Fall1995

VOLUME 10 Fall, 1995 NUMBER 3

Museum Completes Site Enhancement Projects 4Thanks to a partnership of private individuals, localbusinesses, and the City of Springfield, the museum hascompleted twelve site enhancement projects in 1995.

Farewell Mr. Frisco 7A tribute to Frisco Folk Lee Buffington.

The Oklahoma City - A Trilogy 8The history of Frisco Diner-Lounge 1551, the Oklahoma City,is profiled in this three part feature.

Frisco Standard Plans 16This is the third in our Standard Plans series that providesreprints of original Frisco Standard Plan designs. This issuefeatures plans for a 1971 Prefabricated Steel Signal MaintainersTool

DOWN AT THE DEPOT 18Station F538, Burrton Sub-Division, Northern Division,at Burrton, KS is profiled in this issue of our Down AtThe Depot feature.

A classic photo of the old Freight Depot at Birmingham, AL,is featured in this issue.

New Car Shop 21Frisco Folk Curtis Baker provides information on kitbashingFrisco 85' auto parts box cars in HO Scale.

MAIL CAR 24"Where did this pig (Pigs Are Beautiful) thing come from?"The answer is featured in this installment of the Mail Car.

Company Service Roster 26This is the seventh installment in our regular seriesprofiling selected pieces of Frisco company serviceequipment. This issue features scale test cars.

Frisco's Executive Fleet 28This is the twelfth in our series of articles profiling thehistory of Frisco Business Cars. This installmentfeatures cars No. 10 & No. 12.

Looking Backward 29The 1920 extension of the Jasper, AR depot, the 1945enlargement of the Ft. Sill passenger station, and the1970 delivery of a new fleet of 50 ft. box cars are allfeatured in this edition of Looking Backward.

The Many Faces of Union Station 30A post card photo feature on Kansas City's famous UnionStation.

Our covers for 1995 are takenfrom a series of colorful FriscoEmployes' Magazine covers producedby the Wallace Bassford Studios inthe 1920's.

Our front cover for this issueis taken from the November, 1927edition, and shows a unique varietyof Thanksgiving travelers awaiting thedeparture of the Frisco's Meteor.

"The ultimate touch of luxury"on the Frisco's Texas Special is thetheme of our back cover, from theOctober, 1927, Employes' Magazine.

WHERE IS IT?The museum recently acquired this photo of a classic Frisco interlocker tower, date and locationunknown! If you have any idea where our mystery tower was located, please contact the museum officeat 543 E. Commercial St., Springfield, MO, 65803, 417-866-7573.

Museum Completes SiteEnhancement Projects

Thanks to a partnership of private individuals, local businesses, and the City of Springfield, MO -Community Development Block Grant program, the museum has completed a number of siteenhancement projects including:

•Acquisition - Movement - Preliminary restoration • Installation of nine flag poles flying the U.S. flagof Frisco Diner-Lounge 1551 - the Oklahoma City and those of the nine states the Frisco operated in

• Movement - Exterior restoration of Frisco Ca- • Exterior restoration of Frisco Box Car 10055boose 1139

•Movement - Exterior/Interior restoration of Frisco • Installation of handicap ramp access to CabooseCaboose 1156 1156

• Installation of new museum sign

• Installation of decorative fencing and entrancegate

• Installation of storm windows on museum build-ing

• Sealing of exterior walls on museum building

• Installation of new retaining wall and parkwaylandscaping

• Installation of awnings on museum building

The Officers and Board of Directors would like to acknowledge, with grateful appreciation, thoseorganizations, businesses, and individuals whose support and hard work have made these projectspossible:

Stan WeddleGary KukalSam KaunleySteve WeatherbyLouis GriesemerKent BoydCliff RicketsTom FinnieCharles MarinecJim WebbJames Schwinkendorf

The City of SpringfieldBurlington Northern RailroadCommerce Bank of SpringfieldSpringfield Underground Inc.CSX TransportationHill & Bixler, A.I.A.KYTVCommercial Club of SpringfieldWeddle DesignPaul Hall SignsDr. Tickle Art Co-OpDan Kendrick Painting Co.East Tennessee Rail CarMasters-Jackson Crane ServiceS & C ExcavatingEric Girder Portable WeldingO'Reilly AutomotiveCarson-Mitchell Crane ServiceJamerson MillworksSpringfield Mill & LumberH.B. Wall & Sons, Inc.Harding GlassSpringfield Railway Services

Charles PolingChuck MahaffeyScott MahaffeyDon SmithCraig KingLance CagleySean WagnerJason JusticePaul MelgrenDonna WagnerAlan SchmittSaundra SchmittBob PloughRachel WilhiteJoe LaguzzoRyan LaguzzoStan MayfieldRay WellsTory DixonDon ArnoldBob McCarthyDan DawsonMike LandisScott Barber

Frisco Diner-Lounge 1551, theOklahoma City, in place alongmuseum entrance sidewalk.

ex-Frisco Box Car side doorcaboose 1156, in place atfront of museum property.

