Folks, Rather than post to the comments section of The Frisco Archive, I thought I would start a thread here in the hopes that it will lead to some interesting operational discussion. Note the following photo of Lightweight Chair Car 1250, "Ollivette". http://frisco.org/mainline/2018/06/24/chair-car-1250-texas-special/ My curiosity is piqued by how it is standing alone at the platform. Would it have been either picked up or set out at Springfield? Perhaps there's another reason. As an aside, I have always thought that the Springfield depot would make a fascinating, passenger operations-centric layout by itself. Looking forward to hearing good sound facts or well-founded theories.
I would think that "Olivette" was a spare to be added to the consist of trains No 1 or No 2, The Texas Special, if it was needed for overflow or if another car had a breakdown. OR it might have been set out at Springfield if it wasn't needed. Tom G.
Thanks, Tom I had a hunch that you might have some ideas or theories. Your "Meteor" article a while back, and its accompanying schematic of the depot trackage and track assignments sure add to the itch to model the depot by itself. And even have a little freight switching between the power plant and lumber yard spurs just east of the depot itself.
During March 10-11, 1948, the Frisco ran a public relations/demonstration (PR/Demo) train between Springfield and Oklahoma City with the E7As (EA7s) and some of the on-hand Meteor cars. The debut of the new Meteor occurred during May 14, 1948. The Texas Special debut occurred during May 16, 1948. If the April 12, 1948 date is accurate on the Archive photo, then I would opine that the Olivette's paint is hardly dry, and the car is on display for the public to see.
That would explain a lot-thanks, Karl. I've seen the unusual daylight photos of the E7As (EA7s) with fully streamlined Meteor consist at Newburg. The same public relations run? I still wonder what kind of shock to one's system it would have been to see flashy silver and red cars after years of either Pullman Green or Zephyr Blue.
All those little details and MANY more are contained in the 2015 TRRA H&TS "book-a-zine" all about the Frisco's Meteor. If you don't have one, hopefully you can find a copy. This book is loaded with Frisco and Meteor information. Tom G.