All the way from the UK

Hello there, I'm David. I'm an aeronautical engineer from the UK. That's a long way from Frisco territory I hear you say! I blame it all on a couple of b&w fotos in a book I borrowed when I was a boy. I can't remember the book, though I'd love to re-discover it one day. But in that book were 2 marvellous pictures of Frisco mountains powering hot-shot freights over the Ozarks. To a young British boy, those words "Frisco" & "Ozarks" were so mysterious and exciting. And allied with those impressive looking machines, I was fascinated. There was no internet in those days, and I had to wait quite a few years for its arrival before I could start finding things out. So, here I am. Because I live here in the UK, I doubt I'll be able to contribute much, but I'm certainly keen to learn more about your railroad.

Regards
Dave

 

Welcome David. The words "Frisco & Ozarks" are still exciting to me. I worked for the Frisco and live in the Ozarks.

 

Greetings from Bavaria/Germany!

A Texas outlaw of sorts, I was raised north of Dallas on the Frisco! Retired off Deutsche Bahn last year with a total 40 year rail career (Cotton Belt, Santa Fe, German Federal Ry.) and a three year hitch with the US Army Transportation Corps, Germany. My mouth is a Texas Mess, altho I am cleaning it up for the Frisco. Apologies to those concerned!

I love the Frisco 2-10-0 "Russian" Decopods. The German Fed had a large fleet of 2.10-0s and not to forget the British...your "Evening Star" remains a favorite of mine too after seeing the b&w photo in Trains Magazine when it was still new and not broken in. I got to witness the BR´s Flying Scotsman on Allen Pegler´s US tour when it made the Dallas stop as well. My 2nd favorite British steam loco!

I´m still not broken in on this site either but a big Texas howdy from Germany. A bunch of "Good Ole Boys" are on the Frisco! So, welcome on board olde chap! If you plan a trip this way be sure and visit the best train shop in Bavaria in Nuremberg (home of the annual International Toy Fair). A look see at www.modellbahnritzer.de will take you there. Owner Rainer Knoch speaks English too! Do you happen to model in HO scale? How is the new Peco "83 Line" track built to N. American standards? My daughter is begging me to construct her a small HO layout as she railfanned the Dallas area with me in the 70s.

Happy Rails,

Joe Toth
The Trinity River Bottoms Boomer of Dallas, Texas
Derailed in Deutschland

 

This most certainly true!

 

Hi David--If you're trying to locate some early books that might have been the candidates for your long lost books with the Frisco pictures, you might try some of the titles by Lucius Beebe. Highball, High Iron, Highliners come to mind, "Trains In Transition" is another. Those books had a sprinkling of Frisco steam photos when there weren't any others to speak of.

Tom

Edit: See http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=5771161736&searchurl=an%3Dlucius%2Bbeebe%26sts%3Dt%26tn%3Dhigh%2Biron%26x%3D60%26y%3D7

 

Firstly, thanks to you all for your warm welcome.

Ken, I'm very pleased you enjoyed my country. I hope the weather was good, as the UK is notorious for its unpredictable weather (though it's rarely extreme in nature).

Joe, I like those BR 9Fs myself. Designed in the early 50s, last one built in 1960 (!!!). Quite a few mods, some with Giesl ejectors, others with Crosti boilers, mechanical stokers (rare in the UK, grates were small) and I seem to remember one fitted with a type of feedwater heater (also very rare in the UK). One of their most famous stomping grounds was near to where I live on the Somerset & Dorset line, lifting heavy passenger trains over the Mendips. A few managed 90mph - and they had 60" drivers (yikes!!).

Tom, I would like to find this book one day by describing it in a post somewhere. Don't know if the Frisco forum has an appropriate place for such queries. Perhaps a more general Forum such as the one on Trains.Com would be more appropriate.

Cheers Everyone
Dave

 

You were lucky to have witnessed the 2-10-0s in your neighborhood! The DB´s were neat to watch here too including the 3-cylinder 44 Class. The cold Frisco dec in Dallas still warms my heart though!

Joe Toth

 

Actually, I was born too late to see them for real. However, as a boy, I was a member of a Model Engineering Society, and the guys there spoke about them and other locos with great fondness & enthusiasm. It felt like I was really there. Consequently, I read up a lot about all the steam action I missed, and now I have a brain filled with steam loco facts!!

Dave

 

Dave

Where on the S&D are you? Certainly the S&D and the Waverly Route have to be two of the most storied losses of the Beeching Era.

Gordon (FCILT, FPWI)

 

Gordon, I live in Bristol, just 15 miles from Bath, the starting point of the S&D. I've never visited the Waverly route, though I've heard of its beauty and the challenge it presented to engineers & firemen.

Dave