Hello everybody! My name is Bill and, save for my time at the University of Oklahoma, I've been an Oklahoma City resident my entire life. I grew up with a Rock Island local branch line running through the neighborhood and the passing trains were visible behind house at the end of my street. Pretty sure my first memories of the Frisco came from passing over the yard in I-35 or from spotting a mandarin orange Geep while stopped for lunch in Blackwell, OK on our way to Wichita. While my fascination with railroads grew to include the Santa Fe along with the Frisco and the Rock Island, the years I spent storm chasing across Oklahoma and Texas always gave me time to search whatever ghosts of the SLSF might still be around. On top of that, I got to know a retired SLSF Conductor named Lewis Peaden who always had some good stories to tell of his time on the rails. My current interest is on the research end, as I'm trying to help the family of Andrew Harmantas sort out some details on some of his paintings that are currently for sale. Thanks for this wonderful resource and I'm looking forward to soaking it all up!
