Need a couple Frisco heavyweights?

It looks like a group of people from the Tulsa area are working on saving these cars. This is great news!! See below taken from the Tulsa railroad Yahoo group. Please respect their wishes and not contact any of the companies involved. It's nice to see a local group take this on.

John Chambers


Since the article about the Frisco passenger cars in Jenks appeared in the Tulsa World last Monday, Mike Massey and I, along with other individuals, organizations and businesses have been working to find a solution that would allow us to save the cars from destruction.

Although we were being very cautious with our contacts, this morning our efforts were leaked to The News On 6. Mike and I were interviewed by Chris Howell, video journalist, for a piece that aired during the 6pm broadcast. The complete video is available on their website.

We are looking at several locations in the 41st & Union/Elwood area. Current scenario has a local mobile crane company (we are currently in discussions with Belger Cartage and Taylor Crane & Rigging) picking each car up and placing it on a heavy-haul semi for transport to a new location for near-term storage and future restoration.

Mike Massey is Project Manager of Restorations for the Route 66 Station Village. (this is where Frisco 4500 is going) We have had some discussions on purposes for the cars once they are restored, but restoration will wait until the Village is established to their current plan.

Please know that we have some very motivated and talented folks working on this effort. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT any of the parties involved in this process, we are ALL involved in cooperative discussions to preserve the cars. We DO NOT need any pressure applied to anyone involved.

Now that our efforts are out in the open, I will provide updates as I have new information.

Thanks for your interest,
Carl Schorfheide

 

John,

Excellent news! Glad to hear that the cars are going to be restored and glad to hear that there are experts with resources in charge of the project.

 

John and All:

I concur with Rick that this is indeed excellent news and shows a lot of dedication and effort from some of the local people around the Tulsa area. By the descriptions given of the cars and their current condition, the less distance they can be moved gives them the best chance of survival. I'm sure the group will keep us updated on their progress.

 

John,

If there is a good way to extend our gratitude to those moving and restoring these cars, would you represent this group in such message?

Thanks in advance for your help.​

 

Rick,

I am a member of the Yahoo Tulsa group and will respond to Carl thanking him for his efforts on behalf of Frisco.org.

John Chambers

 

John,

If there is a way for the |-|Frisco Nation|-| to donate to the moving and restoration of these cars, would you let us know who/where to send our donations to? That is probably the very best way we can help the professionals do this work.

Thanks.

 

I am ready to help. While I do not want to put up the money could help with some of it. In time there could be a fundraiser.
The price to move them may not be too bad. A caboose company wants $4 a mile to move their cars. I would think there would be a charge to pick up and lower them.
I wish them luck, saving the cars is the first not the largest part of saving them. Of course it depends on what you want to do with them. Having the cars sit around is one thing, getting them roadworthy is another. The transportation department has lots of regulations about such thing on top of what the rail road require.
Good Luck guys! I am rooting for you!

kind regards

Ranma

 

I wonder if anyone has an update on the project? Am going to be in that part of the town this afternoon and will take a look. Not too long of a look, it will be 105 today, though a spring day in Baghdad

 

The Arkansas-Boston Mountains Chapter was involved in the cosmetic restoration of an ex-IGN/MP/UP baggage car acquired by the Arkansas & Missouri RR in 1990. The project was really interesting and involved work in heat and cold. Unfortunately the Arkansas & Missouri RR was sold to a new investor in 2002. With the change of ownership came a change in priorities and the baggage car dropped off the railroad's priority list. We did a tremendous amount of work (225 hours) and learned a lot about baggage car construction. We still have a set of builders photos.
One observation is that car restoration is filled with the unknown. If the Frisco car are worth saving I think Mike Massey and his crew of Tulsa based volunteers have the set of skills.Their work on Frisco 4500 speaks volumes as to their hard work and dedication.