Cape Girardeau, MO

[chris]

Below is a 1979 track chart of Cape Girardeau. I've numbered and highlighted areas of interest or for which I have posted photographs of industries, bridges, etc.

1 - S. Freeze Siding
2 - Bridge 1307 (Sloan Creek)
3 - Roberts, Johnson & Rand Shoe Factory sidings
4 - Mainline underpasses MO Hwy. 146 bridge over Mississippi River
5 - Location of Continental Oil Co.
6 - Location of unknown industrial building.
7 - Location of concrete loading/unloading ramp adjacent to yard.
8 - M.E. Leming Lumber Co.
9 - Bridge 1335 (Cape La Croix Creek)
10 - Central Meats (Packing plant)
11 - Hely’s Crushed Stone
12 - Location of old “Gulf Junction” (originally where Leachville Subdivision and St. Louis Subdivision split; old Leachville Sub led to Commerce/Benton/Morley MO before crossing Chaffee Sub at Brooks Jct.)
13 - Marquette Portland Cement Plant & Quarry

[chris]

Trackage in the "Shops" area of Cape Girardeau; just south of MP 132. Note the heavier-ballasted track along the mainline to the left, and lighter, cinder-ballasted rail. Concrete loading ramp is in the background.

[yardmaster]

From the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian "Out of the Past" column from today:

"Drastic changes in the time card of the Frisco Railroad, including the making of Cape Girardeau as a terminal again for the Gulf branch line and speeding up generally operation of all passenger trains, is announced by division superintendent J.S. McMillan; the new schedules, effective March 29, will provide for speeding up of St. Louis-Memphis trains, and the addition of two fast freight trains operating through here for overnight deliveries."

[bootheel]

In the Photo of the 'shops' The heavy cindered track is actually where the MoPac trains used to park when they would return or go to the Rush Island power plant. The cinders are years of coal dust

[kenmc]

Here is a photo of Frisco Train 808, The Sunnyland, arriving at Cape Girardeau in 1950. The photo was taken, I believe, by Lueders Studios in Cape. It would appear that they were noting the recent changeover from steam to diesels on the passenger trains, since #2015 is nearly spotless.

I also intend to send this in full uncompressed format to Tim Cannon to host on his Chaffee website.

Ken McElreath

[kenmc]

During the period 1902-1938 my great-uncle Ted Gerlach, a carpenter and amateur photographer, took numerous photos of railroad and steamboat subjects around Cape Girardeau. I have had them scanned and intend to post them here, along with as much commentary as I know about them. I am also going to send them in their uncompressed state to Tim Cannon to post as he wishes on his Chaffee and SEMO website.

To set the stage for many of the photos, here is a colorized post card from about 1910 or so of the Frisco yards and engine/car facilities at Cape. This explains why the location was called "Shops" on all subsequent Frisco timetables, even after the shipyard had replaced the railroad shops. The view is southward along the Mississippi River from the hill where St. Vincent's Seminary (now SEMO State University campus) is located, looking down the hill. The new river bridge would cut across the scene today. The area where Leming Lumber Company sits is in the background.

This was formerly the Southern Missouri and Arkansas (SM&A) Railroad shops and yard (a Houck Lines property) before becoming part of the Frisco about 1903. It was the Division point until Chaffee was built, and even afterward was the terminal for both passenger and freight trains on the Commerce (Leachville) and Poplar Bluff (Hoxie) branches for some years.
The various motorcars that served the branches were maintained here.

Enjoy.

Ken McElreath

[kenmc]

Here are photos of two structures visible from the north in the colorized postcard. The first is the SM&A (later Frisco) roundhouse, looking from the south. Engine 9 and a slopeback switch engine tender (possibly 12?) are visible in the stalls. This photo was taken in 1902, along with a view of the water tower, also from the south.

The third photo shows the SM&A station at the foot of Broadway on Water Street. It was taken in 1904. This passenger station served the Frisco until about 1920, when a new station was built at the south end of Water Street.

Ken McElreath

[kenmc]

Here are four photos of SM&A equipment taken in 1903 at the Shops. The first is listed as a "Passenger Engine," and it appears to be a 4-6-0, #21. The photo is looking south at the car shop in the background, with the slopeback tender of the yard switcher (#12?) on the right. The second, #8, a 4-4-0, is leading the Poplar Bluff passenger train southward. The third and fourth photos show yard engine #12 with the crew and without.

Ken McElreath

[kenmc]

The next series of four photos was taken during the 1912 flood.

The first photo shows the midday St. Louis Local accommodation passing the team tracks at the location of the future (ca 1920) Frisco passenger station, while on its way to the existing station at the foot of Broadway. This train comprises wood cars hauled by a 4-4-0. The view is looking downward through the vacant lot where the Buckner-Ragsdale Company was later built. Before the Frisco extended the seawall on the left side of the photo southward and straightened the track, the main line curved westward and ran to the west side of the freight station in the distance. After the new passenger station was built, the main line passed to the east of the freight station.

The second photo shows a southbound through passenger, probably the Memphis Express (predecessor of the Sunnyland, although no trains were actually named in 1912,) at the same location. It has a heavier engine, probably a 4-6-0, and steel cars. The gondola on the team track belongs to the Evansville and Terre Haute Railroad.

The third photo shows a local freight northbound pushing freight cars along Water Street toward the Frisco passenger station at the foot of Broadway. It may also be that this is a lead movement to check the stability of the track.

The fourth photo shows what may be the same engine pushing a flatcar and hauling the northbound passenger train through the water, but I can't positively identify the location because of the presence of large trees on the right. This may be farther north near the old shoe company, but more likely it is just north of the freight station, which may be partly visible behind the last passenger car.

As far as identifying the passenger trains in the photos at Cape, during this entire period there were three mainline trains each way, but the numbers changed as the extended marketing to Florida dictated. They are pretty easy for me to identify. In 1910 none of them was named, but by 1925 they all were. The St. Louis and Memphis Locals had old 4-4-0 engines and short consists with wooden or rebuilt cars. It died during the Depression. The Memphis Express (both ways) had steel cars, longer consists and heavier engines. It later was replaced by the Sunnyland about 1927, with connections to Florida at Memphis. The luxury Memphian was the only train that kept its numbers (805 and 806) and name through 1938 and on up to 1957. It is easy to distinguish it because it rarely appeared in daylight and always carried a full RPO car (built in 1910) until after WWII.


Ken McElreath

[yardmaster]

Ken, wonderful photos - especially for those of us who grew up in the Cape Girardeau area. I'm very grateful that your great uncle was a photographer and am thankful that you have shared with us.

The two long brick buildings on the left of the colorized postcard: based on Sanborn maps, I wonder if one of these still exists? There is one similar brick building paralleling the tracks currently on Missouri Barge Line property (just below St. Vincent's College).

