Kansas City Terminal Division, Kansas City Subdivision, Rosedale, KS, MP 3.9 -Yard Improvements 1954

Between 1947 and 1954 the Frisco spent heavily to modernized the railroad. It spent $94,080,051 on diesel locomotives, freight cars, and on 38 lightweight passenger cars. It also spent $31,900,461 on “Road Expenditures”, which included nearly everything else. Betterments included CTC, communication systems, new rail & OTM, yards and yard facilities.

By 1954 nearly $885,956 had been spent on Kansas City’s 19th Street Yard and the Kansas-side, Rosedale Yard. During the fall and early winter evidence of this spending was realized with the construction of the Rosedale Yard office and the Rosedale RIP Shed.

My father fresh from Korea, was a young Junior Engineer who helped with these modernizations. His photographs taken during the fall and winter of 1954 show the construction of the Rip Shed and the newly built yard office. He also took a few action shots.

We see train 117 heading south. If you look closely, you can see that the second car is either number SLSF 82 or 83, the Baggage-RPO-Chair, that was built for the Firefly. In the background, and above the last car, the large grain elevator at 7th St and Southwest Blvd is visible.

He also caught an in-bound MKT passenger train in the charge of two PA-1’s. A KCS sleeper brings up the rear. There is also a shot of a freight that is ready to head south. Note the steam-generator equipped GP-7 behind the lead F-unit. The trailing unit might be an Alco unit. I didn’t realize that they were mixing Geeps and covered wagons this early.

There are still a number of boxcar bunk cars in use, but an old 12-1 Pullman, SLSF 105360, can be seen. The 105360 began life in January 1916 as Buxar. The Plan 2410E, Lot 4354 , 12-1 sleeper was leased to Pullman by the Frisco, 12/48. It was withdrawn from lease, 2/53, and assigned to work service. It must have provided for better accommodations than did the old boxes.

Cars were MOW Gray with a black roof and under frame. In the string of box car bunks there is a flat with an old tender body on it. In the upper left background of this photo, the newly-built yard office is visible.

 

The crane car at the Fort Smith trolley shed was used in the Rosedale improvements. At the shed is Frisco steam locomotive SLSF 4003. They also have some old Fairmount speeder.|