Hello all, I live in Salem, Missouri and have had an interest in the old railways in Dent County for sometime. I am a rockhound which has taken me to several of the old iron mines in Dent and the surrounding counties. I have traveled the railway from Salem to the Riverside Mine to the SE. My main goal in joining this group is to get any information available about the old railways in Dent County. I have time in the winter to explore and would love to find some good maps to take me on my ventures. Winter is the best time to find these old beds. I look forward to sharing any of the information I have learned and thanks for letting me join the group.
Thanks for joining, Jason, and welcome - lot of information here that, with a little e-digging, might pique your interest. My own personal experiences in and around Salem are limited to stops to fuel up on our way to/from a float trip, but I suspect there are several folks here who can provide you insight and direction on any questions you might have. Best Regards,
Hi and welcome! Don't know how far east your interest extends, but I find the "Lead Belt" railroading south/southwest of St. Louis to be quite interesting and wouldn't mind learning more about the area, especially during the Lead Belt's early years of railroading.
"My main goal in joining this group is to get any information available about the old railways in Dent County. " You may find this thread interesting: http://www.frisco.org/vb/showthread.php?899-Salem-Branch-Rolla-Lebanon-Sub&highlight=sligo Also, if you pop "Sligo" into the search box, you'll find many posts on the Sligo & Eastern. Rich
In the mid 70's, I spent quite some time on the lead line and Salem Branch. I ran several different machines, Gradall, Burro Crane and a American Crane. Mostly cleaning cuts and opening water pockets. Some time on bridges and removing concrete ties. We went through installing wood ties every fifth, to hold gage and then the tie gang replaced all the other tie's. The concrete ties most all went bad, around the same time, because they was all installed about the same time. A good friend of mine, told me of the building of the lead line, it was built by contractors, unfortunately the railroad was in such a hurry, that the line was not compacted as much as it should have been. Water pockets formed under the track and soft spots developed. Lots of clay in the subgrade, which holds water. Overall, its a beautiful area. My mothers family had a farm in the area and I still have some family around Salem. Their farm was in Edgar Springs. Great modeling area. Bill Jackson
Hello Jason, I was raised in the sprawling metropolis of Wesco, at least one or two water stops north of Salem. My Grandpa worked on the track gang, and met my grandmother in the Howes/Bangert area while he was working on the Branch. My wife is a Dent County girl, having been raised in Anutt, and graduating from Salem H.S., class of '99. Glad you've joined. Pat Moreland, Union Mo.
Rich aka "Pensive": Thanks much for that link! The St. Louis, Salem & Little Rock line from Cuba/Lead Jct/Salem looks VERY interesting! Started construction in 1873! Funnel n' diamond stacked locomotives, likely wood burners! I may have to do some research on this one! Any known early era photographs of this region? Thanks again!
Andre, you're welcome. I haven't come across any photos of locomotives from the the era that you're interested in, but here's one of Sligo & Eastern #7, a Shay geared locomotive, taken around the 1920's or '30's: http://www.frisco.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=534&d=1128897031 I get the St. Louis and Salem in the title, but Little Rock seems overly ambitious for a feeder line to the Frisco. Rich
If you google Missouri Depots Salem 1893, 1912 you will find a picture of two passenger trains at the Salem, MO Depot. I have exchanged e-mails from a newspaper journalist whose boyhood home was Salem. He was living in Florida and has assembled considerable information. His e-mail address (in about 2013) was ted@thermotype.com Very interesting project as well as historical you are working on. Joe I also spent some time working on the "Lead Line" in the 1970"s.
Jason, Good to have another Frisco modeler in the area. There was a lot of little spurs of the Salem line back around the turn of the century. A long time ago I was tasked with cleaning out old plans from one of the area MoDot sheds. I stumbled onto an old drawing of Hwy 19 that showed a couple of branches that took off of the old line that I had never even heard of. Can't recall much about them now, wish I could have kept a set, welcome aboard. Brad Slone
Thank you everyone for the replies! I will pursue the info and links and let ya' know what I discover.....
