May 9, 1961, Mansfield, MO: What happened?

[meteor910]

I have been writing a short article I'd planned for The Meteor on the mystery of the wreck in Mansfield, Mo on 5/9/61 involving F3 SLSF 5010 and GP7 SLSF 555. As I already have another article in the next issue of The Meteor, and given that this new wreck article has little text and is mainly pictures, I've decided to post it here on frisco.org instead. Plus - I'm hoping for answers to some questions I have!

The reader should refer to Marre & Harper's "Frisco Diesel Power", page 65, note "b", regarding GP7 SLSF 555. It reads as follows:

"SLSF 555 was the second diesel-electric locomotive removed from the Frisco roster, but the first to be scrapped. It apparently suffered, in 1960 or 1961, a mishap of some sort of which no record can now be found. The first diesel-electric locomotive retired was 44-ton unit SLSF 2; it was sold in March, 1960".

Both of these two wrecked units were traded to GE in December, 1961 - on new U25b's. Interestingly, SLSF 5010 was not scrapped right away as was SLSF 555. GP7's had weak frames, and internal frame damage might be why 555 was written off so soon - notice how badly the frame is bent. But, it certainly looks like 5010 got the worst of the damage. When was it written off?

I have an extensive collection of Frisco photos taken by the late Arthur B. Johnson, a former Frisco employee and a great and prolific photographer of all things Frisco. Following are postings of six of Arthur's photos from my collection. I've had these for years - Arthur passed away on January 4, 1982. He was a good friend - one of those great Frisco people in Springfield we FMIGers learned a whole lot from.

Arthur had pictures of F3 SLSF 5010 and GP7 SLSF 555, taken in Springfield on May 21, 1961, twelve days after the May 9, 1961 accident they were involved in. The accident occurred in Mansfield, Missouri, southeast of Springfield, on the line to Memphis.

The point of all this ..... as Dr Marre noted, there is no record, investigation report, or mention of this accident that he, or I, have been able to find. I have a pretty good collection of Frisco accident reports, plus there is the DOT/ICC site. Nothing at all on this one. I hope nobody was seriously hurt - if so, I would think there would be an investigation report available.

Do any of you frisco.org members have any details on what happened in Mansfield, Mo on May 9, 1961? Was there an investigation and a report, or a Mansfield newspaper story? If so, please advise! From the look of the pictures, it was pretty violent and should have attracted attention.

Following are the descriptions of the pictures I have posted below. As I said, they are each Arthur B. Johnson photos from the Ken Wulfert collection.

- SLSF 5010, F3A, Springfield, July 7, 1948. 5010 is one month old.
- SLSF 555, GP7, Springfield, April 4, 1959. It is eight years old. Photos of 555 are hard to come by - this is the only one I have.
- SLSF 5010 in Springfield on May 21, 1961, following the May 9 accident. Ouch!
- SLSF 5010 in Springfield on May 21, 1961, following the May 9 accident. Double ouch!
- SLSF 555 in Springfield on May 21, 1961, following the May 9 accident. Again, ouch!
- SLSF 555 in Springfield on May 21, 1961, following the May 9 accident. Again, double ouch!

Note Arthur took a picture of both sides of each wrecked locomotive. Note also SLSF 555 is still riding on its Blomberg trucks, while SLSF 5010 is up on a SP flat car. And, look what SLSF 555 is hooked up to in the Springfield yard - a Frisco steam generator car!

I have nothing in my notes from Arthur on what happened in Mansfield on May 9, 1961. I might not have been smart enough to ask him in 1978-1981 when he and I were in contact. I've been wondering ever since what the story was.

Does anybody know? Does anybody have other pics of SLSF 555 and SLSF 5010 around the time of this accident?

Ken

[TAG1014]

Great photo essay Ken!

Tom

[yardmaster]

Ken -
Wow, 5010 looks like something took a large bite out of her.

The next time you are in Columbia killing time, the State Historical Society of Mo. apparently has the Mansfield Mirror on microfilm from 1957 onward.

http://shs.umsystem.edu/newspaper/index.shtml

It may be a long shot, but I wonder if they would have had news on the accident?

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Best Regards,

[meteor910]

As a follow-up, I just now realized that Athearn Genesis selected SLSF 5010 as the unit number for one of their HO Frisco Genesis F3A's.

Any of you who have that Genesis unit (I do), and your era is after 5/9/61, take a ball-peen hammer to it and hoist it up on a 50ft SP flat!

Also note the Frisco gondola coupled to the SP flat with a load of junk in it. I suspect that is mainly SLSF 5010's innards.

