This exhibit is in the University of Missouri - St. Louis John W. Barriger III Railroad Library in the Mercantile Library on the campus. It runs from March 7 through September 20. My wife and I visited it today. It was very well done and in impressive surroundings. It contrasts western development prior to the Mexican War of 1846 with the efforts to integrate the newly-annexed territories. Better transportation as only railroads could provide was necessary to develop and hold onto the territories. The coming of the Civil War removed dissent about the route to take. Competing transcontinentals promoted the West to raise revenues. The result is the development of the Western United States and railroads went hand in hand. Frisco gets little direction mention, alas. The ascendency of Chicago over St. Louis resulting from mode preference of rail over water navigation did spur leaders in St. Louis to "look to the west and southwest for commercial opportunities." There is a concurrent exhibit celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Barriger library. Among the awe-inspiring artifacts are Howard Fogg paintings noted as "original" and Otto Kuhler lithographs personally dedicated to Mr. Barriger. There are also several cases of HO scale models from the 1960's to the 1990's lettered for all railroads that entered St. Louis. E-8 2016 "Citation" is among the Frisco locomotive models. Two SD-45's are there as well as some other models. Most diesels were later models in orange and white and it was such an awesome display I forgot to note whether there were any diesels in black and yellow. There was not much steam for any road, however.
