The acquisition of a new item to the collection usually involves a story, and this case is no different. My father had my grandfather's print of The Firefly, which the Frisco, no doubt published, to promote its new train as it toured the Frisco before it settled into its daily daytime trip between KC and OKC. These prints seemed to be relatively common, because I saw them in many of the offices, when my dad would take us to his work. Art Dubin in "More Classic Trains" has a two-page (pp 256-257) photo of the entire Firefly train that bears striking similarity to the Firefly lithograph. I think the photograph in Dubin's book was taken on the Highline just north of the West Shops, and I also believe that the Frisco photographer took a series of pictures during this occasion; one of them became this 12" x 25" "colorized", two-toned (blue and white) lithograph. I believe that Alan of the Frisco Museum fame even sold a black and white reprint of the lithograph. When my wife-to-be and I were dating, she took me to meet her family for Thanksgiving at her grandparents' farm, which was west of Bois d'Arc. As I entered the farmhouse, my eye caught a glimpse of the familiar print. I didn't pay much attention to it, since I was more interested to discover its source. It turned out that Colleen's grandfather, was a boilermaker, and he had worked in Newburg and at the West Shops. He retired to the farm after dieselization. It took me a bit, but this print was different from any of the other Firefly prints that I had seen; this was in "full" color. It was the only "color" print that I had ever seen. I was curious about this different version, but her grandfather had no explanation about the two versions of the same print. After Colleen's grandparents died, the print passed to one of her cousins, and I never saw it again. I was very honored to get her grandfather's passes and 25-year pin. That was 30+ years ago. Let us jump forward to this past weekend, when I received a text with attached photo from my brother. "Didn't Dad have a picture like this? Alison saw it in an antique store." As I looked at the poor image on my cell phone, I did a double take; there was another "color" Firefly print. After several exchanges regarding price and logistics, my brother went to the shop to buy the print; it arrived today. After looking at the frame, Colleen believes that the print was her grandfather's. Whether it is or isn't, the print is still a rarity in my book. I am curious to know if anyone else has seen a "colored” version of the print or if anyone has any idea about the story behind it.
Great picture and story Karl--Wouldn't that trains have been something to see flashing by?! Thanks, Tom
Man `O´ Man! Thanks for a great story and sharing this gem with us! Any chance of getting a copyright waver from BNSF and have John Winfield do one for Frisco.org members? Signed and numbered perhaps? Of course BNSF would want one to hang in their main lobby at Ft. Worth HQ, right? The number of prints would be determined by the number of pre-paid none refundable orders of course. The Firefly does belong on the top of the list as designing a beautiful heavyweight train with steamlined steam. Though the cars weren´t heavyweights, the T&NO´s three Sunbeam pacifics belong in the top ten for locomotives. Wonder if Katy ever considered a streamlined steam locomotive? Joe Toth
Karl, this print is exactly the same down to the coonskin and "The Firefly" title as a reproduction postcard that I purchased somewhere in the early 1990s. There is a certain amount of white space on the top/bottom of the postcard to take the size of the print into account (and to presumably keep the print from stretching). I don't recall if the postcard has any notes on the back indicating its origin. I think I know where it is in the "train room." I'll try to dig it out and see if I can find anything on it. I'd say that if your bride is remotely certain that it was her grandfathers, then you should roll with it. The story is simply too good. Best Regards,