At least in the early 90s when I would take S. Sprigg into town from Chaffee, you could barely see the old Leming Lumber "sawdust burner" (not sure if that's the right term) through all the brush and tree growth.

I've heard the old shops were really hemmed in between river and bluffs. The postcard certain visually confirms what my imagination always tried to picture. From the Illmo Headlight of 6-30-1905 regarding the C&EI bridge at Thebes: "The road is compelled to have a terminal handle its bridge business. The Cape is not located good for this...if it was [in a good position to handle bridge business from the C&EI] there is no land there for this purpose which could be gotten at a reasonable price."

Sure gives one an appreciation for what the Cape floodwall does to protect Water and Main Streets!

[kenmc]

Chris,

No, the more recent long brick building was built by the shipyard as a welding shop, I believe. It was located just north of the car shop building in the postcard. However, I love that welding shop and built a model of it for our layout, as a steel fabrication company facility.

Ken McElreath

Begging Ken's forgiveness, here is a picture I recently took (8/09) of the Mo Dry Dock building. (klrwhizkid)
And this is a link to an earlier picture on this forum:
http://www.frisco.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=1068&d=1129472542

[kenmc]

My great-uncle obviously had a penchant for taking photos of trains in the water! He took many photos of steam packet boats as well, which I will post later.

Here are five from the Flood of 1922. On the back of each print is a stamp, which says, "Kassel's Studios, Cape Girardeau, Mo," except for the first one, which is printed as a post card.

The first photo is of the new (ca 1921) Frisco passenger station, which was built at the South end of Water Street where the team tracks are under water in the previous photos. Why the Frisco would build an expensive new passenger station in this obvious flood plain is beyond my comprehension.

The next four photos are undated; I deduced that they were taken at the same time, because the station is new with the same sandbagging in place, and the Mississippi River bridge is not there nor obviously under construction, being finished in 1927. In fact, my mother, who died in 2006, walked across the bridge on opening day. She was six years old at the time. She was honored to be asked to do so again when the new bridge was completed several years ago, some 75 years later, and she once again walked all the way across and back as part of the dedication ceremony. She used to tell me (seeing that I was an inveterate railroad freak) how she and her father regularly carried cream from their farm by wagon to Bainbridge Station (near Egypt Mills, the next station south of Neely's Landing) to put on the local passenger train to deliver to the Sugar Creek Creamery in Cape, across the street from the freight station. I remember that Bainbridge Station (a simple raised shelter, as I recall) still in place when I was a child.

The first of this series of four photos shows the daily Memphis Local loading in the station siding at Cape, still with a 4-4-0 for power, but the wood coaches have been steel-sheathed.

The second photo shows the scene before the arrival of the Local. People are also waiting for either the northbound Memphis Express or the very-late northbound Memphian. There are baggage wagons piled high next to both the main line and station passing track, indicating the imminent arrival of both the southbound Memphis Local on the siding and a through train (or the northbound St. Louis Local) on the main.

The third photo shows the same scene, looking north from the Freight Station several blocks south. Notice that the old main line is still partially in place to the left, indicating that the station and relocated main line are quite recent. Also notice that the old passenger station has not been torn down, being still visible in the far background to the right of Water Street. The steps to St. Vincent's Roman Catholic Church on South Main Street are at the far left , as a location reference for a visit today.

The fourth photo shows the northbound Memphian running through the water along Aquamsi (Water) Street, almost to the location of the old passenger station. I conjecture that it is the Memphian, very late, because of the large engine, long heavyweight consist and full RPO car. However, it could also be the northbound Memphis Express.

Ken McElreath

[kenmc]

Here are the last three Cape Girardeau photos of the Frisco that I have.

The first is of Pacific #1026 on display during Railroad Week in 1938. The second one is a southward view of the passenger station with a car in the station passing track, taken from the Water and Independence Street corner. The third one is looking the same direction from Broadway, two blocks north. These last two were taken during the spring flood of 1939.

Ken McElreath

[kenmc]

Here are two photos that my Uncle Ted took of the IC car ferry "John Bertram" in 1903 at Gray's Point, just north of the Thebes Bridge location. The SSW, Frisco and "Chester, Perryville, and Cape Girardeau" (and everywhere else) Houck Line (later MoPac) all interchanged with the IC via this ferry. You can identify the location by the hills in the background on the east side of the river at Thebes. No other location has them.

My great-aunt, who gave me these photos, told me that after the Thebes Bridge was completed, Uncle Ted and the local Cape Girardeau baseball team would occasionally take the train from Cape to Thebes (a joint Frisco-C&EI operation, I presume) to play the "boys from 'You-Be-****ed Hollow.'" Sure enough, on a 1927 Topographic map of the area that I have, I found a hollow (valley) just north of Thebes into the Southern Illinois hills, labeled "You-Be-Hollow." The map makers were obviously of a more genteel society than ours today.

Lastly, here is also a photo of some Frisco station and caboose in the bootheel, probably around Delta or thereabouts, from the standing water and retaining walls, obviously taken prior to the completion of the gigantic Diversion Channel and drainage project. No location or date is available.

Ken McElreath

[yardmaster]

This is rather interesting.

http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/WaterControl/stationinfo2.cfm?sid=CE401278&fid=CPGM7&dt=S

Note the description of the river gauge location at Cape Girardeau. At least for the Corps of Engineers, the SL-SF lives on!

[klrwhizkid]

Ken, My name is Keith Robinson. I grew up in Cape. My dad is Martin. My great-grandfather, Goley, had been a fireman on nearly all of Houck's holdings in Southeast Mo and later on the Frisco from Chaffee to Memphis. My uncle is Jim Haman, who owned Kassel's Studio, later Haman's Kastle. I would love to chat sometime. Send me a private message about how I might contact you.

[klrwhizkid]

Ken, As I looked at more of the pictures, I noticed the "unknown" depot in post 14. I would be willing to bet that depot is "Green Cox" between Arbor and Toga. Note the picture is facing east, taken in the afternoon based on the track shadows. The terrain is right and the ditch is on the south side of the main track. MO 25 would later lie on the south side of the station track, south of the borrow ditch. This is some of the trackage my greatgrandfather fired along down toward Puxico.

Attached is a Kassel's Studio photo of my greatgrandfather Goley Robinson (right) and his brother Ivan.

[klrwhizkid]

I was looking at post #1 and the track chart. I see the notation, Pvt Rd Gr. xing, x.Buck, W.W. & Bell. This grade crossing was the main entrance to Marquette Cement. There was a Crossbuck, and WigWag signal with a bell at that crossing. I remember watching that crossing signal from Marquette's parking lot while sitting in the car waiting for my dad to get off from the 2nd shift (2-10pm) when Frisco trains would go by or the Marquette GE 45ton switch engine would move gumbo cars around.

