Hello from Kansas City

Hello. I am a native of the Kansas City area. I literally need to finish getting ready for work and go, but I guess I'll spare a few minutes.

I might speak more about my childhood later, but now's not the time. I attended a six week Fast Track NARS conductor quick course in 2010, which of course has classroom coursework in the same building as the BNSF technical training center on the Johnson County Community College campus in Overland Park campus, but has a week and a half of hands on training at "Chigger Yard" in Lenexa, a short distance from Charlie on the Ft. Scott sub. In fact, we once killed some time by loading up into a single GP-?? engine and going as far as Santa Fe Trail Drive, and us students got to have a look at the south end of Pittsburg Pass and CP Charlie for ourselves. Another time, we paused our activities in chigger yard to watch the 4701 road switcher come in and spot a box car to one of the industries by the yard.

Unfortunately, it took me until the close of 2011 to be hired by BNSF. Springfield hired me, but then they cancelled the class. I was given the option to go somewhere else to start instead, and I chose a former CB&Q terminal. Sorry, I'm not sure how open I want to be about things that could be used to identify me. But one of our away from home terminals was former Frisco, and when I couldn't hold the CB&Q terminal that first year after I got out of new hire class, I became an extra board switchman on the former Frisco at what had previously been an away from home terminal for me. I'm sorry to say, switchman extra board money on the step rate on the former Frisco is not great, but I digress. In 2013 I was able to come back to Kansas City, and conduct south on the Ft. Scott subdivision. In 2014 I went through locomotive engineer training, mainly on former ATSF territory, but I did make a few training trips on the Ft. Scott sub as well, and I have engineer seniority on parts of the former ATSF, former CB&Q, and former SL&SF. But I mainly run on the former Frisco.

My reason for being here is because I'm just curious about old lines, whether they were actual mainlines or just old industry leads, and whether they are completely demolished, or have been sold off to shortlines. I'm hoping to find old photos and old maps.

I've already spent too much time typing this. I need to finish getting ready for work and go. I don't think I'll check this while I'm in the hotel, but I'll be back on Tuesday.

 

Welcome to the Frisco website, Jonathan!!!

Feel free to ask questions. There are several members that can help you get started.

Do you have a layout and if so what scale?

Joe

 

I'm not a model railroader. I'm an apartment dweller, and I have neither the time, space, or inclination to get into that. But there have been different times when in an idle moment with an internet connection I have google searched for information about old lines that I had become curious about based on either seeing the remains of track still on the ground branching off of current in use track, or have heard Oldheads mention them, etc. And some of those Google searches have led here. So I imagine I'll just hang around the top section of forums concerned with history, mainly.

I think it's a little interesting, but also a little bit funny, that BNSF has some engineering track charts for some old lines on their website inside the employee login wall. Some old lines, I should say, not all. Not by a long shot. Lines completely abandoned before 1950 have no chance of being included. But there can be a track chart for Example Branch Line ABC MP 0.0 to MP 60.5. But then the cover page of the the track chart will go on to have lines saying MP 50.0 to MP 60.5 abandoned 1965. MP 35.0 to MP 50.0 abandoned 1983. MP 2.0 to MP 35.0 leased to XYZ Shortline in 1997. So basically all that's left for BNSF use now is the wye junction with the BNSF mainline still in use at the branch line's MP 0.0, and maybe some storage track space. But I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing things from inside login-required sections of BNSF's website. Anyway, being TY&E myself, I can't really visualize track that I've never seen before by looking at the engineering track charts. Usually. Some pages can read more like a normal map, particularly pages for industry track. And I've worked with some guys that were former maintenance of way workers before transferring to Trainmen, Yardmen, and Engineers who can read to me all kinds of information about main lines and sidings off of those charts that I would miss. But I think what I'll be looking for here is old maps and photos, particularly where it's easy to see how the historic photos or maps relate to what exists now.

A further aside, when I hired out in 2012, the Springfield Division timetable at the time still had the Lead Line subdivision in it, with all the stations, permanent speed restrictions, etc. in it. But then it said somewhere that that entire subdivision was out of service past about a half mile away from the Cuba sub junction. The next revision of the Springfield timetable did remove it.