The story of what happened must be out there somewhere!

Ken

[klrwhizkid]

It looks like 5010 has mud on the right side of her face and the hole in her was definately punched from left to right. 555 looks like she was running backwards and her rear end met with a calamitous end, while her front end just got punched in by something softer, with some give.
Here's my accident reconstruction based on the little evidence we have thus far.
1) 5010 goes aground on the right side of the tracks and her rear end violently comes around to the right.
2) 555 is coupled to her, rear forward but the coupling pulls apart as 5010 begins to swing hard but not before pulling the rear of 555 off the tracks,
3) aligning 555 to punch 5010 amidships
4) The force of the collision, backed up with the momentum of the train behind a boxcar, drives the frame of 555 into the side of 5010 just above the frame.
5) The frame of 555 digs in between the frame and engine of 5010 and the engine of 555, along with her frame splits 5010's engine into two pieces.
6) The force of 555 driving through 5010, rolls 5010 over onto her side, getting her nose on the right side dirty.
7) The momentum of the train swings the front end of 555 around to the right and lays her on her side into the dirt at the cab.


Something else interesting I noticed; Steam Generator car #51 is in the picture coupled to 555.

[meteor910]

Thanks Keith! Excellent analysis. Your thesis sounds very plausible.

I have a Rock Island friend - who reads this list - who contacted me with the word that he has some 35mm slides given to him by a friend that he thinks are of the Mansfield wreck. We are going to make copies.

He thinks he recalls his friend saying that it was a washout situation. All the mud & crud on 5010's nose seems to support that it went over into some wet, muddy ground.

Ken

[Coonskin]

Excellent detctive work, Ken!!

Those are the first pictures I've ever seen of the long-gone 5010 and 555!!

Thanks!

Andre

[tmfrisco]

I'm certainly glad my 1950s era time frame comes before the wreck, because I don't think I would have strived for the amount of authenticity :eek: that Ken suggested. With the amount of damage done, one would think that the dollar thresh hold for an official investigation would have been reached. It is odd that nothing has been found. Terry

[meteor910]

More information has surfaced regarding the May 9, 1961 wreck on the Frisco at Mansfield, Missouri involving F3A SLSF 5010 and GP7 SLSF 555. I'll post seven new pictures of the wreck - three in this post, and four in a subsequent post. They show the magnitude of this accident, and give us added evidence to try to reconstruct the event and understand what happened. As you will see, this was a major accident with massive damage to both motive power and rolling stock.

These pictures were taken by the late John Sillick, and are now part of the collection of Jeff Cooney, a Rock Island friend of mine and of others in frisco.org. Thank you Jeff for providing these pictures, and thanks also to Don Wirth who kindly scanned them (from 35mm slides) into digital pics for us.

Jeff recalls discussing this accident with Mr. Sillick, and believes he remembers Mr. Sillick saying the accident was due to a washout. The train was obviously underway at road speed as a major pile-up occurred. I have still yet to find an official report of this accident.

Note first the following three pics:

Pic 455 - Wreck train #1, four MOW cars and a big hook at work clearing things up. GP7 SLSF 510 is part of the power for the wreck train. Another GP7 is coupled to 510. The identity of the big hook is not certain. Note that it has a black boom. Note also FA1 SLSF 5223 on the ground. This unit was part of the consist of the train - likely either the trailing unit or the lead unit. It will be seen that the consist was six units: FA1 5223, GP7 555, a F3B, a F7A, F3A 5010, and a F?B. The last unit mentioned (F?B) is either a F7B or a F3B. This wreck train is likely working the front end of the scene (wrecked locomotives).

Pic 472 - Wreck train #2, three (or more) MOW cars and a big hook. It looks like the back end of the wrecking crane is after the third MOW car, but the long distance between that and the boom is confusing. GP7's SLSF 569 and 577 are the power for this wreck train. Note that this big hook has a silver boom. This wreck train is likely working the other end of the train (wrecked cars).

Pic 467 - A good view of SLSF 99022, the Springfield Industrial Brownhoist wreck crane, working on smashed up freight cars. I beleive this is the #2 wreck train seen in pic 472. Note the silver boom. Also note MOW flat SLSF 105039, with a selection of freight car trucks to use for rerailing wrecked cars. Look how the freight cars are piled up one upon another.

I'll post the second installment of this update shortly. I'm trying to figure out the order of the units in the consist.

Comments and other opinions certainly welcome!

Ken

ps - Be patient. These pic files are big.