[timothy_cannon]

Keith, At one time I purchased some photos from your uncle. He had many railroad pics to choose from but that was over 20 years ago. Any chance these are still available? The reason I ask is that I loaned all of those I purchased to our historical society here in Chaffee and they were lost before they even had a chance to display them. The loss included my most prized photo possession. It was the aerial view of the Chaffee yards from aprox. the 1930's. Check out my site at www.chaffeemissouri.com I still think the unknown depot pic is of the station at Gulf Junction (Marquette).

Thanks,

Tim

[klrwhizkid]

My uncle, Jim Haman still owns the archive of negatives from Kassel's Studio and still prints photos upon request. I think I remember him saying that he has the largest collection of "Cape Girardeau" photos that include all kinds of subjects other than just portraits.

[klrwhizkid]

Does anyone have any photos of the Marquette GE 45 ton diesel in its original black and yellow scheme?

[klrwhizkid]

A few pictures from the Kassel's Studio collection of my Uncle Jim Haman which includes over 500 photos of places and objects in SE MO and Frisco Steam.

I request that the photos that I post on this thread be used for personal use only since the negatives are the property of Jim Haman.

If you hover over each thumbnail, you the names are descriptive.

[klrwhizkid]

A few more.
The second picture is an aerial view of the Cape riverfront from the north. In the immediate foreground is Erlbacher Manufacturing Co., then the Missouri Utilities Power Plant, followed by International Shoe Co. Further south, you can see a barge tied up at Cape Sand Co. Off in the distance, to the south, you can see smoke and dust from Marquette Cement.

The last three are of M E Leming Lumber Company, another industry served by the Frisco.
In the M E Leming Lumber pictures, the last one is of men loading cut lumber on a barge from sluices that carried the wood from the mill down to the river. In the next to last picture, you can see the sluices.

[DanHyde]

Hi Keith,
Really appreciate the old photos. As the family genealogist, old pictures are GOLD! Along those lines, I just " found" another ancestral cousin, who lost 5 of his children in a crossing accident in Holcomb, Mo. in 1909. I have the newspaper article that was published in Ancil Hyde's hometown of Cannelton, Indiana. It is chilling. I was wondering if any photos or stories of this were in your family members history?
Regards,
Dan

[klrwhizkid]

My uncle's collection is limited to the immediate vicinity of Cape Girardeau (~ 50 miles). He also has all the negatives and many glass plates with portraits that were taken in the old studio in Cape. The photos of the places, buildings, etc are all printed on 8x10 format and displayed in albums for choosing which ones a person might want. The photo is removed from the album and taken by the individual. Later my uncle reprints replacements and puts them back in the albums.

[klrwhizkid]

Here are some pictures that my dad took at Marquette Cement about 1961. Marquette was a major industry served by the Frisco in Cape.

Note also that he caught a trio of GP7s at the head of a southbound freight.

In the background of pictures Marquette 5 and 9 is another industry that was served by the Frisco, Federal Materials Corp. (formerly Hely Crushed Stone, est. 1896).

I was tickled that he caught their mobile crane with a clamshell bucket unloading gypsum from a P&LE gondola.

Also in the lower right of the Marquette 5 and 9 pictures, you can see the two-axle hoppers that were used to haul gumbo (mud, high in silicates) from the river bottoms to the south of the plant.

The gumbo cars were winched up an incline into a millhouse (just to left of center, picture Marquette 3) where the gumbo was dumped from the cars, and ground up. When the car was empty, it was allowed to coast back down the incline (with the winch cable still attached), through a spring switch into a siding. A man would ride the car, controlling the brake and would bring the car to a stop. He would then transfer the winch cable to a full car on the adjacent siding.
The gumbo was ground, mixed with crushed limestone and ground iron, then fed into the ~2500 F kiln. At the bottom end of the kiln the clinkers were then sent by metal conveyors (picture 13) to cooling piles. Clinkers were taken from the bottom of the cooling piles, ground and then mixed with gypsum and/or more crushed limestone, ground further and then sent to the silos. My dad's first job was a "scaler", he was the one that controlled the quantities of clinkers, gypsum and limestone mixed together to determine the type of cement being produced. To make cement for mortar, more gypsum was used along with the additional crushed limestone.

The building being constructed in the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th pictures was a flood loading facility for railroad hopper cars.
Until it was completed, cement went out of the plant in bags loaded in boxcars(five bags high on pallets), was vacuum loaded into tank trucks operated by a company named Schwerman (just beyond the Frisco train in picture 8) or was hauled in Marquette-owned hopper cars on rail to the Mississippi River where Marquette had a barge loading terminal to load Marquette-owned barges (in the background of picture 13) Prior to the flood-loader and trucks, 85% of the cement left the plant on barges.

Most of the pictures are of the older dry process cement plant, but picture 6 is of the newer wet process plant that was built in 1957. The dry process plant was closed in 1969.

The last picture is an example of what the old hopper cars looked like that hauled the cement out to the river terminal.


The cement plant began in 1909-1910 as the Cape Girardeau Cement Company and was purchased by Marquette Cement in 1923.

[klrwhizkid]

Here's a picture from the Mississippi River of Cape Rock. Cape Rock was a cape that stuck out into the Mississippi River more, at least until the Frisco blasted away a large part of it to make their roadbed northbound out of Cape Girardeau. This will be the first major layout design element to the far right (north) on my layout.

[mark]

Keith,

Better get going on that basement clean up project.

These are great pictures for modeling the on line industries. Interesting structures and weathering ideas. I cannot wait until you get bench work up, track down and trains start running.

Hope this helps.

Thanks!

Mark

[yardmaster]

Here are some pictures that my dad took at Marquette Cement about 1961. Marquette was a major industry served by the Frisco in Cape.

INCREDIBLE photos, Keith! These are some of the best I've ever seen of Marquette in its earlier days. It's also the first time I've seen a good quality photo of the Healy stone crusher. I did a lot of forensics trips in that area in the early 90s after classes at Southeast but could never turn up anything worthwhile.

Wish my folks had driven more into downtown by way of S. Sprigg before the built the "new" plant, but it was just way too bumpy of a ride.

Thanks a lot for sharing; these are a gem for the River Division fans. The plant is almost big enough for a layout of its own. Hmmmm...

Best Regards,

[klrwhizkid]

I believe, depending on how I set up my model of Marquette, that it would support at least a part time operator due to the movement of the gumbo cars, gondolas with incoming coal, powdered iron, and gypsum, hopper cars to the river terminal, and finally boxcars for loading with bagged cement. Empty hopper and boxcars were stored on a rise and were uncoupled, then ridden downhill into position for loading. When full, they were pulled off the scales by a winch just enough to get them rolling down a slight incline away from the loading postion. Otherwise all car movements were made by Marquette's switcher.

