Moline, Ks.

Does anyone know if Moline, Ks., was ever a part of the Frisco? I have recently obtained a Frisco Switch reflex lantern, [ Handlan ], and the seller said it came from Moline. I believe Santa Fe is what went thru there, maybe this lantern was moved there post take-over? Just wondering.
Dan

 

Both the November 1952 and January 1910 (reprint) Official Guides list only ATSF as the railroad serving Moline, KS. Fredonia to the north, on the other hand, shows both Frisco and ATSF as railroads.

Moline does not appear to be anywhere near a Frisco line.

 

I kinda figured that.Well, it is a Frisco lantern. Maybe post take over, or from the line just north of the Sante Fe line. Either way, its FRISCO!!
Dan

 

It's not from Moline or post merger since Moline is on the South Kansas & Oklahoma and was purchased from the Santa Fe in 1991. Closest Frisco point to Moline would be Severy.

John Chambers

 

Dan and All:

It is correct that the Frisco didn't go through Moline, only the Santa Fe. There is an interesting sidebar to that statement though. The Watco Group, which is a shortline operator, bought up all of the excess RR lines in that area and then turned around and abandoned what they considered redundant lines or pieces of them. They purchased the Frisco line from southwest Missouri to Severy. They turned around and abandoned the part of the line from Fredonia to Severy. They also purchased the Santa Fe lines from Tulsa to north of Chanute and from Chanute to Winfield which runs through both Fredonia and Moline. Both the above referenced Frisco line and the Santa Fe lines crossed and interchanged at Cherryvale and Fredonia. This therefore formed a triangle between Fredonia on the West, Chanute on the North, and Cherryvale on the East. The interchange (what there was of it) between the Santa Fe and the Frisco at Fredonia was from East (Cherryvale) to North (Chanute). Watco built a broad new welded rail connection at Fredonia from the East (Cherryvale) side to the South (Moline) side and then abandoned the line between Fredonia and Chanute. Chanute is handled as a branch from Cherryvale. Watco uses the line which is a combination of the old Frisco Wichita Subdivision (Missouri to Fredonia) and the Santa Fe line (Fredonia to Winfield) as a bridge line to reach the lines they own West of Wichita.

 

A little clarification on what Bob Hoover posted. Watco did not purchase any of the former Frisco Kansas Division line in Missouri. The purchase was from Columbus, KS west to Augusta, KS on Sept. 25, 1996 and was abandoned in two sections. The first from Severy to Augusta and the next from Fredonia to Severy. This purchase was done as the Kansas Eastern Railroad and was not part of the South Kansas and Oklahoma at first. Within a couple of months of this line purchase, the SKOL stopped using the old Santa Fe from Chanute to Fredonia and started running over the KE from Cherryvale to Fredonia. The Chanute to Fredonia former Santa Fe line was dismantled about a year later. The connection that was used in Fredonia until only a couple of years ago was the former Frisco/Santa Fe on the northeast side of the diamond. Using this connection required the SKOL trains to have to go into Fredonia and use a long siding to run around the train. This would block many crossings in town and caused a lot of headaches. When the new connection was built on the southwest side of the diamond all of the former Santa Fe track that went north into town was dismantled along with some of the former Frisco track to the west.

John Chambers
Watco Companies Historian

 

Here's a photo of the lantern. It may be an after market item. I read that during Handlans last few years, they were selling new lanterns on the memorabilia market when the " real " RR market dryed up. No matter, $20 was a great price for me!
Dan