Cape Girardeau, MO, St. Louis Subdivision, MP 131.6

Cape Girardeau, MO

This is the only remaining portion of the Cape passenger depot, the concrete seawall and parapet between the depot platform and Mississippi River.

Looking south the depot would have been to the right, beyond the floodwall built in the 1960s.

Personal photograph taken around 1994.

 

Cape Girardeau, MO.

Cape Girardeau, MO depot diagram plans for 2nd, and final, Frisco passenger depot.

The pdf file is a dimensioned drawing.

 

Cape Girardeau, MO

Chris,

I have a comment regarding your statement that the second depot at Cape Girardeau was the last one.

About 1964, several years after the second one was torn down, the Frisco built a buff-colored Butler building for a combined freight and passenger operations depot. This depot had a small but comfortable waiting room and agent operator desk. It served until the end of passenger operations in 1965.

I boarded the Sunnyland for St. Louis at both the second and third or last depots. In fact, in 1951, I boarded the train at the old freight house, when it was being temporarily used as a passenger depot because the main station was under water.

This old freight house was also used as a passenger station for a year or two after the main station was torn down about 1962 until the new Butler building below was built in 1967.

Keith Robinson photograph dated 2011.

 

Cape Girardeau, MO

Seeing the plan of the Cape Girardeau passenger depot with the short passing or set out track reminded me that I would occasionally see the local Cape switcher with an express refrigerator car waiting there for the Sunnyland to arrive.

After the passenger train locomotive would cut off and move away, the switcher, a GE 44-ton locomotive, would set the car on the train head end and then return to the passing track.

All of this was very interesting to watch, equally so to model in a reasonable space.

 

What about the passenger depot at Water and Independence?

My father would take me there while my mother shopped. The depot was torn down and is now the parking lot. This was before the flood wall as we could watch trains and boats. The next and last station was next to the freight house.

Was the freight house torn down to make room for the passenger depot?

I would set on the freight loading dock and watch the "noon" passenger trains meet. The loading dock was torn down and is now fenced in for equipment storage. The office was the last depot that I know of.

Did the Cape switcher, the GE 44-ton locomotive, you mentioned go to Marquette Cement, later Lone Star, as their plant switcher?

I know the two steam engines they used were placed in the City Parks. All this happened many years ago so I may be wrong on some of this.

I have also heard that there was a depot at Broadway and Water.

Thanks,

Dwain

 

Cape Girardeau, MO

Cool stuff, Ken.

There is still a building similar to what you have described that is used by local crews and trainmaster.

It sits at the foot of William Street at the intersections of Main, Water and Aquamsi Streets. Come to think about it, I think it has an elevated platform at one end that would logically fit for baggage handling and loading. It used to have large, brushed steel "FRISCO" letters slanted on the roof.

I remember that, post-merger, the sign disappeared from the Cape building, and reappeared on the wood frame depot that Lee Chronister, a former River Division employee at the Chaffee offices, had erected in his back yard.

I will have to try to get a picture of the building that is still there. I think there may also still be a late 1960s or early 1970s standard equipment shed adjacent.

Regarding the 44-tonner and its set-out operations, was the express reefer usually for train(s) No 807, No 808 or both?

I am also thinking that SLSF 2 was the 44-ton locomotive assigned to Cape, but I cannot recall.

Thanks again for sharing.

 

Dwain,

The depot to which you refer was the 1920s-era depot located roughly at the foot of Water St. and Merriweather Street.

The platform ran parallel to Water roughly between William and Independence. I have a Sanborn map copy somewhere that shows the precise location. You are correct, a parking lot and the Merriweather Street Pumping Station now occupy the site. The pumping station holds the river gauge and pumps storm water over the floodwall during high-water times.

I will have to see if either my father can get pictures of what I believe to be the final depot for when they visit in July, or I will try to get some myself when we visit during peach season.

Ken McElreath might be a better source than I am for switching assignments at Marquette Cement. At last check, the old steam switchers were on duty at Arena Park and Capaha Park. The city spent beaucoup bucks about 15 years ago to remove a lot of asbestos from between the boiler and its lagging.

The "original" depot was at the foot of Broadway at Water Street. I have posted a poor quality postcard image that was taken around the foot of Themis Street, looking north.

 

Cape Girardeau, MO
I have seen express reefers set out and picked up by both 807 and 808 at Cape Girardeau.

The building you describe is the one I said was the passenger/freight station in the 1960's. I just didn't remember if it were still there.

Various 44-tonners were assigned as the Cape switcher; also Alco RS-1's. I have a photo of #111 in front of the engine house. Every time the switcher went to Chaffee for an inspection, a different one might return.