Additionally, my dad says that he remembers that the Marquette switcher would from time to time move up the tracks to Federal Materials and move hopper cars on their sidings. Apparently, they must have had some kind of service agreement but I haven't found anyone else or any documentation to support his statement.

My only regret is that he never got a picture of the Marquette GE 45ton switcher as it was originally painted or the Frisco 44 tonner #4 that was leased by Marquette for a period of time. The 45 tonner was still in service at the plant (now Buzzi Unicem) but in miserable shape, having been repainted white with blue trim (yuk) by LoneStar when they bought the plant and apparently not touched since.

(UPDATE 4/17/2011: The 45 tonner has been replaced by a newer EMD switcher).

The following are pictures that I took in August 2009.

Photo 1,2, 3 are of the old GE 45tonner.
Photo 2 is looking into the plant from the north.
Photo 3 is the hopper car loading facility that was being built in the previous post.
Photo 4 is the 16 silo group that was built before 1957
Photo 5 is the newest (3rd) plant on the site
Photo 6 is the old Marquette Office bldg and lab.
Photos 7&8 are of the old Power Plant (coal-fired boilers and steam turbines)

[meteor910]

Keith - Great photos!, thanks for posting them. As an old chemical industry guy, I can really relate to those views.

Love that office building!

Ken

[klrwhizkid]

I forgot to mention that in post #22 in this thread there are two pictures of Marquette from the river side and from the quarry side. They are pictures number 8 and 9.

[Jim James]

I've read about Houck's Cape Girardeau & Southwestern Railway, Cape Girardeau & Grand Tower RR and Cape Girardeau & Northern but the SM&A is new to me. I need to brush up on my hometown railroad history! I had always thought that the station at the foot of Broadway was for his CGN or CG&SW but that station (and rail yard) was a two story stone building off Independence St. near the new Limbaugh Federal Courthouse. Houck was a busy man. I wonder why he didn't consolidate his Cape Girardeau facilities?

[klrwhizkid]

Houck, being a lawyer by education, probably felt that it might be easier to retain holdings in railroad companies (especially ones operating on the financial edge as most early roads did) by keeping them separate to protect the rest if one failed. If one reads enough about his dealings, they will discover that he was a very shrewd man, one with vision, that built a lot upon the failings of others. He recognized the value of the railroads as a vehicle (pardon the pun) to move people and goods into Southeast Missouri and raw materials out. In many ways he was as important to Southeast Missouri's development as James J. Hill was to the Pacific Northwest, or as Dr. Thomas Durant was to the development of the middle western states.

[klrwhizkid]

In my middle school days, I did family tree research as a school project and discovered a lot of interesting things. For instance, my great-grandfather's association with Louis Houck's railroads. As I mentioned earlier in this post, he was a fireman on a number of the Houck lines. Another interesting thing, is that he and Mr. Houck must have been relatively close because my great-grandfather's family lived on the Houck estate west of Cape for a time. But one of the strangest things I discovered in interviewing my great-grandfather was that his father was accidently killed by a SM&A train - the very railroad that my great-grandfather was working for at the time. I was able to find a Coroner's Inquest report describing the incident, which followed almost exactly what my great-grandfather had told me some years before.

[klrwhizkid]

A friend of my brother recent gave me a complete track chart (photo-copied) for the River Division from Lindenwood through Memphis to Mineral Wells (TN) M.P. C-499 from 12-31-1987. It is 33 pages (double-sided). Due to its size, I will forego posting it here. If anyone wants any section copied to high res jpg, let me know via PM.

[klrwhizkid]

Some more pictures that I have come across for Cape Girardeau:
1) the first is of Edward Hely Crushed stone around 1904
2) the second is a view from inside the Marquette quarry about 1950?
3) A Ken McElreath aerial photo of Marquette during the 1973 flood.

[Karl]

The funicular in the Marquette Quarry is an interesting touch.

Thanks, Keith

[klrwhizkid]

Unfortunately, the funicular, although still extant in 1950, would end up being inside an exterior wall on my layout due to orientation of the Marquette property. It would be neat to have a model shuttling up and down the hill into and out of the quarry.

[kenmc]

Your discussion of the Marquette Cement Company stirred some memories for me. I spent my youth passing by it several times a week, swimming in the Natatorium from age three onward, fishing in the Marquette lakes and watching the engine move the rocking gumbo cars past, hanging out at the Blue Hole restaurant with excellent barbecue and huge mosquitos, and quivering every time we drove under the rock crusher (the highway actually went through the building and along the lip of the quarry with only a single low cable fence for protection!) At night I fully expected to see Leviathan come crawling out of one of the plant buildings, and I remember the 0-4-0 steam switchers engulfed in vapor clouds with the plant lights and smoke playing around them. Also thrilling was to see the northbound and southbound "Sunnyland" trains come cruising through the plant grounds about noon each day.

Those experiences motivated me to build a similar, but by no means as expansive, plant for our HO layout; see photos attached. Note the large quarry in the background, conveyor for stone, wigwag signals and other appurtenances. I named it after the Citadel Cement Company in north Birmingham just because of the locale of our layout, but it's got the soul of Marquette. I am now rebuilding the layout in its new home and hope to have the plant shipping cement again before long. It is a great online industrial area to switch, with a capacity of about 15 cars total.

Another great industry to model on the River Division would be the PP&G complex at Crystal City (wonder why they named the town that?) It's completely leveled now, but what a wonderful piece of industrial history!

Enjoy.

Ken McElreath

[yardmaster]

Ken -
Great photos; looks like a fun industry to switch, and really seems to capture the spirit of Marquette Cement.

Undoubtedly, watching the local BN switcher work the plant, and chasing northbound BN freights from Chaffee to Cape does not seem nearly as scintillating as watching "Sunnyland" zip through.

Best Regards,

[yardmaster]

Folks -
A real dandy of a photo from Fred Lynch's Southeast Missourian blog.

http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/flynch/entry/35297/

Some interesting points:

(1) The photo is definitely post-floodwall; the copy says it's from 1960. Would this have still been the old 1920s-era brick depot (between Merriweather and William)?

(2) Interesting train order signal; I've not seen any pictures of this searchlight-style before.

(3) Any thoughts on what the last car in the consist would be?

Here's also a link to the home movie of a train leaving Cape Girardeau:
http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/train-trip-to-chaffee/

Best Regards,

[Karl]

The color-light train order "boards" appeared during the fifties and replaced the lower quadrant signals. A derailment occurred at Lamar, Mo circa 66-67 in which several of the derailed car traveled down the brick platform and took out the train order signal and so Lamar had one of the color-light train order signals. It was a close call for the agent, and he had several choice words that he used to described the event. The wheel flange marks on the bricks were quite clear.