[meteor910]

Following are the remaining four pictures of the Mansfield wreck of May 9, 1961 that I will post. Again - have patience as these are big files. I left them this size so it will be possible to zoom and still show sharp detail.

My plan was to examine each pic and post a probable theory of just what the consist was on this ill-fated train. I've given up on that as each time I look at the pics I come up with another opinion on some detail. I'll note some of those.

Those of you who want to offer your opinions, please do! I'm obviously fascinated by this wreck and would value your views on what happened and what the make-up of the consist was. For others, if I'm boring you with all this, I apologize.

These pictures were taken by the late John Sillick, and are now part of the collection of Jeff Cooney, a Rock Island friend of mine and of others in frisco.org. Thank you Jeff for providing these pictures, and thanks also to Don Wirth who kindly scanned them (from 35mm slides) into digital pics for us.

My initial thesis is that the train was powered by a six-unit consist - FA1 SLSF 5223 in the lead, followed by GP7 SLSF 555, a F3B, a F7A, F3A SLSF 5010, and finally a F?B. I say F?B as I'm not sure if it was a F3B or a F7B.

I've also noted in my post yesterday that there were two wreck trains - one with a wreck crane with a black boom, one with a silver boom. Now I'm not so sure there were two. I've noted MOW flat SLSF 105039 (with the trucks on it) right behind Springfield wrecker SLSF 99022. But, there is a view that shows MOW flat SLSF 105309 behind a wreck crane. Is that a second flat, and a second crane, or the same flat with just a "typo" on the car number - as this view is the other side of the car from the earlier view. ?????

Anyway, I'd appreciate your views of all this. This is a bit of a quest for me, and the more learned opinions I can get, the mystery decreases.

Here we go, put your seat belts as this train had a rough ride:

pic 456 - Here we see the SY wrecker at work. GP7 555 is in the foreground, with her back broken as we know was the case from Arthur Johnson's photo. Note the close view of the "box" type spark arrestors that were on 555. Coupled to 555 were a F3B and a F7A, in that order. No spark arrestors on the F's yet. My initial opinion is that FA1 5223 was in the lead of the consist out of the picture to the left of 555. Note the mangled freight cars piled up, and in particular note the MKT boxcar.

pic 457 - Another view of GP7 555, from the front. This view matches the way 555 looked on the Arthur Johnson photo. Note also, the MOW flat SLSF 105309 - coupled to the SY wreck crane. My view now is that this car is simply numbered wrong on one side or the other. The earlier post showed the flat was numbered SLSF 105039.

Pic 460 - Shows the F7A and that MKT boxcar. At the bottom of this mangled pile of freight cars lies poor F3A SLSF 5010 - you can see the rear portion of the body roof with massive damage forward. Thus, the mauling 5010 took was from being crushed by a huge pile of freight cars coming up over it as the wreck happened. Good view of the horn and "nail" antenna on the F7A.

pic 459 - Shows the pile of freight cars piled up on F3A 5010. The nose of poor F3A 5010 is down there at the bottom. Note also the B&O wagon-top box car. Laying on its side is the final unit in the consist - the F?B - is it a F3B or a F7B? Look how the ground is torn up - there had to be significant dasmage to the roadbed and track as well.

I'm still looking for the accident investigation report. There had to be one given all this damage. Anyone have any leads?

Ken

[klrwhizkid]

With the additional pictures, it is obvious that #555 did not take the bite out of 5010. A box car (looks like SLSF 19471) did the damage. I also noted that at least one of the boxcars was loaded with huge rolls of kraft paper. That kind of mass at speed can do some real damage - I think that's what gave the box car its power!

Ken there are two wreck trains, working from both ends of the wreck:

One end has two GP7s, an unknown and #510 followed by three MoW bunkcars, flatcar 105309 and wreck crane 99022 (pictures 455, 456, 457, 467), however in image 467, the flat car is a different number; 105039

In image 472, we see the other end has GP7s 569 and 577, with an MoW bunkcar, MoW boxcar, and a crane with different rigging at its rear end. It is important to note that in image 472 we can see the head end of the boom of 99022 which is facing us.

[TAG1014]

Ken--I'm betting the second derrick is 99025, the Memphis wrecker with it's outfit.

Tom

[slsfrr]

Guys, I am wondering if picture 472 was taken at another derailment. What puzzles me is the pole line is in both pictures 455 and 472. This would mean the pictures were taken on the same side and end of the derailment, if both pictures are at the same derailment. However, the topography is different and the derailed car to the side of the crane (472) does not appear in any of the other pictures. Ken, what does the picture sequence numbering mean?

