Weaubleau Depot In Danger Of Demolition A relative of mine just mailed me a newspaper clipping which states that, unless someone comes up with a viable preservation plan very quickly, the Weaubleau City Council is planning to demolish the former KCO&S/Frisco depot currently in the Weaubleau City Park due to concerns over the structure's deteriorating condition and the city's potential liability. I do not presently have citation information for the newspaper article. The Hermitage Index, the most likely candidate, does not appear to have an online presence to link to, so I have retyped the text of the long article and will upload it as a PDF file so that it will be downloadable only by site members. I hope this allays concern about copyright infringement. Since this is evidently a very time-sensitive issue and events may move quite quickly, I judged it essential to get the word out promptly. If anyone in the area is interested in attempting to move, acquire or restore a Frisco depot in somewhat deteriorated condition, and has the resources to do so, now is the time to act and act quickly. The article names several people who could be contacted, including the Weaubleau City Council. Bradley A. Scott
Karl, if I've not said it before, please pass along our thanks to your Dad for not only making these charts but also for making them available for us all. Weaubleau and many of the other towns makes for a nice, small switching layout for anyone hard pressed for a lot of room, money and time. Add a couple of staging "forks" on each end, and I think this would make for a great layout in itself. Best Regards,
It would be a shame to lose the depot, but given the condition of the structure, and the financial state of many small towns, the conclusion would seem to be foregone. Perhaps a long shot, but in the November 2009 TRAINS magazine is an item that states that applications are being accepted for a $10,000 Kalmbach Grant that will be given to restoration projects. See page 63 I have attached a few shots of the depot that I took during 1975 when the depot was at the park. As a reminder of times when the small-town depot was the center of the commercial life of a town, I have attached several delivery tickets from my 1935 Weaubleau book. I think that they provide a fascinating look at the freight and LCL handled at Weableau. The Leaky Roof had just been abandoned, and we see a consignment of furniture for Collins, MO. Two-80 lbs bags of alfalfa seed have been received for an individual in Iconium, MO. (Ethan, how many acres will 160 lbs of seed plant?) The local mortician received a shipment of embalming fluid from Boston. The entire book is an almanac of the goods coming into Weaubeau, and the ones that I have posted are but a small sample of the goods delivered to Weaubleau by the Frisco. Carload shipments included lumber and gasoline/oil. The tickets generally include the routing and the date that the shipment left its point of origin. Most goods received from "back east" arrived in St Louis on the Big Four, and were then turned over to the Frisco.
Karl, those delivery receipts are priceless! Thanks for sharing - a lot of good information. Now...I wish my dad had not thrown out that old typewriter that could not type a straight line if the fate of the world depended on it. Best Regards,
Here's another artifact from Weaubleau. It's a form 19 Train Order issued to Clinton Sub train No 21 at Weaubleau on July 11, 1944. It's a simple wait order to number 21, which was in the charge of a Little Ten Hundred, SLSF 1005. No 21 is to wait at De Mund [MP 190.4] until 4:50 PM. The locomotive was a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement or Pacific type, manufactured by Brooks Locomotive Works, in February 1904.
Fascinating from the standpoint of having a 4-6-2 on the point! That bucks the supposed trend of assigning a 2-10-0 or 4-6-0 to this train. Thanks, Karl! Best Regards,
Found a website with old mill pictures, including the "Weaubleau Mill." I'm guessing this would be what is listed as the MFA Mill. http://www.millpictures.com/Mills/details.cfm?millid=305 Again, for the modeler limited for space, this online industry might have seen a couple of cars a day in its heyday. Spot the occasional car on the team track and you you yourself a nice little Layout Design Element. Best Regards,
Chris, It's my belief, based on the barest of evidence, that during the war years, the little ten hundreds held sway on the Nos 20/21. After the war, these trains saw 1100's, 182's, 1613's, et al? added to the mix.
That's evidence enough for my purposes! As I route Nos 20/21 through Olathe and on to Harrisonville (in my world the KCC&S line will stay intact between those two points). Now I have a reason for modeling/rostering another Pacific, in addition to 1057.
We could use an update on the current status of this depot and caboose 1148. Last fall the depot was in danger of being torn down by the city. The depot was last reported in a city park. I could not locate the caboose on Google Maps so anyone with information on its location please add to the discussion. The last photo of the car on Frisco was was dated 1997. Does anyone know the status and can you provide current photographs? Hopefully this is a good opportunity to get a twofer (depot and caboose) in one trip. The depot has been relocated off the right of way, northeast of the downtown area, at Broadway and E. Dey St., 4 blocks north of Hwy 54. Also in town along the former north/south right of way are a bulk oil dealer, a farm supply center (both north) and an elevator/mill (south) of the east/west grade crossing of Hwy 54. These are great small size modeling subjects that should also be captured on film before they are gone. Weaubleau, in Hickory County, is on the Clinton Subdivision. The town is on U.S. Hwy 54, a few miles east of Collins, MO (junction of Hwy 13 and U.S. 54). Too bad this was not caught before last weekend's Springfield train show. The depot address is 284 N. Broadway. Please see http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...d=gSURS-CUD8JpxlEviHFRkw&cbp=11,54.99,,0,0.27. Hope this helps. Thanks! Mark
An update on the Weaubleau depot situation. Sounds like the depot is still intact but still endangered. A local person is offering to take it off the city's hands and move it, with plans to use it for a museum. Source unknown; possibly the Hermitage Index.
Bradley, Thank you for the update. Hopefully the community will work out a solution to save the depot. It is great to hear there is local interest to preserve the depot and hopefully keep it in a local setting. Next time someone is in the area we could use updated photographs. As the situation develops please keep us posted. Now we need help tracking down caboose SLSF 1148. Hope this helps. Thanks! Mark
The Weaubleau Depot was torn down last year. It is my understanding that the city had two offers. One was from someone wanting to move it to restore. Another offer was to just tear it down for scrap wood. Unfortunately the mayor, Dick Thompson, made the final decision to have it torn down. Weaubleau has lost another piece of history.
"Pieces of the structure live on". I felt obliged to address Karl's mysterious statement. I had a trip planned to Springfield this past March. A few days before departing, I made a Craigslist check and found a listing for a railroad depot "mail arm" in the Collins, MO area. I made contact with the seller and the short story version is the "mail arm" item was actually the train order (TO) signal off the Weaubleau depot. The seller is a furniture craftsman and had purchased the depot at bid from the city and salvaged 85 to 90% of the lumber for use in his furniture building trade. The TO signal had already been promised to another individual but I asked about any other items he may have salvaged. Back in Texas now are the ticket counters for both the office and waiting room side as well as the ticket window door. Also found inside the depot was a nice cobalt blue US Express sign. The Frisco Keen Kutter lock was found inside a wall of the depot. The trim piece came from under the trackside bay window roof eave. The ticket window counters cleaned up nicely and make for a nice ticket validator display "shelf" among other depot related items. I elected to leave the ticket window door "as is" with its 8+ layers of old paint. Jeff Cooney, Lindsay, TX
