I know that there was direct traffic from StL to Memphis/Birm/Pensacola down the River Div but I am curious what foreign roads might have traversed the Mississippi on Frisco iron. I have not seen any photos of foreign power on the River Div but most of the rest of the railroad saw foreign locomotives and cabooses. Photos would be great if anyone has any. Thanks.
Re: Rush Island unit coal train The unit coal train to Rush Island was a joint MP/Frisco, then later MP/BN pool run. The coal came out of southern Illinois or Kentucky across the Thebes bridge and then up the MP tracks to the yard at Cape. There were ad hoc fueling facilities at the south end of the yard at Cape where the MP power was serviced. Recent years have seen UP power dragging western coal south on the River Division from St Louis to Rush Island. I have a video made by a SLSF/BN/BNSF crewman that documents coal movements in two different eras.
Here is a Ken McElreath photo of Erie Lackawanna #65029 Double Door Auto Box at the Cape TOFC facility in 1973. The placard on the end of the car indicates the car contains a Fire Engine for the Cape Girardeau Fire Department.
Re: International Shoe Co. - Cape Girardeau Keith, thanks for posting the EL photo, that's really cool. Thanks to Ken McElreath for shooting the photo. Regarding foreign power on the River Sub. I remember the MP and UP power on the coal trains. I was wondering if any SOU, SCL or other power might have been seen as a results of some power agreements where a road in StL or Mem was paying back time to the Frisco. Maybe not, just thought I would check.
Tim Cannon, are you out there? I'm thinking he might have insight on this one. Personally, while I was awfully young, I don't recall seeing anything other than Frisco Orange/White stopping in Chaffee. I think I would have noticed, considering how my first sighting of Cascade Green left an impression on me. While not pool power per se, the evidence exists on switch lists for Chicago & Eastern Illinois power running the short distance between Rockview and Chaffee; the C&EI had trackage rights to Chaffee and into the 60s ran a turn to Chaffee via the Thebes, Illinois bridge. Karl Brand shared some old C&EI switch lists from this era - there were a lot of MTY hoppers heading back to the coal mines, as I recall. After the full absorption of the C&EI into the MoP, the operations to which Keith refers above may have been the successor? Best Regards, More on the Unit Coal Trains: hhttp://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/rush-island-coal-train.744/ (klrwhizkid)
Attached on this post is a series of pictures taken by Ken McElreath in 1969 that depict a southbound consist, first in downtown Cape, and then passing by Marquette Cement.
More photos from Ken McElreath taken late in 1962 after demolition of the brick passenger depot (http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/cape-girardeau-mo.769/#post-4704). Ken's notes identify the train as the Sunnyland. It is parked next to the old Freight Depot which served as a passenger depot until the newer Butler-type building was completed.
More Ken McElreath photos of passenger trains/locos in Cape. Last photo is of the Sunnyland northbound at Trail of Tears State Park, upriver from Cape.
Another set of Ken McElreath photos. The first three are of a northbound local at Chaffee. The next two are of the yard in Cape, followed by two shots taken in downtown Cape of locos 817, 676 and 724, then two more shots taken just south of the original river bridge. Finally, a shot of a meet taken in the yard next to Missouri Dry Dock & Repair and a caboose in Chaffee.
Chris, Yes the C&EI and then the MoP ran power into Chaffee but as the "Thebes Transfer". I can remember the blue Mop units but not the C&EI black and white only because I was too young. I do remember an occasional black scheme ACL/SCL pool power come through and many UP units. The coolest was the day they cut a UP U50 out of a consistand left it in Chaffee for 2 or 3 days. It was huge! The Fallen Flag site has a pic of a Frisco train with a SCL or ACL in consist near Oran. It is mislabled though. I will try to find it as well as some of the UP stuff I shot around 1978 or 79. There was also the rare SP unit the would be in consist. This is in addition to the occasional re-route (not pool) trains that would come through Chaffee for what ever reason. Here is the pic from Oran (listed as Ran) from the Fallen Flag site.
Ken (via Keith) and Tim, you have postively made my day with the photos and the operational details! Many thanks! In the Frisco yard photos, is the "elevated" line the MoP? Best Regards,
Chris, Yes, the elevated line on the right is the MoPac track going south. Note that the Frisco yard had been recently flooded by the Mississippi, as evidenced by the silt lines from the retreating waters. Also, the caboose in the last B/W photo taken in July 1962 in Chaffee was on a southbound freight leaving the Chaffee yards headed by F3A #5002 and an FA1. I think I sent the head end photos to Tim Cannon, who intends to post them on his Chaffee website. Keith, thank you for posting these. It's so much better to see them and share them with others than to have them sitting in a closed scrapbook. Ken McElreath
Tim, That's a great photo! Thanks for posting. It appears to be NWF or an equivalent pool train headed to the UP via StL-SY-KC - the long way. I wondered if this could have happened when accidents, MOW or whatever happened on the Thayer Sub.
Ken, thanks very much for clarifying. This also proactively answers what was going to be my next question. This would be an interesting feature for a River Division fan to model! I'll look forward to seeing the head-end photos on Tim's website soon. Many thanks! Best Regards,
The new website is still coming! Working a lot of overtime and late hours! Ken, Would it be okay to post the ones Keith put up here on the new website? Thanks for sharing!
Tim, you may share them there as well, just make sure Ken gets credit as the source. Ken gave me the originals to share with all the Friscoites.
Does anyone know what kind of tractor that is on the back of that flatcar? It is definitely in frisco MOW service. I know timetables from the 1970s list MDC583 riding on car 105500, and say MDC583 is a caterpillar bulldozer. Is that what we see, or is this another tractor? ( and I know the car numbers do not match, but a number of frisco MOAw flats were renumbered in the late 1960s or early 1970s). Paul
Paul, As I recall, there was an equipment list from about 1970 that called it a "Tractor-ditcher," including both the flatcar and its load. Ken