In the early 1960's, Chaffee was home to most of the RS-1's and several 44-tonners. I have the roundhouse foreman's notebook that I found years ago at the then-abandoned Chaffee roundhouse that shows all engine assignments through Chaffee. I think it is for 1962 or thereabouts. It is very interesting to read, like a diary of Chaffee train and engine assignments.

 

The two Marquette steam switchers were temporarily replaced by GE 44-ton SLSF 4.

The switcher was on lease from the Frisco and replaced with a company-owned GE 45-ton #4 in 1955 or so, as I remember seeing the steamers operating. The Marquette Cement 45-ton was painted the same colors as the Frisco units.

I used to fish with my dad and uncle at the Marquette lakes south of the plant. We watched the engine tow company cars of clay from the lake sites to the plant.

Moderator's note: See also the following link.

http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/marquette-no-4.6493/#post-50344

 

Cape Girardeau, MO.

Frisco depot completed 1922, razed 1960.

 

Cape Girardeau, MO.

Southern Missouri and Arkansas (SM&A) Railroad depot, later absorbed into Frisco system.

 

Cape Girardeau, MO

 

The 100 Years Ago section of The Southeast Missourian, accessible on line, tells of the Terminal Hotel on Water Street opposite "Union Station" depot.

This would be the SL-SF depot.

What made this a Union Station depot?

 

Dwain,

I saw the same thing.

My guess is that since the St. Louis, Memphis & Southeastern (SLM&SR) built the line from Southeastern Junction to Cape Girardeau, and that Houck's Cape Girardeau (CG) Railway continued southwest to Poplar Bluff, MO, plus Houck's St. Louis Gulf (SLG) Railway split off south of Cape and ran to Commerce, MO, then it justified the "Union Station" depot title.

However, without the specific dates that they were absorbed into Yoakum's "Frisco System," Union Station may be a stretch.

Tim Cannon has posted a nice photograph of the station in the "Depots" section.

 

One of the Cape Girardeau web sites has a picture of the Houck Lines Depot.

It was located on a curve and was made of limestone. It was located on Independence east of Frederick Street across from the old fire station. It was torn down in the 1950s and a power sub-station was built there.

The new federal building is being built on the site.

 

As I recall, there were three Houck lines out of Cape Girardeau, MO.

One was the Southern Missouri and Arkansas (SM&A) line to Poplar Bluff, later the Frisco Hoxie Branch. Its combination station at the north stub end of the line, by the old Mississippi River bridge, later became the Frisco freight depot. The SM&A yards and facilities were south of there.

The second was the line to Commerce and the Illinois Central (IC) Railroad river ferry to Thebes. It had a viaduct under Good Hope Street and Morgan Oak to the yard and depot at Frederick Street and Independence. I believe it shared the stone passenger depot and wood freight station on Independence with the third line, the Cape Girardeau and Chester (CG&C) Railway.

The CG&C traveled the center of Independence Street to about Hanover Street and then followed south of Independence Street westward before crossing Independence again at Plaza Way near the Plaza shopping center.

The original Frisco depot, I think built by the St. Louis, Memphis and Southeastern (SLM&SE) Railroad, was at the foot of Broadway. The SM&A, later St. Louis & Gulf (SL&G), may have extended its line to connect with that line and used this depot prior to both lines' being absorbed into the Frisco.

However, all of that restructuring and merging happened between 1902 and 1904, so it was a very dynamic situation.

I have photos of all four stations as well as the later Frisco passenger station that my great-uncle took. I also have a photograph of a CG&C coach in front of the stone depot on Independence.

I am sorry to depend so much on memory, since I have not documented many bits of knowledge over the years. A good reference that used to be in the Cape Girardeau Public Library was Goodspeed's History of Southeast Missouri, a book published in the early 1950s.

 

Cape Girardeau, MO

Hock Lines Cape Girardeau Northern (CGN) and Cape Girardeau and Chester (CG&C) stone block depot.

 

Cape Girardeau, MO

Frisco depot at the foot of Broadway.

 

cape Girardeau, MO

If you look at the right of the rear of this train you will see the tall building that was the Frisco freight house / SM&A depot.

I can remember seeing it just before it was torn down.

One thing that sticks out in my mind is that it was painted a maintenance of way (MOW) silver with a huge coonskin on each end.

I will try to find a better photo.

 

Cape Girardeau, MO

This Missouri Pacific (MP) Railroad freight house and depot was located on the Southeast corner of Frederick and Independence Streets.

It was opposite the limestone Cape Girardeau Northern (CGN) depot on Independence shown below.

It was actually the freight house for the CGN and later the MoPac depot after the limestone depot building was torn down.

Sorry for the bad photograph. I will look for a better one.