwE Below are more links about Louis Houck. https://www.worldcat.org/title/grandin-the-big-mill-tall-timber-stamp-of-character-from-trees-to-tracks-forests-for-the-future/oclc/123761647 http://www.worldcat.org/identities/nc-t j moss tie company/ In the late 1800s, the Ozarks were home to the largest sawmill in the nation. This story shows the people who worked there, how they lived, and what they left behind. Produced by Missouri Department of Conservation, 1991. https://www.worldcat.org/title/scen...-project/oclc/882397141&referer=brief_results Scenes from 1920s film: Shannon County Film Digitization Project. Author: Robert Moore; Shannon County Film Digitization Project. Publisher: Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, 2007. Edition/Format: eVideo. Clipart/images/graphics: State or province government publication: English Summary: Scenes excerpted from Stamp of Character, a film commissioned in the 1920s by the T. J. Moss Tie Company, St. Louis, MO. Shows the Missouri forests and rivers as they appeared nearly 100 years ago. The original silent film was shown in movie theaters as an advertisement for the company. Moss Tie began operation in 1879, and was one of the nation's largest railroad tie companies. This segment shows the manual techniques of felling trees and splitting logs used in those days, and the use of mules and the river to move the logs and ties. Find a copy in the library. https://digitalcollections.missouristate.edu/digital/collection/SCF/search Other subject links. T.J. Moss Tie Company. Stamp of character (Motion picture) Shannon County : home (Motion picture) Also In the late 1800s, the Ozarks were home to the largest sawmill in the nation. This story shows the people who worked there, how they lived, and what they left behind. Produced by Missouri Department of Conservation, 1991. More link to about Louis Houck. www.sos.mo.gov/archives/presentations/ap_transcripts/morrpnr Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck Video Transcript www.sos.mo.gov/archives/presentations/default/morrpnr Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck Houck is also considered the "Father of Southeast Missouri". www.amazon.com/Missouri-Railroad-Pioneer-Louis-Biography/dp/0826221416 A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck (Volume 1 ... Louis Houck (1840-1925) academic.oup.com/jah/article-pdf/48/1/133/2289403/48-1-133.pdf Louis Houck: Missouri Historian and Entrepreneur. By William T. Doherty, Jr., University of Missouri Studies, Volume XXXIII, Columbia. Uni-.thelibrary.org/blogs/article.cfm?aid=944 Louis Houck - Springfield-Greene County Library, February 13, 2011. A Missouri railroad pioneer; the life of Louis Houck by Joel P. Rhodes describes Louis Houck as "a self-taught Cape Girardeau railroader". www.thriftbooks.com/a/louis-houck/1576350 Louis Houck Books | List of books by author Louis Houck - Thriftbooks Looking for books by Louis Houck? See all books authored by Louis Houck, including Memorial Sketches of Pioneers and Early Residents of Southeast Missouri. Episode 46: Louis Houck and "the Histories" – Joel P. Rhodes. A Missouri Railroad Pioneer, and offers a historiographical perspective on Louis Houck's writings on. Southeast Faculty Member Pens Book on Life of Louis Houck, January 1, 1990. Joel Rhodes is the author of a book, A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck. CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO, May 6, 2008 — A Southeast. www.capecentralhigh.com/tag/louis-houck Louis Houck Archives - Cape Girardeau History and Photographs It is been said that he was a conductor murdered by a vengeful engineer who asked him to inspect underneath the train and then started it up. One source even.
He is my hero. I had to drive from Cape Girardeau to Puxico, MO every day this week to cover for a therapist who is on vacation. I see the old roadbed and remaining ancient bridge timbers all along the way. You have to know where to look but I know where to look. It is like seeing a ghost. I love it.
Try some of the above links. More links about Louis Houck in the my post in this discussion. It looks like there is a lot yet to be found out about these early railroads that led to SLSF. I am sure there are ways to find these ghost railbeds. Maybe find some treasures like spikes, switch mechanisms, wheels, part of signals, iron tools, handle bars, etc.
Speaking of which, here is a piece of Castor River trestle hardware and a fish plate from the old Zalma Branch. I love exploring the old roadbed. The line was abandoned and pulled up by 1934 or 1935. I found the fish plate in the old Lauderdale Cut about 1 mile west of Greenbrier, MO. The Castor River bridge was about 2 or so miles east of Zalma, MO. Easiest reached by canoe.