Frisco Box Car 10055,built in 1969, in placealong back of museumproperty.

Frisco shop built Caboose1139, in place along back ofmuseum property.

Lee BuffingtonMemorial Research

CenterIn honor of his many years ofdevoted service to the preserva-tion of Frisco history and in recog-nition of the countless number ofhours of dedicated service to TheFrisco Railroad Museum Inc., themuseum's new research center,to be housed in our Phase II facil-ity, will be designated as the LeeBuffington Memorial ResearchCenter.

A memorial fund has beenestablished by the Buffingtonfamily to provide equipment, fur-nishings, and materials for thenew research center. Cash, check,or credit card donations will beaccepted and should be mailed tothe museum at 543 E. Commer-cial St., Springfield, MO 65803.

On September 13, 1995,our Frisco Folks family lost aspecial member when LeeBuffington passed away.

Lee was a devoted hus-band, companion, care giver, andbest friend for over sixty-fiveyears.

He was a hero, teacher,role model, friend, all of whichcame in a package called daddy,grandpa, great-grandpa.

He was a Christian whoexemplified the true meaning ofdedication to his Lord and to hischurch of which he was a mem-ber for over sixty-four years.

Lee Buffington was a rail-roader! A railroader with thirty-four years of devoted service tothe Frisco. A railroader who wasthe mentor of countless hun-dreds of railfans and modelrailroaders. A railroader whowas deeply involved in all facetsof preserving railroad historywhether it be the publishing ofbooks, the restoration of a steamlocomotive, or the special role heplayed in the birth and nurtur-ing of The Frisco Railroad Mu-seum. Lee Buffington was arailroader who deserves, with-out question, the distinction ofMr. Frisco!

How fitting it was thateighty-seven years ago, Lee wasborn in a house across the streetfrom the Missouri Pacific mainline, and on September 16, 1995,he was laid to rest west ofSpringfield, MO, along the mainline of the Frisco.

Lee started his railroadcareer in February, 1929, as asteno clerk at the Newburg, MO,roundhouse. During his tenureof service he worked variouspositions in the motive power

department, was involved in thedieselization of the Frisco, andretired in 1963 as Assistant tothe Chief Mechanical Officer.

Following retirement, Leedevoted his life to traveling withhis wife Mildred, railfaning (hewas an active member of theNational Railway Historical Soci-ety for twenty-seven years),model railroading (built his firstlayout in 1938), and volunteer-ing countless hours at The FriscoRailroad Museum Inc.

For those of us who hadthe opportunity to know, love,and work with Lee Buffington,his kind and gentle nature,supportive spirit, and love forthe Frisco will live on in ourhearts as a lasting legacy of atrue friend!

Mr. Frisco, Lee Buffington, shown here with his wifeMildred, on board the Chouteau Club car, September 25,1993, during the grand opening of the museum's Spring-field facility.

Frisco 1551, Diner-Lounge "Oklahoma City"Pullman builder photo, 1948

On October 4, 1945, theFrisco and the KATY placed anorder with Pullman-StandardCar Manufacturing Co. for fifty-two passenger cars, Lot Nos.6767-6768-6769. The thirty-eight Frisco owned units werepurchased under, "St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Equip-ment Trust of 1946; ChemicalBank & Trust Company, Trustee,Owner, Lessor." The fourteenKATY owned cars were pur-chased under, "Missouri-Kansas-Texas Equipment Trust,Series 1947. Republic NationalBank of Dallas Trustee, Ownerand Lessor."

Employing the latestadvances in car building tech-nology at the time, the fleetwas designed to operate as fourcomplete trains; two to be knownas the Meteor, to be owned

and operated by the Frisco astrains 9-10; two to be knownas the Texas Special, one to beowned by each railroad andjointly operated as trains 1-2.

In addition to repre-senting modern car buildingtechnology, the appearance ofthe fleet was equally impres-sive. Structural framing forthe underframe, sides, ends,and roofs were of high strengthlow alloy steel. The cars werea welded girder type construc-tion, sheathed with corrugatedstainless steel on the girdersand letter boards. The exte-rior panels between the win-dows, roof sheets, skirts, bodyand vestibule ends, and ceil-ing sheets were of high strengthsteel. Each car rode on caststeel, four wheel trucks, withsingle equalizer bars, coilsprings, roller bearings, verti-cal shock absorbers, bolster

anchors and roll stabilizers,and truck mounted air brakecylinders.

When delivered, the roof,panels between windows, andends of the cars were paintedwith Dupont Master Code 2460Red and the body side skirtswere a darker red. Theunderframe was painted blackand the trucks and outsidesurface of inside diaphragmswere painted aluminum. Allletters and numbers were etchedinto stainless steel plates andfilled with Dupont 2460 Red.

