Karl Brand: As we have discussed previously, on October 24, 1924, the KCC&S as a corporate identity ceased to exist, and the former Leaky Roof became the Frisco’s Osceola Subdivision of the Eastern Division. During the following years the Frisco began the process of combining the best of the Osceola Sub and the Clinton Sub operations into a single route. The first part of that effort occurred during that latter part of 1925, when the Frisco began work to complete the Brownington Cut-Off between Brownington and Deepwater. The cut-off extended an extant mine spur to connect with the Highline at a point, which was just north of Brownington. The connection with the Leaky Roof was south of Deepwater. On Monday, January 25, 1926, B&B crews arrived in Browington to lift the depot onto flat cars for the short move to the new Brownington Cut-Off “junction”. On Wednesday, the 27th, the move was made. Plans were made to move the Deepwater depot to the connection south of town. Those plans never materialized. The connection south of Deepwater was named Dejun (Deepwater Junction). Sunday, February 7th the new time card went into effect, and all trains were routed via the new cut-off, and thence down the Leaky Roof to Lowry City Junction. During the latter part of August, 1926, the Frisco announced its plans to abandon the track between a point just north of Walnut Grove and Phenix. The Frisco also proposed building a short connection track with the Clinton Sub. Once completed, Osceola Sub trains would utilize the Clinton Sub between Walnut Grove and Springfield. The former KCCS depot would be razed, and the Frisco agent would handle Walnut Grove business. The switcher, which was stationed at Ash Grove, would continue to work the quarry at Phenix. The attached, annotated map shows the location of the proposed cut-off. The plan was not executed. The Frisco of 1906 was a collection of various railroads, and the structures (in particular, depots) used on the Frisco's different line segments reflected their distinct heritage. During 1906 the Frisco-Rock Island System promulgated a new set of standard depot plans. As shown in this post, the Frisco had two different depots in Walnut Grove. The second station depicted is a 1906 Standard Plan Number 1 depot, which was by all appearance built at Crescent, Missouri during 1919. The original Crescent depot burned during that year. Destruction by fire was a common cause by which depots met their end. The ignition came from sparks emitted by passing trains, depot stoves, or from the kerosene lamps. Based on the notation on the depot diagram, “Replaced by bldg moved from Crescent”, it is evident that at some point the Frisco, moved the Plan Number 1, Crescent depot to Walnut Grove. This may sound odd, but moving a depot on a flat car(s) was done when needed. The timing and reasons behind this move are in question. The early annual reports are usually reliable for information about new depots and the like, but in this case, I couldn’t find anything. By working backwards, we know that the Crescent agency was closed by the end of 1931. Ultimately, the 1919-built depot was replaced with a car body, and again the diagram doesn’t specify a date. This being said, we might assume by 1932 the Crescent depot was a surplus structure. The second assumption that we can make is that the Frisco’s Walnut Grove depot didn’t need replacement until circa 1935. During 1934-1935, the Frisco razed numerous surplus Clinton Sub depots, and replaced them with carbodies. The Osceola Sub’s Walnut Grove remained an open agency until the first part of 1935. So this implies that a “local source” for extant depot replacements were not going to be found nearby. I have searched local resources for what might have caused the destruction of the original Frisco, Walnut Grove depot, but I haven’t discovered the answer to that question. To be sure, the date is speculation, but it would seem that the repurposed Crescent depot appeared in Walnut Grove after 1935.
