I have always been fascinated with railroads in Southeast Missouri. As a kid, I noticed an old railroad bed along Highway 25 on long rides home from Cape Girardeau. I often wondered if this was actually a former railroad bed, or just my imagination. Within the last year, I was able to track down articles informing me that this was actually the Frisco Line between Delta, MO and Poplar Bluff, MO (to Hoxie, AR). Apparently, this was the Nash Subdivision. After finding this, I was able to find find several other abandoned railroads. One line I found was a Frisco route that ran through Parma, MO. This was very interesting to me as both sides of my family come from Parma. As a runner, I have a huge interest in developing rails-to-trails. I would definitely like to find more information on both the Frisco, and other local abandoned rails in my area. Looking forward to finding information on this site.
Zach - Welcome to the group! As you can see on the attachment, back in the day (early 'teens) Frisco rails ran all over SE Missouri and NE Arkansas. There are several people in frisco.org who can supply information to you. Ken
Welcome aboard! I've seen that same roadbed every weekend when I was younger going to and from my grandparents house.
Welcome aboard, Zachhedrick. I, too appreciate rails-to-trails as a bicycle rider. It can be a sensitive subject, as you might expect with this audience. Overall, however, I have found Frisco.org to be very civil and open-minded. An account of a run (or a ride) along ex-Frisco right-of-way would be an enjoyable read. George
Welcome, Zach, from a native of SE Missouri. As a kid, I used to get very excited to see the old, ghostly crossbuck along Hwy. 25 by the John Deere dealer just outside of Advance and the blind station signs in Arbor and Idlewild. Hope that you find good, interesting information on the site. Best Regards,
The book about Louis Houck would be a good place to start your exploration of SEMO railroads. http://www.amazon.com/Missouri-Rail...9&sr=8-1&keywords=a+missouri+railroad+pioneer The line that you describe is the Hoxie Subdivision, and the thread below shows some trackmen working near Advance during the winter of 62-63 http://www.frisco.org/vb/showthread.php?339-Hoxie-Sub-Trackmen&highlight=trackmen
I don't think I'd noticed it before in this photo, but for anyone modeling a branch line or lightly-travelled subdivision, the lack of uniformity in tie length sure makes a good case for handlaying track. Best Regards,
Welcome Zach! You will find several of the members here live in the Southeast Missouri area. You are not alone LOL!
Thank you everyone for the warm welcome! @Ken, your map is great, thanks! Do you have any other maps with a closer view of the old Frisco line that ran from Bloomfield, MO, down through Aid, Dudley and finally ended in Campbell? Would love to see one. Thanks again!
Zach - Seems like my uncle once mentioned, prior to his retirement from Little River Drainage District, that they may have had some old, old maps of the entire district that showed various rail lines. If some of the other SE Missouri mavens had given the heads-up on this site via the Mo. Secretary of State's office, I'd not seen it before. Looks like lots of great, old pictures and maybe there'll be some maps in there somewhere? I'm going to have to give it a good search. http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/mdh_splash/default.asp?coll=lilrivdd Best Regards,
Zach - I doubt if I have any older, or better, maps than the one I posted (which is an old xerox copy). But, I'll look. I just searched the 1904 Frisco annual report, which I believe is on frisco.org somewhere, but alas, no map. Ken