Jerome

[klrwhizkid]

In looking at the flat car behind 99022, the location of the generator at the front end of the flat and the positioning of the trucks on the flat in both pictures have convinced me that the Frisco crew that put the numbers on the flat did exactly what Ken alluded to; they did a painting "typo". The last three numbers are transposed side to side.

Jerome does pose a question that I am not able to resolve; the position of the telegraph lines. The shadows indicate, however, that the two pictures are taken from two opposing directions whether of the same accident scene or not.

I think the black boom/silver boom appearance is an issue of camera/incoming light angles. In the picture where the boom appears to be silver on top, the incoming light to the camera is at an obtuse angle. In the other pictures, the light appears to be coming to the camera at acute angles.

[meteor910]

Thanks guys - your inputs are great.

Tom - The Memphis wrecker working their end of the wreck makes a lot of sense with the Springfield wrecker working the other side. This was a big enough mess, on an active single track line, that bringing two crews in to restore service quickly would be justified.

Jerome - The picture numbering sequence means nothing. The 35mm slides were scanned in random order. I don't know the time, or sequence, of any of them.

I hope nobody was riding in SLSF 5010! Probably not - it seems clear to me it was in the middle of the consist, probably unit #5.

Ken

[Sirfoldalot]

Obtuse? Acute?
There you go again, Keith, using those big words. :D
Nice pick up on the transposing car numbers.

[meteor910]

FYI, I just checked the 1961 Frisco annual report - no mention of the May 9 accident. They did make a big deal, with pics, of obtaining the eight high-hood U25b's and some Airslide covered hopper cars. They also won a safety award - in spite of this accident.

Ken

[TAG1014]

Ken--Most any Frisco wreck I've seen (Or seen pictures of) with cars or engines on the ground soon had two derricks working. Think of how they were stationed: Springfield, Memphis, Lindenwood, Kansas City, Tulsa etc. A wreck at about any place on the main core of the Frisco, could have wreckers that could be at both ends of an accident in a short time.

Tom

[meteor910]

A couple more updates -

First, Keith & others - It might be a neat thing to model to get an undec Red Caboose 42ft flat car and do it as a silver SLSF MOW flat with a bunch of trucks and other equipment on it as in these pics. Then number it SLSF 105309 on one side and SLSF 105039 on the other side. No end numbers needed on these cars. Then see if anyone ever notices - probably not, it will be our secret!

Second, Jerome - I contacted Jeff Cooney to see if he could verify that pic 472 is indeed from the 5/9/61 Mansfield wreck. Following is his response:
Yes, I read Jerome’s comment and have to agree as it makes no sense based on the pole line location. I pulled the slides again and they are consecutively numbered 21 thru 37 with 22, 23, and 29 missing. The slide raising the question is the last in the series, 37, which if a roll of 36 very likely was the last shot. They all appear to be from the same series and again, no information was noted on the slide jacket other than the processing stamp of May, 61. It has to be associated with the derailment but certainly doesn’t seem to fit. I think the boom that appears black, is black, and is the “Memphis” wrecker working the east end. As Tom stated, would make sense to work from both ends based on the severity of this accident in order to restore service ASAP.

Thanks Jeff. Personally, I think it is from the same group, but likely at a later time at the end of the operation after the line was re-opened, and at a slightly different location than the wreck scene itself. Note the second wrecker crane (Springfield?) is close up to the first, indicating all the debris has been removed from the line. Note also the boom on the first (Memphis?) crane has been lowered, likely indicating its work is done.

Also the common slide processing date stamp of May, 1961 would indicate that this slide is part of the series - it is unlikely the two wreck cranes would be together again so soon after the wreck date.

Ken

[TAG1014]

Ken--The odd slide might have just been at a different location or time with some different light. And, my experience at wrecks has been that there is usually just one really good place to take pictures (Near a road or crossing), then others not so good. Where you might have to stand on something or shoot into the sun etc. I think that odd photo was just at a different place at the scene.

Tom

[klrwhizkid]

The wrecker that has the black top surface of the boom is unequivocally 99022 from Springfield as can be seen in pictures 455, 456, and 457. In picture 467, the topside of 99022's boom appears to be silver for reasons I explained in the previous post. I assume that the boom's top surface was painted black to reduce sun glare reflected into the operator's eyes.

The other picture in which a boom can be seen is 472. Looking closely you will notice that we are looking at the underside of the boom on the crane working the opposite end of the wreck. The boom on the near crane cannot be seen.

