Alco RS-1s With AT&N On Cab - Alabama, Tennessee And Northern - Ownership And Equipment Trust Debit

Discussion in 'RS1' started by dricketts, Nov 20, 2012.

  1. dricketts

    dricketts Member Frisco.org Supporter

    I have noticed AT&N on the cab of some RS-1s in the black and yellow scheme.

    What does this stand for and what is the relevance of the logo?

    I did a quick search on the forums but nothing came up.

    Thanks.
     
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  2. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    You mean the Alabama, Tennessee and Northern logo?

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 20, 2012
  3. dricketts

    dricketts Member Frisco.org Supporter

    This was simply the letters AT&N.

    What was their business relationship with the Frisco?
     
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  4. Iantha_Branch

    Iantha_Branch Member

    Alabama, Tennessee and Northern (AT&N) Railroad.

    It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Frisco, like the Quanah, Acme and Pacific (QA&P) Railway.

    Cannot remember from when to when, but someone else will know.

    Ethan
     
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  5. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

  6. meteor910

    meteor910 2009 Engineer of the Year Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    The Frisco RS-1s, SLSF 101-111 were not purchased by the Frisco, but by the AT&N in 1945-46, same numbers ATN 101-111.

    They came along in the deal when the Frisco assumed ownership of the AT&N in 1948. The small AT&N under the cab-side road number when in Frisco black and yellow colors reflected their continued AT&N ownership.

    Note that the numbering is not typical for the Frisco, who usually started a new locomotive series with, in this case, 100. AT&N started with 101, and to prevent confusion, the Frisco just kept the numbers as is since they were all available.

    Note years later, after the RS-1s were long gone, the Frisco used these same numbers for their new GP15-1s, but in this case started the numbering for these units with SLSF 100.

    Ken
     
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  7. yardmaster

    yardmaster Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Interesting story Ken.

    I was well aware of the Frisco-AT&N relationship and the sublettered RS-1 units, but I had never realized the differences in unit numbering.

    Something new to file away in the memory bank.

    For those wanting a visual reference, see Karl Brand's photograph of SLSF 110 in Chaffee, MO in the early 1960s.

    100-111

    And a Ken McElreath photo of SLSF 111 in Cape Girardeau, MO in May, 1963.

    100-111

    Best Regards,
     
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  8. Hello All,

    New to this SL-SF Frisco group but not new to railroading.

    Grew up in Jonesboro, Arkansas as a teenager and model railroader through the 1960s and 1970s. I watched the Frisco run through there every chance I got. I was brakeman then conductor on the St. Louis Southwestern (SLSW) or Cotton Belt for 37 years.

    An AT&N RS-1 was the regular switcher assigned to Jonesboro for many years until a GP7 took over in the late 1960s. Those old Alcos had a sound all their own. They made a 'tweeting' sound as they revved up when the yard crew kicked a car down the main! That did not happen every day. It was a treat to hear that 'tweet.'

    Ahh the memories.
     
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  9. Joe Lovett

    Joe Lovett Member

    Welcome to the Frisco website Chip!!!

    Joe
     
  10. klrwhizkid

    klrwhizkid Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    That tweet sound was the sound of the exhaust-driven turbocharger.
     
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  11. yardmaster

    yardmaster Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Welcome aboard, Chip.

    Did you ever work in or around Illmo/Fornfelt and the yard facilities there?

    Recently came across a bound copy of Edison Shrum's History of Scott City which has some good SLSW information in the early days.

    Best Regards,
     
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  12. Hi Chris!

    I hired out at Illmo, March 15, 1971, as a brakeman on the Northern Division of the Cotton Belt. Illmo (Scott City) was my home terminal until January, 1983, when then 'Big Move' sent the bottom half of the seniority roster to Jefferson City, to begin running 'our' trains over the then Missouri Pacific between St. Louis and Kansas City. The MoP boys swore we were stealing their business! I have lived around Jefferson City since then.

    By 1971, the once huge yard at Illmo had been gutted from 20 tracks to only five. The once busy roundhouse barely stood, mostly demolished and the few remaining stalls boarded up and overgrown with vines. The turntable was gone and the pit filled in.

    The only 'history' that survived was the yard office building, a quaint, very railroad-looking, two-story wood structure. The trainmaster and road foreman of engines offices were upstairs. Downstairs was a large room where we reported for duty and where the 'board' was kept. In the next room was the clerk / operator office where we got our train orders through a pass-thru window.

    I have never run across any shots of that yard in its heyday. It is sad to say that most 'old' railroad men had no view of their job and surroundings as a piece of history and 'Americana'. It was an unpleasant job for them, 24/7/365, and many had an 'attitude'. They would much rather have been hunting or fishing.

    In 1971, I was the 'geek/weirdo/college boy' who invaded their world with a camera and a notebook while learning how to do a railroad man's job as a brakeman! I was a fast learner at railroading, and at fitting into their 'vernacular.'

    After a long hiatus from real railroading, I retired in 2007, or modeling, I am very interested again. 'Familiarity breeds contempt, but absence makes the heart grow fonder.' Someone said that way before me. Hopefully my old negatives are still in decent shape to scan and preserve for posterity. It will take some time to tell.

    Although my grandfather and I both worked on the Cotton Belt, the FRISCO is a part of me. I grew up watching the 'Sunnyland' and the 'Kansas City-Florida Special' stop in Jonesboro on Saturday mornings. I wish I'd had a better camera at 13 years old.

    Oh well. I will quit rambling now.

    Merry Christmas and a Great New Year all!
     
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  13. Coonskin

    Coonskin Member

    Streak...

    Just keep on rambling.

    You are doing fine.

    Andre
    Retired Locomotive Engineer
     
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  14. klrwhizkid

    klrwhizkid Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Chip,

    Did you by any chance know Kenny Lindsey?

    He married my dad's cousin, Roxey Robinson.
     
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  15. timothy_cannon

    timothy_cannon Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Sure wish this was in color!

    ATN d 104 a.jpg
     
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  16. I sure do know Ken!

    We worked together many times at Illmo. He worked at Jefferson City a very short while in the 1980s until he could hold a job back at Illmo. Great guy to work with!

    The callers were forever getting us mixed up and trying to give us each others calls.

    Lindsey/Lindley, too many cannot tell the difference!

    *eyeroll*
     
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