4-8-2 SLSF 1501 4-8-2 SLSF 1501 delivered in 1923 at the Choteau Avenue roundhouse. Images and information provided by Don Wirth.
Here are some updated photos of slsf#1501 in Rolla, Mo It is nice that it is covered, but she is in a sad state of repair FM
ahhh, the good ol' 1501 in Schueman Park, Rolla, MO. Twice I was thrown in that pond my my frat "brothers", and one time I chased the 1522 by bicycle from there to Newberg on her last run
Glad to see my old friend SLSF 1501 is under roof, but she looks like me (bald as a cue-ball) without her smokebox bell !!! When I was a student at MSM (1960-1964), the bell was still there. IIRC, somebody got it in the late 1960's. Too bad. Ken |-|
I also notice some scumbag has gotten her classification lights. What a shame, but she does look a whole lot better than she did with the Barnum & Bailey paint job she had for a while.
Don, 1501 when delivered had the smaller diameter smokebox door. When did they put the wider door on? I have noticed some, not all, of the 1500-1514 group got the wider door. If I remember correctly, each of the 1515-1519s were delivered with the wider door, but none of the later 1520-1529s had the wide door, all had the smaller one. What was the reason for the variations and changes in door diameter? I always liked the look of the wider door better. Maybe that is because the first SLSF 1500 I got to "know" was my friend 1501 down at Rolla in 1960. Ken
Don, If I recall, the class lights were stolen even before the bell was. I think the class lights might have been taken off while I was still down there at Missouri School of Mines (MSM) from September 1960-May 1964. That black and silver circus paint job they put on SLSF 1501 was a crime against all of Friscodom! I always thought it was pretty neat when you guys steamed by in SLSF 1522 that you gave the old lady SLSF 1501 a little toot as a salute. Are SLSF 1501's pistons still in SLSF 1522? Ken
I think she got the large door sometime in the 1930s. I would guess the larger door made it easier to get inside the smokebox for light to medium maintenance. Flue removal, etc., required opening the whole thing or removing the whole whole box front. The SLSF 1501's pistons are indeed still in the SLSF 1522. SLSF 1501 made a dandy organ donor to help her sister come back to life. That is one of the reasons I always "whistled signals" at her when I went by. I would like to see the bell and other stuff recovered and permanently attached to make her whole again.
Wow. I thank my lucky stars that I never saw it. And to think that I criticized the Missouri Pacific flying eagle that used to adorn the tender of 4-8-4 SLSF 4516 at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia, MO.
She still looks bald without the class lights and without the bell. I wonder what frat house that bell is in! Ken
Before and after my meetings last Thursday and Friday at Missouri Science and Technology University, and before the Springfield OMRA meet on Saturday, on Friday 4/17/2009, I spent some time in Rolla and Newburg visiting some of my longtime favorite Frisco places. The first was, of course, 4-8-2 SLSF 1501, the second of Frisco's famed Mountain locomotives, which rests on display along the Frisco/BNSF main in the northeast part of Rolla, MO It is in Schuffman Park. As I recall, SLSF 1501 was put on display there in 1956. Even though she is now under roof, is sort of protected, and does receive some care, she is obviously suffering. Her bell and class lights were stolen in the mid-1960s. She has looked bald and forlorn to me ever since. In her full glory, SLSF 1501 was one of the best looking 1500s in my opinion. I always liked the look of the wide smokebox door. Coupled behind her is an old coach, and there is a tool shed there with a nice 1501 logo on it. Following are half of the pictures which will give you a good idea of her condition and show some of the problems. I will post the remaining half in the next posting. Over the next several days, I will also post some more Rolla pictures and my Newburg pictures. Ken
4-8-2 SLSF 1501 - Vandalism timeline. The following two pictures give an indication of the slow, but steady vandalism that 4-8-2 SLSF 1501 on display in Rolla, MO has suffered. The first picture was taken in the fall of 1960 or spring of 1961 while I was a Freshman at Missouri Schools of Mines (MSM) in Rolla. SLSF 1501 had been on display in Shuman (?) Park next to Frisco Pond for about 5-6 years at that time. As you can see, her bell is still there, her class lights are still there, and her headlight is still intact, except for one of the headlight number boards being broken out. The second shot was taken around I guess 1970-1972. You can see the class lights are gone, and the headlight is broken out. The bell is still there. That is my wife Caroline standing in front of SLSF 1501. Later visits, in the early 1980s on trips with Kurt, show SLSF 1501 with her bell missing. I did not bother to take many pictures her then. Ken
Sad to hear and see that. If only all the Frisco locomotives had a museum to live in so they did not 1) get ripped to shreds and 2) get painted to look like a clown.
Ken, It has been rumored that a group of University of Missouri Rolla / Missouri School of Mines (UMR/MSM) students stole the lights and the bell. The word is it was done as a St. Patricks' prank in retaliation for being thrown in the pond. I do not know the whole story, but I do know that they used to have some pretty wild St. Patrick's parties back in the day. George
George, Agree, I have heard the same rumors. As you know, St. Patrick's Day is a very big deal in Rolla. St. Patrick is the patron Saint of all engineers. Some or most of the celebrations often usually get a bit out of hand. My Freshman year, we heard one of the fellows on my floor in the dorm had passed out on the SLSF tracks at the depot. A bunch of us ran down there to rescue him, only to learn that he had indeed passed out on the tracks, but it was on the house track behind the depot. We hauled him back to the dorm and deposited him in the shower and went to bed. The 1501's class lights were gone and the headlight broken out long before the bell was removed. I have pictures that show that. I am proud of one thing. The desecration of my good friend 4-8-2 SLSF 1501 did not occur during my time at MSM, years 1960-1964. Blame it on the later classes! Ken
Hey Ken, I spent time at UMR from 1974-1977, and again from 1988-1991 to finish up on my degree. I heard that the bell was stolen in 1969 after the MSM merged into the university system and became UMR. And yes, I can attest to the St. Patrick's parties getting a bit "out of hand". My uncle worked as a firemen on the Rolla Fire Department during the late 1960s and 1970s. He told me that they had to turn the fire hoses on some "rowdy" students during Gonzo because they got out of control. George
George, Thanks. 1969 sounds about right for when 4-8-2 SLSF 1501's bell was stolen. That timing fits my pictures. The class lights went earlier. For the record, Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (MSM) became University of Missouri - Rolla (UMR) in the summer of 1964. I graduated in May, 1964, and was in the last class to graduate from MSM. The summer, 1964 class was the first to graduate from UMR. And now, of course, it is Missouri University of Science & Technology (MoS&T). Names, names, names! Ken
Ken, Thanks for these pictures, especially the detailed close-ups. They are very helpful as I try to get my steam fleet detailed "good enough". Best Regards,
