This is the Sligo and Eastern section crew, circa 1900. Sligo was incorporated as a town in the early 1880's, and was named for Sligo Ireland. The town had a huge iron works there, and operated a line that connected with the Frisco's Salem Branch about two miles north of Cook Station at a junction known as Goltra. The Sligo and Eastern operated eastward through Dillard, Viburnum, Bixby, and terminated at a village named Roulon, which was called East End by the railroad. The line was rough and rugged, and used Shay locomotives after about 1910. The furnaces of the Sligo Iron Works were forever extinguished in 1922, and the town, with once a population of neary 4,000, was deserted. When the Frisco built the Lead Line in 1967, part of the original roadbed was re-used south of Viburnum.
Here's a couple of old photos of Sligo life as it was a hundred years ago. The luxury observation car was definitely out of place on this line. Note the stringer of fish hanging from the awning of the coach. Fishing has always been good on the Huzzah Creek! Photo appeared in a Salem newspaper in the 50's. It was copied with permission by Jay Anderson, fellow Salem Branch researcher and member of this group.
As a kid, I spent several weekends each year on the Huzzah at Old Mill Lodge at Dillard, Mo. run by Mr & Mrs Lester Klemme, formerly of Kirkwood, Mo. During the afternoon, when it was too hot to fish or do much of anything else except maybe swim in the Huzzah, we would often go for a ride in the surrounding countryside. The Mark Twain Forest surrounding that part of Missouri is beautiful and very rustic. We visited Sligo, Mo. several times on those rides. I remember seeing the site of the old iron works there, and climbing the slag piles more than once. Each trip, I usually brought home a piece or two of broken slag, and a bunch of chiggers! Ken
I consider myself blessed to have grown up in the area. We were miles away from the nearest movie theatre, but I never was at a loss for something to do. I roamed the river (Meramec) bottom land as a kid, and fished, swam, and played in the remains of the old mill at Wesco. I once found a brass spit-toon (not sure if I spelled that right) that said "Ship it on the Frisco" in red letters sticking out of the sand beneath the mill stream dam. I remember looking at it for a few moments, then throwing it back in the water. Last summer, Jay Anderson and I went to Sligo to search for the remains of the old trestle that crossed Crooked Creek. We determined that it was on some ground owned by the daughter of a well-known dentist in Salem, and got permission to go there on the condition that she accompany us. It wasn't hard to find, as the driveway leading off of Hwy TT was actually the old roadbed. There were rows of pilings in the water, along with nuts, bolts and washers. We even found a large wrench laying there. Keeping in mind that this bridge had been gone for over 80 years, we considered these artifacts treasures, but turned them over to the landowner while persuading her to display them at the next Sligo reunion festival, which will be held this March. The roadbed approaching the west bank of the creek is actually made with a lot of slag used as fill. This would be a great model opportunity. A Bachmann three-truck Shay (wood cab) interchanging traffic with Frisco 2-6-0's at the iron works and switching cars in and out of the smelter would make a really neat layout. I've run out of money and space for another project, but not enthusiasm.
Hey guys I know this is an old thread but maybe I can help revive it. My family owns a farm south of sligo say 7miles by road on down the Hwy TT you mentioned. I have been traveling through this area my whole life....given Im only 27 not the S&E has been long gone before I was even a twinkle in my parents eyes. There are still remnants of the old slag piles as well as a few standing cabins where I am told the workers from the sligo furnace lived. I would be very interested in any information you have on where the rail beds laid so that I might be able to check them out on my next trip down. Also i have heard many discussions about a "clubhouse" where the wealthy investors and managers of the furnace company and the rail road spent thier time while in sligo. Have you heard of this? Any ideas where it may have been located? Wade Murray
I have been looking at this grouping of old lines around Salem. I have managed to track down all of the old grade for the S&E except for a couple of sections. Perhaps you can clarify for me. It would appear to me that the S&E would now be highway 49 from the top of the hill east of Dillard into Viburnam? Also it would appear that highway 49 would be the old grade from Bixby east to East End? I'm guessing that there was mining activity in East End? Otherwise I don't see why the road would have continued east of Bixby.
Yes, it does seem to follow much of what is now MO Hwy 49 into Viburnum. If you were to stand on the highway bridge over Huzzah Creek, the railroad passed to the southwest, crossing the creek a short distance upstream. It intersects with Hwy 49 shortly after crossing the creek. Out of the three branches that I've tried to physically locate (the Cherry Valley, Decamp, and S&E), this section in particular has been the most difficult for me. Pat Moreland, Union Mo.
Using USGS online historic maps I was able to trace the Cherry Valley, DeCamp and S&E from Goltra east to Dillard with ease. It was the section of S&E from Dillard eastward that is difficult and the only logical solution I see is that 49 uses the old S&E alignment from the top of the hill east of Dillard all the way to East End. Or at least ran immediately parallel to the 49 alignment so the maps don't show the "Old Railroad Grade". I did run across some information somewhere that I have not been able to relocate that suggested the DeCamp branch at one time extended into St. James. Do you know anything about that?