The color-light order signals displayed a flashing red or a flashing green aspect.

The last car looks like one of the 700 series cars on train 807.

[TAG1014]

That last car (Monitor roof w/ducts) could also be an 1100 series car. Not sure how many there were, but 1102 was one for sure.

Tom

[yardmaster]

Thanks for the input, Karl and Tom. I'll have to find an era-appropriate Rules of the Transportation Dept. to translate the flashing red/green signals.

Wonder how many times agents of all railroads faced perils from derailments like that? I guess that great seats for seeing all of the action came with a certain degree of risk. I think I'd take my chances. :)

Best Regards,

[klrwhizkid]

Chris,
First, the old brick depot was situated just north of Merriwether, between Merriwether and Independence Streets where the big parking lot now exists.

There are several pieces of evidence that the picture was taken before the brick Frisco depot was demolished in 1965:
1) In the background you can see the eastward kink in the floodwall.

2) The brick depot was situated between that kink in the floodwall and
the Merriwether Pumping Station that was installed when the floodwall was built.

If the picture was taken after demolition of the brick station, the group would be boarding at the newer Butler-type building at the base of Williams Street on Aquamsi and the Merriwether Pumping Station would be visible in the background.

Compare these two images:
http://www.frisco.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=8802&d=1250570347
and the post card image below.

[Jim James]

Has anyone scratchbuilt the brick Cape Girardeau depot? Hmmmmm. I see a future diorama project for my bucket list.

[bootheel]

Noticed on the BNSF Special (June 15th) that a few of the yard tracks in the Cape yard were in the process of being pulled up. Tracks were still in place but the area around the switches were pulled up. :(

[klrwhizkid]

Jim, I like your idea of scratchbuilding the brick Cape depot - while you're at it just build two! LOL
I need one for my layout. And while you are at it, be sure to put your face inside one of the windows looking out!

p.s. I have a lot more pictures from nearly all angles of the exterior, but only one interior shot.

[yardmaster]

Has anyone scratchbuilt the brick Cape Girardeau depot? Hmmmmm. I see a future diorama project for my bucket list.

Jim, I've always thought that would be a fun project. There's plenty of pictures and a floor plan here in the "Depots" section. Somewhere at home I'll have to try and dig out a copy of a Missourian article from the depot's grand opening that goes into a lot of detail about the interior, including colors and the like.

Best Regards,

[Jim James]

Looks as if I need to order some brick sheet siding and more windows. I'll build it as it appeared in the 1920s which is my modeling era. Here we go!

[klrwhizkid]

More on the Cape Riverfront from the April 23, 1915 Railway Age Gazette:

“The St. Louis & San Francisco is now reclaiming a considerable area from the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau, Mo., permitting the straightening of the main line and providing more space for yard and team tracks. At the present time the river makes a considerable indentation at this point and the track follow closely around the foot of the bluff. The improvements consist of the construction of a concrete wall out in the river 600 ft. long at the north end and 600 ft. long at the south end with a heavy rip-rap wall 620 ft. long between. The area between this wall and the present tracks will be filled, after which the tracks will be laid on the new location and a new depot erected. A considerable area will also be given over to the city for park purposes across the track from the station and also immediately south of the station.
The concrete wall, which varies in height up to 37 ft., is of a plain gravity section 3 ft. wide on top, requiring a total of 11,000 cu. yd. of concrete. It was built in a maximum depth of water of 13 ft. The concrete was mixed adjacent to one of the tracks on shore, elevated by a tower and spouted into bottom-dumping buckets on a barge on the water. These buckets were then picked up by a derrick on the barge, lowered into forms and opened. The wall at the north end opposite the station is surmounted by an ornamental balustrade protecting a sidewalk.
The rip-rap wall which is located in the water for the entire distance is 6 ft. wide on top and has a maximum height of 20 ft., with a slope of 1:1 on each face. While the concrete wall is located parallel to the track with its top 3 ft. below the top of the rail, the rip-rap wall is located on the slope line some distance out in the stream with its top a maximum of 24 ft. below the top of the rail. On the completion of the wall and of the filling behind it, the slope above the wall will be paved with rip-rap on a 1 ½ : 1 slope.
This improvement which is estimated to cost about $240,000, is being handled under the direction of F.G. Jonah, Chief Engineer of the St. Louis & San Francisco.”

For reference, pictures from the article and some from the collection of James Haman:
A picture looking south about 1900 before construction: http://www.frisco.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=8805&d=1250570636

The first and second are looking south and north, respectively during construction. The third is of the balustraded wall after construction and the fourth is of the balustrade August 2009.
The last picture is from the old bridge showing both ends of the constructed walls and rip-rap and the resultant park areas and the new depot built in 1920. The next to last picture was taken before the current flood control was built along the entire riverfront.
This picture http://www.frisco.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=8805&d=1250570636 was taken before the work in the article was started.
Note: The old freight depot is visible in the background of the first and last photos.

[mark]

Keith,

You might want to consider stocking up on Pikestuff parts for your soon to be constructed layout.

They have a bridge kit with separate parts for an Early Railings (4 50' Railing), part 628-0104, that with slight modification should make quick work of your Mississippi River front scene. Please see http://www.rixproducts.com/6280103.htm.

Hope this helps.

Thanks!

Mark

[klrwhizkid]

The west approach of the original river bridge was a combination of cast concrete and plate girder design:

[SABRR]

Wow! Talk about courage. Today's railroads wouldn't even think about going through water like that. That's when men were men and trains were steam powered.

The modeling was absolutely gorgeous. I hope to get close to that. I love the horse and wagon and the wig wag. The fuel plant was gorgeously laid out and I love how you incorporated a hidden track line, that crossed over the main and secondaries. Pure genius!

I know this is an old thread, but it needs to be brought back to life. Gotta keep the Frisco going!

[klrwhizkid]

Manny, Ken McElreath, as I, was born in Cape Girardeau, and is an excellent modeler. I hope that as I model Cape Girardeau on my layout I can approach what he has done with the Birmingham area on his.

[Karl]

I have had a couple of requests to post more from my St L M & SE RR map.

Here's the section through Cape.

[yardmaster]

A story in the "Southeast Missourian" on the 100th Anniversary of local firm Penzel Construction includes an interesting Frisco related photo.

http://www.semissourian.com/gallery/6619

Click on "Show All Photos," (or click back to photos #61 and #62) and then scroll to the bottom for a photo of the old U.S. Highway 61 overpass that bridges the River Division-St. Louis Subdivision just south of Cape Girardeau. The first photo is a contemporary view; you can see what used to be known as Marquette Cement to the north.