Tom, The word “flash” is certainly apt. The Firefly was Flashy in appearance and Flashy in speed. The Frisco’s premier trains, The Meteor, the Kansas City Florida Special, The Black Gold, and The Memphian, operated as overnight runs. One would board his train during the late afternoon or evening, enjoy supper in the diner, get a restful sleep in his Pullman berth/room, and arrive the following day at his destination. Speed wasn’t necessarily important. Although, these “night” trains made fewer stops than their daytime counterparts, they still carried a fair amount of head-end traffic. I also think that a case can be made that from an end to end point of view, the Frisco did not face direct-rail competition on its primary routes. On the KC to B’ham, STL to OKC, Tulsa to Dallas-Ft Worth, and STL to Memphis routes, the Frisco, it might be argued, held a mileage advantage. However, the KC to OKC route, the STL to Dallas route and the KC to Texas routes were less favorable than the ATSF, MP, and MKT routes. The “daytime” Frisco passenger operations on these routes made “all” stops and handled mail and express to /from the majority of the communities along these routes. Speed was not important in these passenger operations either. The creation of The Firefly was a response to the Santa Fe’s plans to operate the diesel-powered streamliners, Chicogoan/Kansas Cityan. This decision begs the question as to what was in management’s mind, when it elected to embrace a different strategy, i.e., compete with another railroad in which the Frisco was at a mileage disadvantage and compete with styling and speed. The Santa Fe was no slouch in the speed department. The Frisco’s answer was its vest-pocket, 3-car streamlined train, which in my view embraced a completely different operating paradigm than the Frisco norm. End to end, The Firefly was the fastest train on the Frisco. It was unencumbered by head-end traffic and frequent stops or lengthy stops and it did it on a day-time schedule. The July 1940 schedule cards a 7hr 15 min trip with conditional stops at La Cygne, Vinita, and Bristow; (old habits are hard to break). However, stops at Tulsa and Ft Scott were limited to 5 minutes. Missing from the schedule is a stop at Afton for a crew change and fuel. A look at the ETT’s is in order. Beside their streamlined shrouds, the “Little Ten Hundreds”, 1018, 1026, and 1031, received other betterments that included increased boiler pressure (200 psi), larger driver diameter (73”), a Nichols thermic siphon, smaller cylinders (26”), and a larger tenders, which were obtained by using second-hand tenders from the Spot Class or 1060-class locomotives. The locomotive would need every cubic inch of space in the new tenders, because I have heard numerous stories from KC Subdivision people, who stated that on occasions when the train swelled beyond its 3-car norm, the engine crew was hard pressed to bring the train into Ft Scott on time and with oil in the bunker. The styling didn’t stop with the locomotive and Frisco shops performed its magic on six cars, which were to be used in the 3-car train-sets. Even though these cars were heavyweights, the Frisco applied skirts, full-width diaphragms( the only Frisco cars to use them), applied fold-up steps, and modified the car roofs to create a continuous line. In its advertising, the Frisco even took a jab at its ATSF competitor by noting the heavyweight cars offered a smoother ride than lightweight cars. I think that flashy sums it up nicely!
Karl ... Are you sure that you're not Irish? You must have found a four leaf clover. What a great story and stroke of luck if that is the same photograph. PS: I like the title --"Flashy Firefly"
Sherrel, For a brief period during 1946-1947, trains 117/118 swapped OKC for Dallas, and the Frisco changed the name to The Texas Flash.
Indeed, especially at a time when the Frisco was in receivership. Superb synopsis of the Firefly's origins, Karl. The story from the road crews on trying to keep the Firefly on the advertised is very interesting. These types of scenarios would be very interesting to emulate in model form. Best Regards,
I always recall the great Preston George photo of the Firefly at Spencer, OK (And a similar one by R.H. Kindig, same place, same day. They must have gone railfanning together!). Tom
I took the lithograph to a local engineering reprographics shop to see what they could do to remove 70 years of age. The results were very good. The 1026 and its train then were shipped to the Frisco Shops in Pacific, MO. The CMO there performed his magic, and I have attached a lo-res image of his work. Nary a white tire to be seen, either.
I couldn't resist making a billboard for my Highline route. I doubt they had any like this on Hwy 13 but it sure looks good. Really nice find Karl.
Though probably lost to history, anyone know what determined the color scheme? Looks like they were carried over to the Baldwin diesel swichers too? Would this scheme have been more approperate for the new image than the red/white? Joe Toth