In May, 1948, two of theFrisco Meteor fleet were com-pleted as 85' Diner-Lounge-Observation cars, Lot No. 6768,Plan No. 7541. Considered bymany to be the pride of thefleet, number 1550 was namedthe Tulsa and 1551 was theOklahoma City. Both cars re-placed older heavyweight unitsby the same names.

Frisco 1551, Dining Room section looking toward B or kitchen end of car.Pullman builder photo, 1948

The passageway ceilingwas painted light gray, the wallswere a medium gray, and thewainscot panels on both sidesbelow the window sill level werestainless steel. The two pas-sage way windows featured aFormica linen finish capingsand Albion cloth window shades.The carpeting was dark blue.

The dining room ceilingwas painted light gray with thewalls and pier panels a me-dium gray. The windows hadFormica linen finish capingsand featured medium grayvenetian blinds and cedar colorAlbion cloth draperies.

The tables were wallmounted and covered with aFormica linen finish to matchthe window capings. The car-peting was dark blue and thetwenty-four aluminum framechairs were covered with a superneedlepoint red, plain patternfabric.

The bulkheads on bothends of the dining room fea-tured decorative mirrors, 1 /4"plate glass flesh tint, with a3/8" bevel, and were secured

in place with class head ro-sette fasteners.

The lounge section ceil-ing and pier panels were paintedlight blue. The frieze panel

Frisco traveling patrons are served in the dining room section, 1551,"Oklahoma City" car. Frisco photo

Frisco 1551, Lounge section looking toward A or observation end of car.Pullman builder photo, 1948

above the windows was cov-ered with wood grain "Flexwood, "with a faux satine finish, ex-tending from the bulkhead downboth sides and around theobservation end.

The wainscot panel, belowthe window sill level, was cov-ered with a pig grain, mochabeige synthetic leather. Thewindows had a Formica brownfinish and featured light bluevenetian blinds and blue Albioncloth draperies. The carpetingwas dark blue.

The four magazine tableswere finished in a ghost fig-ured walnut color and the cardtable and corner shelves onthe diagonal sofa were coveredwith a Formica linen finish.

The three twin sofas, threelounge chairs, and the two cardtable chairs were covered withsuper needlepoint red fabric.The card table sofa and re-maining five lounge chairs were

covered with a tan, Cafe au laitfabric. The forward bulkheadfeatured two wall murals, oneof the Oklahoma State Capitaland one of St. Louis Union

Station. The lounge also ineluded four table lamps ancthree smoking stands.

The kitchens in both car,were all stainless steel finish

Frisco traveling patrons are enjoying a relaxing ride in the loungesection, 1551 "Oklahoma City" car. Frisco photo

In 1960 the most dis-tinctive exterior feature of bothcars was removed when theSpringfield Coach Shop squaredoff the bullet-nose A-end ofthe cars for use in mid-trainservice.

When placed in service1550 and 1551 were assignedto trains 9-10, the Meteor,between St. Louis and Okla-homa City. On September 18,1965, the Meteor was replacedwith the Oklahoman 1-2, andthe Kansas City-Florida Spe-cial 105-106 was replaced withThe Southland 101-102, servicebetween Kansas City and Bir-mingham. Both 1550 and 1551were reassigned to theSouthland.

In June 1967, both carswere removed from revenueservice. According to companyrecords they were initially storedat the Springfield shops: 1550status - EXTRA and 1551 sta-tus S.A. (Set Aside).

Springfield businessman in 1972who converted it, along withCoach-Lounge-Buffet 1651Ladue, into a local downtownrestaurant.

In December, 1967, thenew 1550 car was re-assigned

to company service, still in black& Pullman green livery, asKitchen & Diner 105493.

In 1972, 105493 was soldto the Northwestern OklahomaRailroad, Woodward, OK. Itwas later sold to the Hartwell

1551 "Oklahoma City," repainted black & Pullman green, renumbered1550 and renamed 'Tulsa," Springfield, MO, September 23, 1967,

Mike Condren photo

For reasons currentlyunknown, between June andSeptember, 1967, the identityof the Oklahoma City andTulsa were switched, bothphysically and in companyrecords. The original 1551Oklahoma City car was re-painted with black ends andtop & Pullman green windowbands. The "1" of the 1551number board etching wasrubbed out and the car wasrenumbered 1550 and renamedthe Tulsa. In addition, the Budddisk brake trucks, installedon the original 1550 in De-cember, 1960, were switchedto the new 1550 car. The origi-nal 1550 was renumbered andrelettered 1551, Oklahoma City,and eventually sold to a

ex-Frisco 1551 "Oklahoma City," reassigned as Kitchen & Diner 105493,Springfield, MO, May 16, 1970. 0. Leander photo,

John C. La Rue, Jr. Collection

ex-Frisco 1551 "Oklahoma City," as New Georgia "Connell-Kennedy"Atlanta, GA, August 1989

PHOTO No. 1 Frisco 1550, 'Tulsa," in service at Ft. Smith, AR,February 15, 1963. Mike Condren photo

PHOTO No. 2 Frisco Kitchen & Diner 105493, Springfield, MO,July, 1971. E. Stoll photo

PHOTO No. 3 Renumbered - Relettered Frisco 1551, in service asrestaurant, Springfield, MO, July 23, 1977. Mike Condren photo

PHOTO No. 4 Frisco 1551, Springfield, MO, September 5, 1995

Railway in Georgia. In 1985,the car was acquired by theNew Georgia Railroad, Atlanta,and renamed the Connell-Kennedy in honor of the legis-lators who introduced the billsinto the Georgia General As-sembly authorizing the char-ter and funding of the NewGeorgia line.