The bottom photo is the same approximate viewpoint in 1929.

I think this location is just south of MP 135, perhaps around "Rock Creek" (MP135.7 - see Roger Taylor's compilation of stations and mileposts at http://www.frisco.org/vb/showpost.php?p=8222&postcount=1).

My late 70s track chart that Karl Brand provided to me some time when I was dumber than a bag of hammers is still packed away in the workshop at the new house.

Maybe other Scissorbill Country folks can confirm or clarify.

Best Regards,

[klrwhizkid]

Chris, one correction; the upper, color photo is looking northeast, the lower, b&w photo is looking southwest. The viaduct runs almost perfectly north/south and the tracks run northeast/southwest. The angles in the b&w photo would dictate that the view is to the southwest.

[yardmaster]

Folks -

I could just about place this under "operations" or "Freight Cars," but this seems like the best place.

For those interested in Cape Girardeau industries, or if you are simply looking to model a large, old style with limited trackwork, today's Southeast Missourian has a nice photo essay of the "old shoe factory" in Cape.

http://www.semissourian.com/gallery/6570

The first picture (aerial view) shows the two sidings off of the Frisco's St. Louis Subdivision. I'm intrigued by the gondola that's visible in the bottom of the photo; it almost appears as if it has ties or some other sort of objects in it.

Would this have been spotted to ship scrap wood/leather, or was it placed there for later spotting at, say, SEMO Sand?

Another article on the history of this factory cites Dr. Frank Nickell, Director for the Center for Regional History at Southeast Mo. State University, as noting that "the factory produced 12,000 pairs of shoes daily, enough to fill a box car." This gives an aspiring modeler a good idea of the traffic generated by the plant in its heyday.

The name of the factory changed throughout the years. It was opened in 1907 as the Roberts, Johnson & Rand Shoe Co., later becoming the International Shoe Co., and later Florsheim Shoe Co.

The building has been gone for 20 years now, and even the old bend in North Main St. that used to go around the south end of the factory is gone. At last check, I believe Isle of Capri is preparing to build a casino here.

Note that Keith Robinson (klrwhizkid) has included this industry as part of his Frisco River Division - Cape Girardeau Southwestern layout.

http://www.frisco.org/vb/showpost.php?p=18715&postcount=1

Best Regards,

[klrwhizkid]

...the old U.S. Highway 61 overpass that bridges the River Division-St. Louis Subdivision just south of Cape Girardeau...

I think this location is just south of MP 135, perhaps around "Rock Creek" (MP135.7 - see Roger Taylor's compilation of stations and mileposts at http://www.frisco.org/vb/showpost.php?p=8222&postcount=1).

According to my track chart, it is precisely Bridge #135.8.

[yardmaster]

Keith, thanks for clarifying on the old 61 overpass location!

That also helps to clarify what "Rock Creek" likely was on the old timetable; looks like there is a trestle/bridge that the railroad crosses just a smidgen east of the overpass.

Best Regards,

[klrwhizkid]

A friend of mine, Ken Steinhoff, formerly from Cape Girardeau, is a retired photo-journalist. He is running a blog about Cape Girardeau in the 60's; www.capecentralhigh.com (http://www.capecentralhigh.com) and has featured a number of things (besides aerial photos) of interest to Frisco and railroad people. In two different postings he talked about the two steam switch engines that used to serve the cement plant in Cape. Take a look at them and read about them here:
http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/cape-girardeau-parks-are-well-trained/

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/parks/hooligans-deface-train/

He documented the Frisco bridge across Cape La Croix Creek:
http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/1929-railroad-bridge/

He posted a video of kids catching the train in Cape for a ride to Chaffee:
http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/train-trip-to-chaffee/

[yardmaster]

Folks -
There's an interesting audio slide show on the Southeast Missourian site today: a 1983 interview with longtime photographer G.D. Fronabarger talking about flood coverages.

http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/flynch/entry/40445/

There are several photos of interest to modelers. To wit:
-a boiler-equipped GP-7 #559 with a southbound passenger haul in front of the depot,
-a view looking north up the line toward the depot (I'm guessing around the current depot at the foot of William St. - Keith or others, perhaps you can clarify)
-aerial view of Marquette Cement, Hely Crushed Stone and the tank farm near the old Leming Lumber Mill,
-Central Packing
-several downtown storefronts and some of the long-vanished building signs that used to reside below the still-in-existence Coca-Cola sign at Water & Themis Sts.

Enjoy!

Best

[trains1504]

Mr. McElreath,

Have always been interested in the Frisco and am starting a preliminary plan for a model railroad that has some of the industries that you have either modeled or have mentioned. I have become very interested in the river Division since my first job was across the river in Anna Illinois and now that my son is in school at Southeast Missouri State. I had a question for you. Did you have access to track plans for your layout or did you do a lot of it from memory and photographs? The reason is that even though my son is down there I am not able to get down that way as often as I would like and I am looking for a little advice on which route to take as far as track planning and industries to choose to model. Because you have modeled some of the industries that I am interested in I thought you might be a good resource. Thanks for the great photos of your layout and I am hoping that you can provide a little information to get me started.

Thank You,

Mark Haun
trains1504

[klrwhizkid]

The opening of the new Frisco Depot in Cape occurred on March 5, 1921:
http://news.google.com/newspapers/p/the_southeast_missourian?id=5SsrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ptMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2965,1226702&dq=Frisco+station&hl=en

[timothy_cannon]

Love it!15012



Note: the picture here was taken during the 1951 flood.

[timothy_cannon]

BTW the 44 tonner is gone from Lone Star or whatever it's called these days. They now have what appears to be 2 SW's of some sort. Have not had a chance to get a good look. 44 tonner might have went to Ste. Gen.

[trains1504]

Thanks so much for the track chart and industry guide. That is perfect.

[klrwhizkid]

Thanks to Tim Cannon for the copy of the Specification Order Sheet that Marquette filled out when ordering the original GE 45 Ton Switch Engine #4. The sheet confirms to me that the engine was definitely a 45 tonner vs a 44 tonner. Builders number was #32388, with two Cummins HBI-600 diesels.

[klrwhizkid]

The area where the Roberts, Johnson, & Rand (International Shoe) Shoe Factory and Misssouri Utilities Power Plant were located north of downtown Cape has radically changed recently.