[meteor910]

I just noticed on pic 455 that the second wrecker crane boom is visible in the distance. The near crane, which has the black looking boom, is the Springfield crane, which we know has a silver boom. Thus Keith is correct - the dark boom topside is a function of the light angle in the photo.

Assuming I am correct that FA1 SLSF 5223 was the lead unit, then the train was running from Memphis to Springfield. Interestingly, 5223 was one of the Frisco FA1's that was not repowered with an EMD 567. Note its roof - I think I can see the Alco exhaust stack - looks like it is damaged, so I can't tell for sure if it is the original air-cooled turbo or an upgraded water-cooled turbo. Under magnification, I see it appears to be the water turbo. This makes sense given 5223's relatively high number in the Frisco's FA1 series, and that it was not one of the ones selected for repowering.

Also interesting - FA1 5223 was the very first Frisco FA1/FB1 that was retired - in December, 1961 per Marre's "FDP", probably as a result of damage from this wreck. I have an Arthur Johnson pic of 5223 from April, 1952. On the back, Art notes "Scrapped Nov, 1961 due to wreck".

Attached is another pic of the wreck, pic 468. Look at the neat ATSF PS2 (Athearn or Walthers model?), and the tank cars. Wonder what was in the t/c's? Thankfully, it does not look like they breached, and there is no evidence of any fire or major liquid spill.

I love looking at pics like this and pulling out details.

Ken

[klrwhizkid]

Three more observations. If you zoom into picture 455 enough and look just to our left of the distant crane boom, over the top of the brown car, you can see the top of a telegraph pole on the opposite side of the tracks. If you look at picture 468, there is a telegraph pole in the foreground and more in the background. In the far left of picture 467, there is a pole partially obscured by the tree and a piece of kraft paper hung up on a (downed telegraph) wire in the immediate foreground between the men and the camera. This last pole is on the opposite side of the tracks as the one in the foreground of 455.

The observation then begs a question: Is is unusual for telegraph lines to cross over the tracks from the inside to the outside of a curve?

[frisco4301]

I found this aerial shot of the Mansfield derailment. This should help putting things in proper perspective. Have not spent any time studying but I am still thinking this was due to washed out roadbed conditions. Pooled water in this photo and what appears to be lots of mud in the slides below. Back side of photo shows a time of 2:00 AM which I would guess to be the time of occurrence. Crew members are noted on back as well. Notes also indicate 6 units and 27 cars derailed. Jeff Cooney, Lindsay, TX

[TAG1014]

Great photo Jeff! Thanks for the post.

Tom

[meteor910]

Thanks Jeff! I'm going to spend some study time on this pic!

Ken

[frisco1522]

What's the big deal, just some busted up diesels. Not like it hurt anything important.

[meteor910]

Note you can't see much, or any, of F3A SLSF 5010 in the aerial view. The poor thing is under the pile of wrecked freight cars about in the middle of the picture.

You can also see the water-cooled turbo on the lead FA1 unit. No doubt the crew in its cab had a thrilling ride to get where the FA1 wound up!

Ken

[klrwhizkid]

After looking at all the photos I came to the belief that the aerial was reversed. The aerial resolved my question about the telegraph poles/lines - there were lines on both sides of the right of way.
I agree that the root cause was a washout.


I have improved the contrast and lighting of the aerial and reposted it here, reversed and unreversed.

[frisco4301]

Keith, I disagree with your note the shot is reversed. While hard to see in the scan, there is a Rock Island covered hopper adjacent to what appears to be a Northern Pacific box car that reads clearly "Rock Island" that is now reversed in the scan just posted. Jeff

[klrwhizkid]

Jeff, I stand corrected, in this case I was a little hasty in my analysis.

[meteor910]

Agree - the positions of the FA1, the GP7 and the F-units in the consist as shown in the aerial view Jeff posted are consistent with the other pics we have on file.

By the way, the notes on the back of the pic indicate the train had six units. I only count five - the FA1, the GP7, the two F B-units, and poor F3A 5010. Am I missing one?

And - five (or six) units on a train this short (27 cars) ??? That train had some horses available! (if they were all running)

Ken

[meteor910]

Well - I counted again - there were six units: FA1, GP7, F3B, F7A, F3A, and a final F B-unit, in that order. Almost 9000 HP for 27 cars.

Ken

[Karl]

I believe that the reference to "6-units and 27 cars" is to what was on the ground, and not the total consist.

[meteor910]

Ah, makes sense. Thanks.

K