Livestock Operations - Materials and Resources Needed

Chris,

This would be an interesting article. There was a similar article done in the Warbonnet (ATSF) several years ago that was done rather nicely showing the flow of livestock traffic on the Santa Fe. If we could get that sort of info, jackpot! It would also be great to know when livestock operations ceased on the Frisco.

I have heard from a lot of people that livestock wasn't always shipped to the slaughterhouse. During summer months I have heard that cattle was shipped north to the grasslands to feed for the summer and then returned south. Not sure if any of that traffic ran across the Frisco but, again, very interesting stuff.

Other interesting tidbits could include,

1. How livestock was shipped? For example, was it handled in unit trains or only on the head end of fast freights?
2. Where were the big ranches that would have shipped multiple carloads?
3. Where did most of the livestock traffic on the Frisco go? Kansas City? Chicago (via who?)?
4. What were the Federal laws governing transport, feeding and resting of live animals? Did it ever change significantly?

I will be scrounging through my meager archives and see what I have. Ken Wulfert, Don Wirth? Hey what do you guys know?

Thanks for doing this article.

 

In the three old station list books posted on this website, there is a list in the back that has all Frisco Stock pens on the system.

The Northern Division B & B book has all of the stock pen dimensions in it.

 

Chris,

What time frame are you looking at?

Even though its not Frisco, when the KCFS&G (later KCFS&M) built the line that when acquired by the Frisco become the Ash Grove Subdivision, there were several small stock pins along the way that were there between 1880-late 1880's. I'm talking about places like Hornaday, between Lamar and Iantha, and there was another one in the area were the line crosses what is now Missouri Hwy 43.

But these two that I refer to were gone by 1886. They are not on the 1886 plat map my grandpa has. My point is, depending on the era your looking at will depend on having these little pins I'm talking about on the route.

Ethan

 

Does any member know if the Frisco delivered any livestock to the Ft. Worth stockyards? Did any livestock traffic originate on the Ft. Worth & Rio Grande when it was under Frisco rule? I assume if the answer to either question is yes, it was handed over to the Ft. Worth Belt who switched the stockyards unless other railroads had an agreement with the FWB to switch there too?

It would be neat if a few stock cars were spotted at the stockyard historical landmark to give the place some "spice!"

Unrelated perhaps, but there were cattle guards located on the Frisco's mainline at Farmers Branch just north of Valley View Road in the early 50s. My guess is that they were installed all along the line from Irving to Sherman and on into Oklahoma. Anyone know? Don't forget to add them on your layouts! Might be my first G scale scratchbuilding project.

Looking forward to the artical. Will bring out the cowpaddy in me!

Joe Toth

 

A co-worker of mine grew up on a farm near the town of Latham, Kansas. He remembered that during his childhood in the 40's & 50's, that they would go down to the railroad and unload a car or two of cattle that had been shipped up from Texas for summer grazing on their farm. They would 'drive' the cows down the dirt roads to the farm and then repeat the process in the late fall. Thus, you could set up a small cattle pen and repeat this type of operation without a big stock yard setting.

Tony

 

From the Monett Times, 1909...

 

35000 car loads of cattle, that's a lot of meat.

Joe

 

"I have heard from a lot of people that livestock wasn't always shipped to the slaughterhouse. "

True. Most livestock shipments were between winter/summer grasslands, livestock auctions, livestock shows and grazing areas to feedlots.

Even significant number of animals sent to the major packinghouse centers were resold / reshipped out or sent to other packing house centers. For many years livestock would arrive in Chicago and then be sent to the major cities in the east.

Bob Chaparro
Moderator
Railway Bull Shippers Group
https://groups.io/g/RailwayBullShippersGroup

 

I ran across these on an old computer I seldom use. From the NMRA Bulletin of September 1982.

 

I have read--but I can't provide a citation at the moment--that stock cars, when part of mixed freights, were located next to the caboose, rather than at the head end, so that the rear brakeman and the conductor could keep a close eye on them.

 

Here is Wittenburg. Stock pen in background. That's my great grandfather. Looks like the team track might already be gone.......