In 1994, the car wasacquired by East TennesseeRail Car Services who in turnsold it to The Frisco RailroadMuseum Inc. in the spring of1995.

While company recordswould indicate otherwise, the1551 Oklahoma City car, notthe 1550 Tulsa, is currently ondisplay at the museum, aconclusion based on two spe-cific points:

NAME/NUMBER BOARDS• According to the Pullmanbuilder's photo shown on page8, the Oklahoma City name boardis in two sections, one 84 3/4"long and one 42 3/4" long,centered under the aft two rearwindows of the dining roomsection. According to photoNo. 1, showing the 1550 Tulsacar, the name board is a singlesection 55" long centered un-der the pier panel between theaft two windows in the diningroom section. The photo onpage 11 shows the newly re-painted, renumbered, and re-named 1550 Tulsa car with thetwo panel name board in place.Photo No. 2 shows Kitchen-Diner 105493 with the twopanel name board in place.Photo No. 3 shows therenumbered and renamed 1551Oklahoma City with the singlepanel name board in place.Photo No. 4 shows the museum'scar with the two panel nameboard in place.• The Oklahoma City name

etching is clearly visible onthe name boards of themuseum's car. In addition,there is no apparent evidencethat any changes and/ormodifications have been madeto placement, screw holes, etc.

on the name boards of eithercar.• A close examination showthat the last etched digit of therespective number boards hasbeen rubbed out (see photoNo. 5).

DAMAGE COMPARISON• Photo No. 6 is a close up viewof Kitchen & Diner 105493,shown on page 11. Notice thedamage to the stainless steelpanel just aft and under theright side B-end number board.Photo No. 7, taken of themuseum's car, shows identi-cal damage at the same loca-tion.

While it remains a mys-tery as to what prompted theidentity change of the two cars,it is refreshing to note thatboth are still in existence. The1551 Oklahoma City is cur-rently on display at the mu-seum and the 1550 Tulsa caris currently owned by FriscoFolk John Reed who is restor-ing it in the Springfield areafor future rail service.

Thanks to the time, hardwork, and combined efforts ofa unique public-private fund-ing coalition, the final journeyof the Oklahoma City has broughtit to The Frisco Railroad Mu-seum Inc.

In February, 1995, themuseum was informed of theavailability of Frisco Diner-Lounge 1551. It had beenacquired by East TennesseeRail Car Services from the NewGeorgia Railroad. With fund-ing assistance from CommerceBank and the City of Spring-field Community DevelopmentBlock Grant program, the carwas purchased by the museumon June 2, 1995.

Thanks to the jointsupport of the BurlingtonNorthern Railroad and CSXTransportation, the OklahomaCity arrived in Springfield, MO,on June 21, 1995, at the headend of train 181.

Facilities for storage andinitial cleaning/restoration ofthe car was provided by FriscoFolk Louis Griesemer andSpringfield Underground Inc.

After cleaning and paintpreparation was completed bya hard working team of FriscoFolks volunteers, on August18, 1995, the car was movedto the old Frisco RoadwayEquipment Shop located at thewest Springfield BN shops.

Thanks to BurlingtonNorthern (provided the painterand facility), O'Reilly Automo-tive (provided partial fundingfor the paint), and more hard

work by our Frisco Folks vol-unteer crew, the car was re-painted in original Frisco red.

On Tuesday morning,September 5, 1995, 1551emerged from the paint shopand made its final journey behindtwo ex-Frisco SW1500 switch-ers to the team track locatedbehind the museum facility.

At approximately 4:30pm on September 5, the Okla-homa City was eased into itscurrent position along the en-trance sidewalk to the museum.

Plans are now in placeto restore the dining room andlounge sections of the car inthe spring of 1996.

Frisco 1551, "Oklahoma City" arriving Springfield, MO,June 21, 1995, at the head end of Burlington Northernfreight No. 181. Bob Plough photo

Frisco 1551, "Oklahoma City" being switched into stor-age by ex-Frisco SW1500 347 at Springfield Under-ground Inc. June 21, 1995, Bob Plough

Initial cleaning and paint preparation on Frisco 1551was completed by a hard working crew of Frisco Folksvolunteers, from left to right: Alan Schmitt, ChuckMahaffey, Joe Laguzzo, Don Smith, Tory Dixon, DanDawson, Ryan Laguzzo, Ray Wells, and Stan Mayfield.Donna Wagner was present and took the photo.