Ken Steinhoff documents the change with aerial photos in his blog, www.capecentralhigh.com (http://www.capecentralhigh.com);
http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/cape-downtown/isle-casino-cape-girardeau-clearing-starts/

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/cape-downtown/shoe-factory-to-cape-casino/

and you can see more old photos at the Southeast Missourian Newspaper website using their search of old copies;

http://www.semissourian.com/story/1688267.html


http://www.semissourian.com/gallery/6570

[klrwhizkid]

More Marquette Cement images! The attached sequence of pictures were taken by me on May 15, 1981, when Marquette made a huge single blast of rock:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0rIfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=etcEAAAAIBAJ&dq=cement%20plant%20quarry&pg=3368%2C1858120

The blast used 300 tons of explosives and loosed approximately 1.5 million tons of rock.

The last picture, supplied by Ken McElreath has the approximate volume of rock in the blast outlined in red.

[renapper]

Keith, I think you mean 300 Pounds of explosives.

[klrwhizkid]

No, I did not err. They used 300 TONS of explosives. The Southeast Missourian article at the hyperlink in my post confirms my memory of the event.

[wmrx]

That had to be one heck of an explosion.

[klrwhizkid]

It really wasn't that loud. As you can see I was realitively close. I have heard louder reports from the aerial barrage explosions on the Fourth of July. Most of the energy was confined below ground - I think the sound from the mass of rock moved was greater than that of the explosives detonating. It was an impressive display of raw power.

[yardmaster]

More Marquette Cement images! The attached sequence of pictures were taken by me on May 15, 1981, when Marquette made a huge single blast of rock:

The blast used 300 tons of explosives and loosed approximately 1.5 million tons of rock.

Keith, somehow I missed these pictures while we were on vacation. I remember adults in Chaffee saying that they felt the blast when it happened, although maybe they were in Cape or Illmo-Scott City at the time.

I also recall KFVS using video footage of this as part of a video montage that opened their newscasts for quite sometime afterward.

Thanks very much for posting!

Best Regards,

[klrwhizkid]

Since posting the pix, I found out through a source that the surface area on top of the blast zone was about six acres and about 250 feet deep.

[klrwhizkid]

Recently, another structure that housed a business served by the Frisco was razed on North Main Street as part of the new casino construction. The building was the former Morrison Ice and Fuel Company, later the Riverside Fuel Company. It was still standing in April but was gone as of Tuesday 8/16/2011. It was just south of the International Shoe Factory (formerly Roberts, Johnson, and Rand) and appeared on Sanborn Maps beginning in 1908. The founder, F.M. Morrison, also had a sand company at the location. I have no pictures of the building, but my friend, Ken Steinhoff, has a feature post in his blog, www.capecentralhigh.com (http://www.capecentralhigh.com) , including aerials and ground level photos of the building. Here is a link to the two articles about the area:
http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/cape-downtown/isle-casino-cape-girardeau-construction-update/

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/cape-downtown/morrison-ice-and-fuel-falls-to-casino/

[Rick McClellan]

Trackage in the "Shops" area of Cape Girardeau; just south of MP 132. Note the heavier-ballasted track along the mainline to the left, and lighter, cinder-ballasted rail. Concrete loading ramp is in the background.

This concrete ramp bears a strong resemblence to the concrete ramps at Springfield North Yard.

[Rick McClellan]

I know that there was direct traffic from StL to Memphis/Birm/Pensacola down the River Div but I am curious what foreign roads might have traversed the Mississippi on Frisco iron. I have not seen any photos of foreign power on the River Div but most of the rest of the railroad saw foreign locomotives and cabooses.

Photos would be great if anyone has any.

Thanks.

[Karl]

Wasn't the unit coal train to Rush Tower a MP-SLSF pool operation?

[klrwhizkid]

The unit coal train to Rush Island was a joint MP/Frisco, then later MP/BN pool run. The coal came out of southern Illinois across the Thebes bridge and then up the MP tracks to the yard at Cape. There were ad hoc fueling facilities at the south end of the yard at Cape where the MP power was serviced.

Recent years have seen UP power dragging western coal south on the River Division from St Louis to Rush Island.

I have a video made by a SLSF/BN/BNSF crewman that documents coal movements in two different eras.

[klrwhizkid]

Here is a Ken McElreath photo of Erie Lackawanna #65029 Double Door Auto Box at the Cape TOFC facility in 1973. The placard on the end of the car indicates the car contains a Fire Engine for the Cape Girardeau Fire Department.

[Rick McClellan]

Keith, thanks for posting the EL photo, that's really cool. Thanks to Ken McElreath for shooting the photo.

Regarding foreign power on the River Sub. I remember the MP and UP power on the coal trains. I was wondering if any SOU, SCL or other power might have been seen as a results of some power agreements where a road in StL or Mem was paying back time to the Frisco. Maybe not, just thought I would check.

[yardmaster]

Tim Cannon, are you out there? I'm thinking he might have insight on this one.

Personally, while I was awfully young, I don't recall seeing anything other than Frisco Orange/White stopping in Chaffee. I think I would have noticed, considering how my first sighting of Cascade Green left an impression on me.

While not pool power per se, the evidence exists on switch lists for Chicago & Eastern Illinois power running the short distance between Rockview and Chaffee; the C&EI had trackage rights to Chaffee and into the 60s ran a turn to Chaffee via the Thebes, Illinois bridge.

Karl Brand shared some old C&EI switch lists from this era - there were a lot of MTY hoppers heading back to the coal mines, as I recall. After the full absorption of the C&EI into the MoP, the operations to which Keith refers above may have been the successor?

Best Regards,

[klrwhizkid]

Attached on this post is a series of pictures taken by Ken McElreath in 1969 that depict a southbound consist, first in downtown Cape, and then passing by Marquette Cement.

[klrwhizkid]

More photos from Ken McElreath taken late in 1962 after demolition of the brick passenger depot (http://www.frisco.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=8797&d=1250570347).

Ken's notes identify the train as the Sunnyland. It is parked next to the old Freight Depot which served as a passenger depot until the newer Butler-type building was completed.

[klrwhizkid]

More Ken McElreath photos of passenger trains/locos in Cape.

Last photo is of the Sunnyland northbound at Trail of Tears State Park, upriver from Cape.

[klrwhizkid]

Another set of Ken McElreath photos.

The first three are of a northbound local at Chaffee.
The next two are of the yard in Cape, followed by two shots taken in downtown Cape of locos 817, 676 and 724, then two more shots taken just south of the original river bridge.
Finally, a shot of a meet taken in the yard next to Missouri Dry Dock & Repair and a caboose in Chaffee.

[timothy_cannon]

Chris, Yes the C&EI and then the MoP ran power into Chaffee but as the "Thebes Transfer". I can remember the blue Mop units but not the C&EI black and white only because I was too young. I do remember an occasional black scheme ACL/SCL pool power come through and many UP units. The coolest was the day they cut a UP U50 out of a consistand left it in Chaffee for 2 or 3 days. It was huge! The Fallen Flag site has a pic of a Frisco train with a SCL or ACL in consist near Oran. It is mislabled though. I will try to find it as well as some of the UP stuff I shot around 1978 or 79. There was also the rare SP unit the would be in consist. This is in addition to the occasional re-route (not pool) trains that would come through Chaffee for what ever reason. Here is the pic from Oran (listed as Ran) from the Fallen Flag site.
Tim Cannon, are you out there? I'm thinking he might have insight on this one.