Hi Matt. I'm pretty sure that it terminated in Decamp and never reached St. James, although that may have been the intent at one time. I've read an article or two written about it in the Cuba Free Press by James Ira Breuer, a local historian, who contributed several stories about the railroads in Crawford and Dent counties. He never mentioned anything about it going past Decamp, and no maps that I've seen have indicated that either. Around the turn of the century, there was a railroad that was proposed to run south from Rolla to Licking, Houston, and possibly further, and although a grade was built for a short distance south of Rolla along what is present day State Route O, track was never laid. Maybe there was a plan to tie the Decamp branch in with this line, but I don't know. Pat Moreland, Union Mo.
I was browsing through the Missouri Depots website the other day and saw the picture of the Dillard depot. It is still standing today and what is most interesting is that the right of way went in front of it. So the alignment that is guessed to be following 49 from Dillard to Viburnum would now seem to be in question. http://www.missouridepots.com/dillard-se-2010.htm Patrick
During my time around Dillard when I was younger (~1953-1965, at the Old Mill Lodge), the building described as the depot was the Cottrell general store, post office and Gulf Oil station. The Cottrells also had a black angus cattle farm there. If the building also served as a depot in earlier years, I doubt the tracks ran in front of the structure. The location of the bridge over the Huzzah gives a clue - see the aerial shot. In my mind, the right-of-way would have run along side the building, between it and the highway. I'll wager there was a small depot structure between the tracks and the building. That also fits the location of the ROW across the local road in front of the building, where the ROW clearly ran along side a small creek that drained down to the Huzzah at Dillard. I recall walking along what was obviously the ROW there the first time I was ever in Dillard, where we were catching crawfish in the creek. Ken
If you look at the second picture of this building at the Missouri Depot site you will see tracks directly in front of it. The following excerpt describes the S&E at Dillard: The Sligo Iron Furnace Company built a frame store building at Dillard around the turn of the century, and this building is still occupied by Cletus Cottrell, a grandson of the founder, Joseph Dillard Cottrell. In the building, Cletus Cottrell and his wife have a general store which is at the present time the only one at Dillard. The Sligo and Eastern Railroad ceased its operation after the Sligo Iron Works closed, but the steel rails and the old decaying ties were not removed until about 1930. In the early days the tracks passed in front of and also behind the Company Store. The freight house and the switchyards were scenes of much activity. The hillside was dotted with a score or more houses, for the population at that early time was thought to have been about two hundred. Yes at first I thought the grade was to steep coming out of Dillard. But after turning on the elevation profile of the .kmz (for the life of me I can't remember which member here put the route together) I saw that it wasn't to steep. In fact I found that the "old railroad grade" alignment as shown on the Viburnum West Quad, was graded as the right of way to alleviate the steep grade. So my best guess is that there was a siding or switch into the "freighthouse and switchyards" there at Dillard??? Do you think that would make sense?
Pat, You can't reply within the quote tags or the message does not appear. I have fixed it although the formatting is still messed up. Charlie
I still think the track were to the left side of the Cottrell building. That hoto does not convince me the tracks ran in front. The ROW clearly was at right angles to the front of the building. At least that is what I remember from my early visits as a kid. K
I also believe the "mainline" went to the left but the photo clearly shows tracks in front of it. The photo along with the description of Dillard that I posted above leaves me to believe that Dillard had more than just the main line running through the valley. I also found where the row came in from the west. The .kmz that I obtained from here has it coming down into Dillard from the north along 49. While the S&E did follow 49 leaving Sligo, it departed 49 about halfway between Sligo and Dillard and cut cross country. Patrick
I've looked at the pic again. Is that the railroad ROW for Dillard service tracks curving around from the main to the front of the Cottrell building, right before the main going up on the trestle leading to the Huzzah bridge, or is that the town local road that we see? I don't know. That looks like the road we drove by Cottrell's through the town on the way out to the Old Mill Lodge (operated by Lester Klemme from Kirkwood, MO), now the Dillard Mill Missouri Historical site. Wonderful place - was one of the highlights of each year when we went down there one-two times each summer when I was a kid, even with the chiggers! I still enjoy going down there every few years for a visit. Great memories. We would take that road off the highway, and pull into the Cottrell's to fill up our 1957 Chevy BelAir 283 V-8 with good Gulf "No Nox" gas, maybe buy a cold Pepsi, then ask one of the Cottrell boys (Luke was one of them, was the other Clem?) to dig us some worms for the weekend fishing, and after check-in with Mr & Mrs Klemme (and dog Rex), would unload at our cabin up the hill by the Dillard Mill, and then go down to the Huzzah downstream of the mill pond and set our minnow trap. Boy I wish I could re-live those summer visits the Huzzah again! Ken