Track work for the final placement of Frisco 1551 wascompleted by a hard working crew of Frisco Folksvolunteers,from left to right: Stan Weddle, Alan Schmitt,Sean Wagner, Jason Justice, and Don Smith.

Frisco 1551 emerges from Burlington Northern paintshop on its way to the museum, behind ex-Frisco SW1500switchers 331 (BN 36) and 341 (BN 46)

Frisco 1551 is eased into position along the entrancesidewalk to the museum.

Museum President Alan Schmitt, in authentic Frisco passenger conductor uniform,escorts the "Oklahoma City" on its final journey to the museum.

The Pride of the Fleet, Frisco 1551 "Oklahoma City," proudly on display at TheFrisco Railroad Museum Inc., Springfield, MO.

This is the third in our Standard Plansseries that features reprints of originalFrisco standard plan designs. Thisinstallment is a December 8, 1971,Frisco design for a PrefabricatedSteel Signal Maintainers Tool House.

DOWN AT THE DEPOT

Frisco Depot, Burrton, KS, looking north. Train at right on Frisco linewas a Wichita Chapter, NHRS, excursion to Ellsworth. April 25, 1959.

Lee Clerico photo

On February 8, 1886,the Kansas Midland RailwayCo. was incorporated. It wasinitially controlled by theKansas Construction & Im-provement Co., a New Jerseycorporation, but on March 7,1887, before construction ofits property was commenced,control passed to the St. Louisand San Francisco Railway Co.

In 1893, the companydefaulted payment of intereston its first mortgage bonds andon July 1, 1896, as the resultof foreclosure proceedings in-stituted by the Mercantile TrustCompany, trustee under thecompany's first mortgage, A.L.Wolfe was appointed receiver.On July 25, 1900, thecompany's franchises andproperty were sold at public

the company, and the Mer-cantile Trust Co., Trustee.

On August 6, 1900, anagreement was made betweenthe purchasers of thecompany's franchises andproperty, and the St. Louisand San Francisco RailroadCo., providing for the sale 01such franchises & property

As a result, The KansasMidland Railroad Company wasorganized by the purchasersThe foreclosed franchises andproperty were conveyed to thatcompany on October 1, 1900and by it to the St. Louis ancSan Francisco Railroad Co. orthe same date.

On October 1, 1900, theproperty of the company con-sisted of about 106 miles ostandard gauge, single trackrailroad, extending fronWichita to Ellsworth, KS.

Thirty-three milesnorthwest of Wichita, at thejunction with the Santa Fe'seast-west main line from

Frisco Depot, Burrton, KS, looking northwest with Frisco-Santa Fejunction in foreground. April 25, 1959. Lee Clerico photo

auction to Alfred R. Peck andHarry Bronner, who were therepresentatives of the holdersof the company's first mort-gage bonds. This sale wasconfirmed by a joint deed, ex-ecuted August 9, 1900, by JayF. Shearman, special master,

Topeka, was located Burrton,KS, Station F538 on the BurrtonSub-Division, Northern Divi-sion. Operated jointly withthe Santa Fe, the Frisco com-bination station at Burrton wasactually two separate struc-tures that had a unique de-sign well suited for its junction

point operation.The main structure

consisted of an L-shaped wait-ing room, express & baggageroom, and a ticket office thatfeatured an unusual, yet useful,octagon shaped agents bay.

The second building,separated from the main

structure by a 7' 10" breezeway, housed a large freightand baggage room and recordsstorage.

Both buildings wereframe construction with 2" x6" walls and featured a 1/3hip roof design covered withshingles. The exterior was 6"

lap siding with a 3 1/4" M&Bwainscoting. The interior wallswere 3 1/4" M&B, floor was 31/4" yellow pine, and ceilingheights were 12'. Heating waswood/coal stoves, lighting wasprovided by oil lamps, andsanitary facilities were outside.The L-shaped brick platformhad concrete curbs.

The Burrton facility alsoincluded a 10' x 12' section carhouse, a Fairbanks 40 ft. 80ton track scale with scale house,pump house with a 50,000

gals. water tank, and two stockpens with chutes: one 42' x 45'and one 42' x 25' - total com-bined car capacity was twelve.

In the early 1900's,passenger service to Burrtonwas provided by trains 305-306, daily between Ellsworthand Galena, KS. From 1918 to1934, daily service betweenWichita and Ellsworth, viaBurrton, was by motor car.TheEllsworth doodlebug was re-placed in June, 1934, withmixed train accomodations

that remained until 1958 whenall passenger service was dis-continued.

It is interesting to notethat between the fall of 1930and summer of 1938, Burrtonalso had interurban service.Four daily runs were made bythe Arkansas Valley Interur-ban Railway between Wichitaand Hutchinson. The cars op-erated on Frisco trackage be-tween Wichita and Burrton andon the A.V.I.R.R. line fromBurrton to Hutchinson.

