Lightweight 6-6-4 Sleeper Car Operations - Kansas City Florida Special - November 1959-April 1960

Discussion in 'Passenger Operations' started by arkrail, Nov 27, 2008.

  1. arkrail

    arkrail Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Frisco operated streamlined 6 section-6 roomette-4 double bedroom (6-6-4) sleeper cars on the Kansas City-Florida Special from mid-November 1959 until about April 1960, a winter season consist expansion that had used heavyweight cars in previous years.

    Since Frisco had no cars of this type, does anyone have any train consists from dispatcher sheets, conductor time books, or Pullman Company assignment sheets which might be used to identify the specific cars which were assigned to this service?

    This was during the time that Frisco seemed to be making a concerted effort to end all heavyweight sleeping car assignments. Heavyweight Frisco cars were available, but the choice was made to instead use lightweight cars obtained from elsewhere or from the Pullman pool.

    Thanks!

    Bill Pollard
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2024
  2. pbender

    pbender Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Just a guess here, but I wouldn't be surprised if the cars came from the Southern Railway.

    They partnered with the Frisco on the Kansas City Florida Special.

    Paul
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2024
  3. arkrail

    arkrail Member Frisco.org Supporter

    That's a good guess, considering the Frisco-Southern partnership with this train.

    However, I cannot find evidence of Southern owning any 6-6-4 sleeper cars. However, I don't have a complete Southern roster.

    Did they own a few cars of this configuration?

    Bill
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2024
  4. TAG1014 (Tom Galbraith RIP 7/15/2020)

    TAG1014 (Tom Galbraith RIP 7/15/2020) Passed Away July 15, 2020 Frisco.org Supporter

    Bill,

    I have Morning Sun's Southern Railway Guide To Freight & Passenger Equipment and there doesn't seem to be any 6-6-4 sleepers in there.

    FYI.

    Tom
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2024
  5. yardmaster

    yardmaster Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    I think Paul's guess is pretty good.

    I'll throw in an an educated guess for the Seaboard Air Line (SAL) Railroad.

    Wanting to think that I'd somewhere read that Jacksonville, FL sleepers were handed off to the SAL?

    I checked Maiken's Night Trains: The Pullman System in the Golden Years of American Rail Travel, to which our own Ken McElreath is listed in the credits! It chronicles Pullman-carrying trains in early 1952. This is off base for the timeframe Bill has listed. However, it only lists Southern Railway sleepers for No 105.

    Maybe others can either validate or debunk the SAL hypothesis.

    Rick McClellan, if you are out there: my kudos to your 'Hawks. There's much sadness in Columbia, MO tonight, but man, what a game!

    Best Regards,
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2024
  6. gbmott

    gbmott Member

    Southern is a good guess, but they owned no 6-6-4s.

    Nor did anyone else operating through Jacksonville. I assume this was a Kansas City-Jacksonville assignment. I'd be more inclined to think they were somehow connected with KC, either from a connection there or coming from the Pullman pool.

    A pure SWAG would be the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad who operated 6-6-4s into KC on both the City of St. Louis and the Portland Rose.

    Also, it's possible that the SLSF leased cars from the Illinois Central (IC) Railroad, who had 6-6-4's, but it is also entirely possible that the Frisco just went to Pullman and got cars from the pool in which case they could have come from anyone.

    Sure wish someone had a couple of consists from this period!

    Gordon
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2024
  7. yardmaster

    yardmaster Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2024
  8. Karl

    Karl 2008 Engineer of the Year Frisco.org Supporter

    During the holiday weekend, I swapped emails with FMIG'er, Curt Ayers, now retired to Thailand.

    Curt grew-up in Holly Springs, MS and he remembers smooth-sided, Pennsy Pullmans on trains No 105/106. Unfortunately, his documentation is in Mississippi. I am away from my documents as well.

    Did the PRR have 6-6-4 cars?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2024
  9. gbmott

    gbmott Member

    Karl,

    To the best of my knowledge, regrettably no.

    Gordon
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 4, 2024

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