Memphis Road Diaspora

The digital Frisco Employee magazines never disappoints, and they always seem to provide a new item of interest about our beloved railroad. They are decidedly employee-centric, and they highlight railroaders as they perform their daily duties. None the less, it is still possible to glean operational, equipment, and technical information from their pages.

Generally, each monthly issue contains a section dedicated to Meritorious Service, and employees are recognized for performing “above and beyond” the call of duty. Most Merits seem to be awarded to station agents, who spot faulty equipment, e.g., a broken flange, a dropped brake beam, a hot box, etc. (Station Agents were indeed the Hotbox Detectors of that era.) In many cases, the car ownership and number are given in the FEM news item.

While searching for information about the operation of locomotive boosters in the November 1930 issue, I noticed this item about H. O. Proffer, agent at Broseley, MO, Piggot Branch, who detected a car with a load problem of an unspecified nature. Mr. Proffer flagged the train, and he assisted with correcting the situation. The car did not have to be set-out which permitted the car to continue with only a minimal delay. For this, he received 5 Merits.

[FONT=helvetica, arial]There is nothing special about this incident per se, since similar circumstances occurred frequently. However, the car involved in this situation was eye-catching. Nearly 30 years after the K-CFtS&M-merger, Memphis Road car 78813 was still in service. Granted the car was built after the merger, but it still carried the reporting marks of the K-CFtS&M. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Number 78813 was a GS-type, 40-ton gon, and part of a 400-car order built during 1905. [/FONT][FONT=helvetica, arial]Having noted the novelty of the of that circumstance, we note the similarities today, as it is still possible today to catch a freight car with SL-SF reporting marks. [/FONT]