It was 1947, at the corner of 9th and 22nd streets, Birmingham, AL, when thisclassic photo of the Frisco Freight Depot was taken by Frisco Folk CurtisBaker's grandfather.

SL SF 9100, in service at Ft. Smith, AR, September, 1974. E. Stoll photo

If you were to make alist of all the things that makerailroading interesting, some-where near the top would bethe shear size of the equip-ment. An average yard engineis larger than the biggest truckson the highway. Any self re-specting passenger car is atleast 70 ft. long, with quite anumber of modern freight carsreaching beyond that figure.Until the advent of the fullyenclosed auto rack, the big-gest of the big could arguablybe the 86 ft. auto parts boxcar.First introduced back in thesixties, these cars were yetanother example of how farthe railroads would go to servetheir customers. Specificallydesigned to handle auto body

components, which take up alot of room but are light weight,these cars had a capacity of 50to 70 tons, which makes themincredibly lightweight in com-parison to their impressive size.

As most Frisco Folksknow, the automobile indus-try has always been a majorsource of traffic on the Frisco.Consequently, beginning in1964 and ending in 1970, theFrisco ordered a total of 48 ofthese cars, primarily to servethe Ford Motor Company. Fiveseparate orders were placedwith three different car build-ers.Series 9100-9109 built in 1964by Thrall Mfg. Co. at a cost$29,400.00 each. Lightweight

was 112,800 lbs and capacitywas 100,000 lbs.Series 9110-9119 built in 1965by Thrall Mfg. Co. at a cost of$30,202.00 each. Lightweightwas 112,800 lbs. and capacitywas 100,000 lbs.Series 9120-9133 built byPullman Standard between1967 & 1968 at a coat of$29,068.00 each. Lightweightwas 118,000 lbs. and capacitywas 144,000 lbs.Series 9134-9138 built in 1969by Greenville Steel Car Co. ata cost of $28,112.00 each.Lightweight was 111,000 lbsand capacity was 150,000 lbs.Series 9139-1947 built in 1970by Greenville at a cost of$28,112.00 each. Lightweightand capacity were the same.

Series 9100-9119

Series 9120-9133

Series 9134-9147

SL-SF 9142, in service at Argentine, KS, June 11, 1992.Mike Condren photo, N.J. Molo collection.

SL-SF 9104, in service at Olathe, KS, March, 1994.Rick McClellan photo, C. Baker collection.

All of these cars sharedstandard dimensions: 86' 6"length - 9' 2" width - 12' 9"inside height - 20' x 12' 9"double plug doors.

When researching theauto parts cars prior to build-ing the model, I discovered thatalthough they are very similarto each other, there are someminor differences in cars builtby each individual company.

The cars built by Pull-man are the most noticeablein the bunch. They have aunique side sill design that iseasily spotted in photos. Sev-eral of the cars have side lad-ders rather than grab irons ateach end of the car. I alsonoticed a difference in doorcolor and the lack of a whitepanel near the top of the carends. For a good contract inpaint and lettering refer to theprototype photos of car No.9100 and 9104 (Thrall built),and No. 9142 (Greenville).Number 9104 wears the greatlysimplified "late" scheme, whileNos. 9100 and 9142 are in theoriginal livery. The best ref-erence for any project is, ofcourse, a photo and/or paint& lettering diagram. Themuseum's Research Service canbe very helpful in this area.

the cast on grabs with an X-Acto chisel blade, and installedDetail Associates freight carladders on bot the sides andends. I replaced the crossovergrab with brass wire and in-stalled A-Line brass stirrups.The most noticeable change tothe "B" end of the car was theaddition of a Detail Associatesminor brake wheel and gearset. The cast on brake gearand wheel provided are lack-ing, and changing them out isa huge improvement. Like theprototype, these cars are lightfor their size, so I added 1/2oz. lead weights at each end.You could use steel washers,pennies, or be lazy like me anduse A-Line self adhesiveweights. Simply glue any ex-tra weight to the inside floor ofthe car with contact adhesiveor double sided foam tape. Itis important to note that add-ing weight will greatly improvetracking qualities of these bigcars. The only other modifi-cation to the Athearn kit wasthe drawbar. I removed the"lugs" that make the trick pivotwith the drawbar, as I havenotices that these lugs cancause the cars to derail whenbacking. (This trick works onAthearn 86' flat cars as well!)

For modeling purposesit is easy to remember that thecars built by Thrall andGreenville look very similar toeach other and are representedin model form by the Athearn86 ft. Hi-Cube, kit #1974.Athearn has recently re-re-leased these kits and they arenow available after almost eightyears in "non-production." ThePullman version was availablesome years ago in brass, but Ido not know the manufacturer.The brass cars would have tobe located through a dealer inused brass models or at swapmeets.

