In researching for details for passenger traffic, I came across this document. Note the Frisco passengers disembarking for Fort Crowder. I apologize if it's too trivial for posting here, but I thought it might be of interest to modelers of the Ft Smith sub or historians of the same. Sincerely, Craig
What I found interesting is that they got off at Seligman; Camp Crowder is/was just south of Neosho on the KCS. Seligman must be 30 miles from there and I don't imagine the roads were very good back then. (there's no direct route even now). Why not take Frisco to Neosho and bus/truck/cattle car down? Rick Morgan (who's not considering conversion to Budhism, BTW)
Re: Why Seligman? Rick, I found that an interesting disembarking point too. It may be possible they took the Missouri and Arkansas from there. The M&A ran a passenger train northward from Seligman MO sharing the Frisco tracks until they reached Wayne MO, (before you get to Exeter MO). The M&A continued on until it reached Neosho MO where it connected to the KCS. Admittedly, this route would also seem somewhat convoluted. There's a 1945 TT on the inside cover of "The North Arkansas Line". Craig
Old thread, I know. Just saw this from a local history blog re: Seligman. " "They (M&A) ran a passenger and mail unit on what we called the Puddle jumper [the gas/electric motorcar] that stopped at Seligman. Soldiers from Camp Crowder in Neosho would ride down to Eureka and come back during the weekends and they ate with us too [at Seligman's Illinois Cafe]. Oh so many memories of Seligman. Our move to Seligman from Chicago Illinois was quite a shock in 1938." Evelyn Miller The Illinois Cafe served both railroads.
It really doesn't make much sense for a train (or several cars) from New Jersey to go down the Fort Smith Sub when they could have gone on to Neosho and hiked to the camp. Somebody in St. Louis wanted to get those cars out of town to make way for other traffic or the trains to Tulsa were already too loaded? Other soldiers on the car(s?) were going to Fort Chafee at Fort Smith? Anyway, I'll bet they were ready for some good Ozark cookin' by the time they got to Seligman.
It seems this was one reason... "Soldiers from Camp Crowder in Neosho would ride down to Eureka [on the M&A, ed.] and come back during the weekends and they ate with us too [at Seligman's Illinois Cafe]". Evelyn Miller. [Evelyn Miller's family owned and operated the Illinois Cafe.]