Personally, while I was awfully young, I don't recall seeing anything other than Frisco Orange/White stopping in Chaffee. I think I would have noticed, considering how my first sighting of Cascade Green left an impression on me.

While not pool power per se, the evidence exists on switch lists for Chicago & Eastern Illinois power running the short distance between Rockview and Chaffee; the C&EI had trackage rights to Chaffee and into the 60s ran a turn to Chaffee via the Thebes, Illinois bridge.

Karl Brand shared some old C&EI switch lists from this era - there were a lot of MTY hoppers heading back to the coal mines, as I recall. After the full absorption of the C&EI into the MoP, the operations to which Keith refers above may have been the successor?

Best Regards,

[yardmaster]

Ken (via Keith) and Tim, you have postively made my day with the photos and the operational details! Many thanks!

In the Frisco yard photos, is the "elevated" line the MoP?

Best Regards,

[kenmc]

Chris,

Yes, the elevated line on the right is the MoPac track going south. Note that the Frisco yard had been recently flooded by the Mississippi, as evidenced by the silt lines from the retreating waters. Also, the caboose in the last B/W photo taken in July 1962 in Chaffee was on a southbound freight leaving the Chaffee yards headed by F3A #5002 and an FA1. I think I sent the head end photos to Tim Cannon, who intends to post them on his Chaffee website.

Keith, thank you for posting these. It's so much better to see them and share them with others than to have them sitting in a closed scrapbook.

Ken McElreath

[Rick McClellan]

Chris, Yes the C&EI and then the MoP ran power into Chaffee but as the "Thebes Transfer". I can remember the blue Mop units but not the C&EI black and white only because I was too young. I do remember an occasional black scheme ACL/SCL pool power come through and many UP units. The coolest was the day they cut a UP U50 out of a consistand left it in Chaffee for 2 or 3 days. It was huge! The Fallen Flag site has a pic of a Frisco train with a SCL or ACL in consist near Oran. It is mislabled though. I will try to find it as well as some of the UP stuff I shot around 1978 or 79. There was also the rare SP unit the would be in consist. This is in addition to the occasional re-route (not pool) trains that would come through Chaffee for what ever reason. Here is the pic from Oran (listed as Ran) from the Fallen Flag site.

Tim,

That's a great photo! Thanks for posting. It appears to be NWF or an equivalent pool train headed to the UP via StL-SY-KC - the long way. I wondered if this could have happened when accidents, MOW or whatever happened on the
Thayer Sub.

[yardmaster]

Note that the Frisco yard had been recently flooded by the Mississippi, as evidenced by the silt lines from the retreating waters. Also, the caboose in the last B/W photo taken in July 1962 in Chaffee was on a southbound freight leaving the Chaffee yards headed by F3A #5002 and an FA1. I think I sent the head end photos to Tim Cannon, who intends to post them on his Chaffee website.

Ken, thanks very much for clarifying.

This also proactively answers what was going to be my next question. This would be an interesting feature for a River Division fan to model!

I'll look forward to seeing the head-end photos on Tim's website soon. Many thanks!

Best Regards,

[meteor910]

Nice pics Ken. Thanks for providing them.

Ken

[timothy_cannon]

The new website is still coming! Working a lot of overtime and late hours! Ken, Would it be okay to post the ones Keith put up here on the new website? Thanks for sharing!

[klrwhizkid]

Tim, you may share them there as well, just make sure Ken gets credit as the source. Ken gave me the originals to share with all the Friscoites.

[pbender]

Does anyone know what kind of tractor that is on the back of that flatcar? It is definitely in frisco MOW service.

I know timetables from the 1970s list MDC583 riding on car 105500, and say MDC583 is a caterpillar bulldozer. Is that what we see, or is this another tractor? ( and I know the car numbers do not match, but a number of frisco MOAw flats were renumbered in the late 1960s or early 1970s).

Paul

[kenmc]

Paul,

As I recall, there was an equipment list from about 1970 that called it a "Tractor-ditcher," including both the flatcar and its load.

Ken

[klrwhizkid]

I can't make out any identifying details in the original that can't be seen in the posted scan.

[meteor910]

Ken or Keith -

Can you make out the number of the RPO that was riding behind 2021 on the Sunnyland in Ken's pics?

Ken

[TAG1014]

Ken--It "might" be 202. It's most like the 1928 cars 201-214.

Tom

[klrwhizkid]

Ken or Keith -

Can you make out the number of the RPO that was riding behind 2021 on the Sunnyland in Ken's pics?

Ken

On the original and in the scanned image it looks like 206.

[TAG1014]

Ken, Keith--On further review 206 does look like a better match. My photo of MW 105645 (Which is ex-206) has the same replaced roof vent as the car at Cape Girardeau.

Tom

[yardmaster]

It looks like the old Mo. Dry Dock welding shop mentioned by Ken McElreath and included in the following photo is no more:

http://www.capecentralhigh.com/cape-photos/cape-downtown/mo-dry-dock-building-gone/

Here it is in an earlier thread, along with a photo of GE Switcher #5:

http://www.frisco.org/vb/showthread.php?1161-Cape-Girardeau-MO&p=13891#post13891

http://www.frisco.org/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=1068&d=1129472542

Best Regards,

[klrwhizkid]

Chris, the process of tearing down the old Missouri Dry Dock and Repair machine shop began in March, 2011 and was complete by the late April. It too, succumbed to the wrecking ball like Morrison Ice and Fuel this year. I am sad that the old machine shop is gone. I have happy memories of entering the shop with my grandfather, Elmer Robinson, and visting with one of the machinists there, Brian Hassel of Paducah, Kentucky. Mr. Hassel introduced our family to trout fishing in Yellowstone National Park.
I haven’t been able to track down the date when that building was built but it was sometime between 1931 and 1940.

[klrwhizkid]

The fine folks at the Southeast Missourian have dug into their archives to provide us access to aerials of the industries along the tracks in Cape. Thanks to Sharon Sanders, Librarian; and Fred Lynch, Photographer for posting them to their Special Orders page for anyone to purchase.
Links direct to the two folders:
http://semissourian.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1346042&CategoryID=29765&ListSubAlbums=0
http://semissourian.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=1368145&CategoryID=29765

The pictures posted are a small representative sample, not a complete compendium of what they have. I spent some time with Sharon, selecting specific photos that I was interested in. There are many more available to those with specific interest.