The model of 9140started as a basic Athearnundecorated kit. I first removed

After the modificationsare complete, it is time to headfor the paint shop. I usedAccuflex UP Armour Yellow forthe car body and Accuflex SantaFe silver for the doors and roof.Some cars originally had greendoors. You can come close tothis color by mixing a smallamount of Floquil Reading orMKT green to a large dose ofFloquil Foundation. Car #9142has silver doors and #9104 isthe "dirty-nasty" door color. Ifyour car has the white "ExcessHeight" band on the ends, youcan paint it on or use a widestripe decal material if you arein a hurry.

For the lettering, I usedHearld King decal set B-464,but you could also use MicroScale set 87-137 if yu want tomodel a car with the simplifiedlettering scheme. ACI Tablesand lube plates came fromHearald King. After sealing

the decals with flat finish, Iweathered my car with drybrushed chalks using photosas a guide.There you have it! AnotherFrisco freight car to add toyour Ship It On The Friscofleet.

PIGS ARE BEAUTIFUL

QUESTION: I was recently in aflea market and saw a Frisco"Pigs Are Beautiful" calendarfor sale. Can you tell me wherethis pig thing came from?

ANSWER: Pigs Are Beautifulwas a customer advertisingcampaign, started in 1972, topromote the Frisco's growingtrailer on flat car piggybackservice.

Although piggybackoperations on the Frisco officiallystarted in April, 1955, its revenue

potential was most realized inthe early 1970's when it ac-counted for close to 14 milliondollars in gross revenue. Inorder to enhance its serviceand attract new customers, theFrisco launched its Pigs AreBeautiful campaign in No-vember, 1972, by mailing 5,000copies of the Pigs Are Beauti-ful brochure shown on page25.

The end result of thecampaign, which lasted throughthe 1980 merger, was two-fold.One, Trailer on flat car service

increased from 91,420 load-ings in 1976 to 128,953 in1979.

Second, the campaigngenerated a vast assortmentof promotional materials anditems that have become val-ued Frisco collectibles. Plas-tic piggy banks were used tcpromote the program along withpatches, stickers, pins, ciga-rette lighters, playing cards,calendars, refrigerator magnetscoffee mugs, jackets, even FrisccTransportation Company trailerscarried the Pigs Are Beautiful.

Pigs Are Beautiful trailers were placed in service in 1978

FRISCO T-O-F-C[PIGGYBACK]

RAMP POINTS

Frisco Scale Test Car 99157, St. Louis, MO, August, 1967. W.C. Thurman photo,from collection of John C. La Rue

This is the seventh in ourCompany Service Roster featurein which we are profiling someof the most interesting, unique,and often underrated facets ofFrisco equipment and opera-tions: the Company ServiceDepartment... those men andmachines that maintained thetrack, roadbed, right-of-way,bridges, structures, etc., all ofwhich was essential to thesuccessful operation of therailroad.

weight and distance shipped.Thus created what was com-monly known as the Weigh Bill.

While this might tend tobe an oversimplification of theprocess of shipping freight onrail, it does answer twointeresting questions. One, why

were there well over sixty trackscales on the Frisco system?Two, what were those strangelooking cars that traveled theentire system, usually on therear of the train, called ScaleTest Cars?

The abundance of track

Scale Test CarsAs a general rule most

freight shipped on rail was billedby weight or tariffs. A car wasloaded with a particular com-modity and then weighed. Thecars LT WT (light weight) wassubtracted, and the shipperwas billed according to the

Frisco Scale Test Car 99160, Kansas City, MO, September 3, 1978. G.R. Cockle photo,from collection of John C. La Rue

scales were necessary toaccurately weigh shipments andto ensure that the light weight ofa given car was correct. Scaletest cars were necessary toensure that the track scales wereaccurate.

The U.S. GovernmentBureau of Standards, Divisionof the Department of Commerce,who operated their own fleet ofscale test cars, required that allrailroad track scales becalibrated at least once a year. Ascale test car, itself weighed andcertified by the bureau, was theonly way track scales could betested.

The cars were calibratedby adding or removing pieces ofsteel to the interior, much likeweights were added to platformscales. Any repairs, includingeven the repacking of wheelbearings, could only becompleted by authorization ofthe railroad's scale inspector.

The earliest record of scaletest cars on the Frisco is found

in a 1908 roster that lists twounits: 99150, a 28' carapparently rebuilt in July, 1905,from box car 2419, and 99151, a34' car rebuilt in August, 1907,from K.C.F.S.& M. box car17821.

In April, 1941, the Friscopurchased two new scale testcars, built by the BaldwinSouthwark Division - BaldwinLocomotive Works, Nos. 99156& 99157. The 14' 6" units werethe design used both by theBureau of Standards and mostAmerican railroads for over sixtyyears.

The cars featured a cast

steel body, rode on twoindependently sprung axles, andweighed 80,000 lbs. While theyhad no air brakes, they weredesigned to pass through trainline air and were equipped witha standard hand brake.Calibration weight was added orremoved through a "port hole"access door on the side. Theywere painted "Battleship Gray,"with black lettering and yellowgrab irons, railings, and brakewheels. The original paint andlettering diagram required thebrake shoes, couplers, couplerknuckles, and coupler lock liftingmechanisms all be painted red.

