Wow! Nice shots. I surprised she survived this long. Usually the railroad bean counting tax men would of had that pit emptied by now. Does anyone know if there are detailed drawings of Frisco turntables on the board? I'm thinking styrene which I just discovered. Hehehehehehe....(evil laugh)
I bought some Micro Engineering through girders and modified them to use on the turntable I built for Newburg.
Is that at the yard that is over across the river near 11th Street? If so, I've worked that yard several times on loan-outs. Didn't even know it was out in the bushes somewhere! Andre
So do any tracks still lead up to the turntable or dose it just sit there? When Frisco built it was there a roundhouse with the table or was it just the table? Ship it on the Frisco! Murphy Jenkins
You can see the foundations for the roundhouse on Google Earth around part of the turntable. There are no connecting tracks to the turntable now.
Here are a couple of shots of the foundation. They are kind of close but show the steel supports for the rail to be suspended over the inspection pits I think.
The turntable was given to the Oklahoma Railway Museum (ORM) but they do not have a place to put it yet so it remains in it's original location. The old Frisco yard is now used by the Stillwater Central (SLWC) Railroad, a Watco short line. It is still owned by the BNSF but leased to the SLWC along with the rest of the old Frisco tracks in OKC proper. From about Midwest City to Sapulpa the track is owned by the state of Oklahoma and the SLWC is the designated operator. From Wheatland southwest to Long the track is owned by the SLWC. Track between Midwest City and Wheatland is leased by the SLWC from the BNSF. John Chambers Watco Companies
Cool. Glad to know the turntable was given to a museum and is not in danger of being lost. It will be cool to someday see the ORM's fake Frisco F-unit on a real Frisco table. To bad the roundhouse didn't survive as well, although I can't think of a modern use for it. Ship it on the Frisco! Murphy Jenkins
Thank you for posting these photographs. My Grandfather doubtless made many a turn on this turntable. I last saw the yard in about 1958. My Grandfather warned me that if he ever caught me at the roundhouse, looking for a job, he would whip my rear all the way home. I only found the remains of the yard on Google Maps about a year ago, I had forgotten just where it was. I have very little that was my Grandfather's, but that includes his 25 and 30 year pins in the BLF&E and his Hamilton Railway special pocket watch. Thanks again for posting the photos, I have copied them and will print them as well.
Does anyone have any Oklahoma City Yard layouts/maps/Sanborn maps showing the roundhouse and turntable? Went through all 4-5 pages here and only saw the photographs of the turntable as it exists now. Thanks in advance!
There appear to be some available from several major city libraries, but must have a library card to access online. State historical society indicates it may have some also. I found only one OKC Sanborn map online. http://www.dougloudenback.com/downtown/maps/okcsanborn1904.pdf. Interesting that it shows the Frisco turntable but not the roundhouse. C. O. & G. roundhouse shown, but not its turntable or lead tracks.
Yeah I found that one too. It has been nigh impossible to find any old photographs or maps of the Frisco yard. From the time BN took it over until now they have made several changes to it.
I can't recall ever seeing photographs or a track schematic here or otherwise. While it might take some searching, some of the old Frisco Employee Magazines available through the Springfield-Greene County Library might have a photo. I know I've seen large photograph spreads in the 1920s for the "new" Yale Yard in Memphis, and yard facilities in Birmingham, AL. Best Regards,
