meteor910
04-21-2008, 07:16 PM
I drove down to Rolla last week for Thursday/Friday meetings with the Chemical Engineering Department of Missouri University of Science & Technology (still MSM to me!).
Though the weather was not very good on Friday, I took the opportunity to take a look at the old Frisco Eastern Division in several places. Everywhere I looked, the old SLSF looked pretty good! Fresh, neat ballast, and nice looking, shiny rail. I guess the stories of the demise of the Eastern Division were somewhat incorrect. I only saw one train, but heard several - I always stay at a place close to the rails. ;)
Drove down to Newburg Thursday afternoon - the place looks the same as always, but there is quite a bit of work going on in the "yard". Looked like new rail, with several ballast cars sitting there. Does anybody know what they are doing? There is some work going on out around the turntable pit. What is that about?
Alas, the Houston House did not look so good. See the pic. Those great home-made biscuits and Mrs. Nolan's apple butter are long gone.
Frisco cab SLSF 1111 is still there, but looking a bit strained. See the pic. The Newburg Historical Society is still there, but was closed with no sign of life.
But ... as always, the bar over the creek ("the Branch") is still there and was going strong. See the pic. I was in a business suit, so I chose not to go in. ;)
In Rolla, I stopped off at the former site of the station to pay my respects to the location where I watched a zillion trains. Sad. There is a restored caboose there - a former GN cab, decorated as SLSF 1501. Hmmm. Frisco 4-8-2 Mountain SLSF 1501 is still there at Frisco Park, looking about as always. While a student at MSM in the early 1960's, I remember it in its glory before some of her goodies were stolen. But, she survives, and is under cover.
Even though BN/BNSF has removed most of the neat stuff I used to love looking at, it was good to be close to the Frisco again.
Ken
Though the weather was not very good on Friday, I took the opportunity to take a look at the old Frisco Eastern Division in several places. Everywhere I looked, the old SLSF looked pretty good! Fresh, neat ballast, and nice looking, shiny rail. I guess the stories of the demise of the Eastern Division were somewhat incorrect. I only saw one train, but heard several - I always stay at a place close to the rails. ;)
Drove down to Newburg Thursday afternoon - the place looks the same as always, but there is quite a bit of work going on in the "yard". Looked like new rail, with several ballast cars sitting there. Does anybody know what they are doing? There is some work going on out around the turntable pit. What is that about?
Alas, the Houston House did not look so good. See the pic. Those great home-made biscuits and Mrs. Nolan's apple butter are long gone.
Frisco cab SLSF 1111 is still there, but looking a bit strained. See the pic. The Newburg Historical Society is still there, but was closed with no sign of life.
But ... as always, the bar over the creek ("the Branch") is still there and was going strong. See the pic. I was in a business suit, so I chose not to go in. ;)
In Rolla, I stopped off at the former site of the station to pay my respects to the location where I watched a zillion trains. Sad. There is a restored caboose there - a former GN cab, decorated as SLSF 1501. Hmmm. Frisco 4-8-2 Mountain SLSF 1501 is still there at Frisco Park, looking about as always. While a student at MSM in the early 1960's, I remember it in its glory before some of her goodies were stolen. But, she survives, and is under cover.
Even though BN/BNSF has removed most of the neat stuff I used to love looking at, it was good to be close to the Frisco again.
Ken