The cars had a thirty MPH speedrestriction and because of theirsize had to be handled on therear end of the train.

In the late 1960's, theirsize and speed restrictionscaused movement of the cars tobecome increasingly difficult,expensive, and time consuming.

Consequently, the MaxsonCorporation's Rail Car Divisionintroduced a new design for scaletest cars.

They were 42' long, rodeon standard four-wheel rollerbearing trucks, were equippedwith air brakes, and could bemoved anywhere within a train's

consist. In 1971, the Frisccpurchased two units, Nos. 9916C& 99161. They were paintedgray with black lettering, andremained in service, along witl99156 & 99157 through the1980 Frisco-BN merger.

FRISCO'S EXECUTIVE FLEET

Quanah Route Business Car 6666. Photo reprinted with permission fromThe Quanah Route by Don L. Hofsommer

No. 10 & No. 12While not afforded the

distinction of being among thenamed fleet of executive coaches,there were two Frisco businesscars that deserve somerecognition.

In 1925, the Quanah,Acme & Pacific RailroadCompany leased its onlybusiness car to the Frisco. TheQuanah, Acme & Pacific,chartered in 1908, was a Friscosubsidiary line that operatedbetween Quanah and Floydada,TX. Business Car No. 6666 wasoriginally owned by Texascattleman Sam Burke Burnettwho numbered it in honor of his"Four Sixes Ranch" in WichitaCounty, TX. Mr. Burnett was amember of the Quanah's firstboard of directors.

In 1917, Burnett leasedthe car to the railroad for anannual fee of $630.00. Follow-ing his death in the early 1920's,the car was purchased from hisestate for approximately$11,000.00 In 1925, it wasleased to the Frisco andrenumbered, appropriately, the1925 car.

Although current recordsdo not indicate date or builder ofthe car, it is known that it was asteel composite car, 66' long,

and weighed 163,500 lbs.On May 9, 1947, the

number 1925 was replaced withthe number 8. On March 24,1948, the car was againrenumbered to the No. 10 car, sothat the number 4 (theArkansas)could move to the number 8 slot,to allow rebuilt soldier diner (No.648) to enter the fleet as thenumber 4 car (the Springfield).On December 29, 1950, the carwas returned to the QuanahRoute and its disposition fromthat point in time is unknown.

While in Frisco service,No. 10 served the Superinten-dent of the Southwest Division,G.H. Jury, along with ChiefEngineer H.B. Barry, and As-sistant Chief Engineer, F.E.Short.

A July 1, 1908, Frisccroster lists Official Car No. 140Cas being a 51', 117,400 lbs. wooccoach, built originally as car No50 in March, 1882, by the Hadar& H. Company. No otherinformation on the design ancfurnishings of the car is currentlyavailable.

On April 28, 1947, it:number 1400 was replaced with.the number 9. On March 241948, the number 9 was replacecwith the number 12, so thenumber 7 car (the Mississippicould move into the number Cslot, because the No. 5 car (theKansas) was being reassignecthe number 7 position, so rebuilisoldier diner No. 647 (theAlabama) could enter the fleesas the number 5 car!

After being used for

short time by the Superintendentof the Northern Division, A.M.Ball, the car was converted to amobile medical examining car.

It served in that capacity until age and condition. In May, 1952,November of 1950 when it was the car was sold to a privatetaken out of service because of individual.

Frisco Business Car 12, circa. 1946. Photo from the collection of Frisco Folk Don Wirth

75 YEARS - 1920In 1920, an extension wasadded to the depot at Jasper,AR.

50 YEARS - 1945 In 1945, the passenger depotat Ft. Sill, OK. was enlarged.

25 YEARS - 1970In 1970, the Frisco took delivery of a fleet of 300 50 ft.,

plug door box cars, series 13000-13299. Built at a cost of$14,395.00 each, the cars were purchased primarily for pulp-board loading. They were painted yellow with black letteringand a black on white Frisco logo.

The Many Faces ofUnion Station

Completed in 1910, at a total cost for stationand terminals of $50,000,000.00, Kansas City's UnionStation was heralded as the third largest passengerstation in the world. The main building covered aground area of 5.57 acres with a waiting room 352 ft.long. Over 260 scheduled trains arrived daily, ac-commodating an average of 35,000 passengers a day.

A recently acquired post card collection providesus with a unique look at the many faces of Kansas City'sUnion Station. E:::3

IN construction, decoration and furnishings, thisI car embodies all the latest conveniences and

improvements, and introduces to Texas travel thenew Sun Parlor idea --- a delightful, cheery room,enclosed in glass, occupying the entire end of thecar, furnished with unusually comfortable chairsupholstered in gay sunny colors and leathercushions.

DINING CAR SERVICE ALL THE WAY FRED HARVEY MEALS ON THE FRISCO