On January 20, 1961, both trains No 9 outbound and No 10 inbound to St. Louis operated over Missouri Pacific (MP) Railroad between Sedalia and St. Louis. This is documented per the MP dispatcher train sheet. Does anyone know what caused this detour, no doubt a derailment? Also, what routing did the trains take from Sedalia to get back on the Frisco to Oklahoma City? Bill Pollard
Bill, I am curious about how the MP train sheet referenced No 9 and No 10, The Meteor. Train No 34 derailed on the Gasconade River Bridge, MP 123.3, near Arlington, MO, MP 122.7, on Monday, January 16, 1961, at 8:35 AM. Twenty one cars left the track. The cause of the derailment was a hotbox on a tank car which caused the car’s axle to fail and drop. The crew was not injured. One trespasser received minor injuries. The Frisco annulled trains No 3 and No 4, The Will Rogers, between Newburg and Springfield. The Frisco bussed number 3’s passengers from Newburg; express and mail were trucked to Springfield. The Frisco turned number 4 at Springfield, and it bussed/trucked the passengers/mail and express to Newburg. The Frisco routed No 9 and No 10, The Meteor, over the MP, Katy, and its own Ash Grove Subdivision - St. Louis-Sedalia-Ft. Scott-Springfield. Freight traffic and subsequent passenger traffic was routed over this detour. It took the Frisco 10 days to open the Lebanon Subdivision. http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index....-1961-gasconade-river-bridge.3503/#post-23090
My Dad did that detour route several times. He told a story about a Missouri Pacific Pilot who thought their 5340s 4-8-2 Mountains were much better engines that the Frisco's 4300s 4-8-2 Mountains until Dad had him sit down and run the 4300. Made a new convert.
Don, I remember you telling me this story your dad told. Is it fair to say the Frisco 4300's really were a superior locomotive to the Frisco 4400 types, even though it might have been a close call? The 4300's just look superior to me. Lean and mean! What was it about the 4300's that caused them to be retired, and scrapped, fairly early in their potential life? I have forgotten this detail in their life. K
Nickel-steel boilers may have been their undoing. The metal was popular during the late twenties and the thirties, but was prone to cracking due to thermal stress. Several railroads rebuilt their nickel-steel boilers. There is much discussion on the net. This is but one, https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/nickle-steel-boilers-banned-by-the-icc-why Ultimately, the physics of electric traction put an end to the best of steam. The few enginemen with whom I have spoken, to a man said the 4300’s were the best the Frisco had.