I was born and grew up in Denison, Texas, into a family of Katy railroaders (three generations), so my first love in railroading always has been the Katy. In my youth, Denison was blessed with five "steam" roads plus the Texas Electric, all of which had terminals in Denison except the Frisco, which had its terminal in nearby Sherman. Frisco runs a close second in my interest because I watched (and heard) its trains go through Denison, and because of its operation jointly with the Katy of the Texas Special and, for many years, the Bluebonnet. The other three "steam" roads in Denison were the T&NO (SP), the KO&G, and the T&P. Using my family Katy pass, I could ride to other points, especially Dallas and Fort Worth to watch trains of the ATSF, FW&D, Rock Island, I&GN (MoP), Cotton Belt, and KCS/L&A. Now and then, I rode the Katy to Kansas City or St. Louis to spend the day watching trains. The variety of North Texas and other roads I have enjoyed watching is reflected in the equipment and trains on my HO model railroad, the Texas & New England. I look forward to learning much more about the Frisco via this site. Bear
Howdy Bear, Thanks for stopping by the Frisco and sharing your passion for railroads with us. If you are ever down in Fort Worth, please visit us at the Texas Western Model Railroad Club. The discussion of signals at tower 93 is very interesting. Thanks for sharing that tidbit. We have trained all our engineers and conductors at the Texas Western to understand and use the appropriate signals. I think I'll throw a little monkey wrench into the works with the signals you referenced. Best Regards, mike
Hello Bear, someone was wondering about the turning of the Black Gold at Union Station in Dallas. In 1951 the Black Gold would come into track two at 7:00 am. about 10:00 we would turn the train on the Y (which held sven cars) and return it to track 2 from the north end. It Departed at 9:00pm. If you come across whoever submitted the question about the Y this will enlighten them. I worked as a switchman on the old seven spot from Jan. 1951 to 1957 and then went to work for the SLSF out of Fort Worth under Supertindent R. A Rorie and Yard Master Buddy Joblin. Retired from the BNSF in 1994 and then for kicks worked as a Conductor for the TRE from 2000 to 2003. Good life. Utah Carroll Rogers Arlington Texas
