THE FRISCO RAILROAD

I. The advance of the railroad signaled a new era in American history as well as Ozark's history

1. The railroad provided rapid and cheap transportation across the continent
2. It gave rise to thousands of new towns as the railroad progressed into sparsely populated and remote areas
3. It gave rise to an economic boom since goods could now be transported easily and cheaply across the nation

II. The California gold rush of 1849 was the catalyst for the building of a transcontinental railroad

1. A railroad convention was held in St. Louis in 1849 to discuss the building of the railroad
2. There was significant sentiment to build the railroad from St. Louis to San Francisco
3. The "Boston Plan" was developed which outlined the route of the transcontinental railroad
4. The route generally followed the route blazed by explorer John C. Fremont which included a major spur through Southwest Missouri and the Ozarks
5. Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, Fremont's father-in-law, was the primary congressional backer of the railroad
6. On March 12, 1849 the U.S. government granted a charter to the Missouri Pacific railroad with a route to cross Missouri from St. Louis to Kansas City
7. The charter also provided for a spur following the Osage Trace through the Ozarks

III. The Missouri Pacific railroad was completed by December, 1860 and the Southwestern spur completed to Rolla at the outbreak of the Civil War

1. The completion of the spur was postponed until after the Civil War
2. In 1867 John C. Fremont purchased the rights to the spur
3. He also acquired massive federal land grants and right-of-ways which amounted to millions of acres
4. However, Fremont went bankrupt within the year and the right to the spur was sold to a group of Boston speculators
5. In May, 1871 the Southwestern spur was completed to Seneca MO

IV. The St. Louis & San Francisco railroad, popularly known as the Frisco, had a history of boom and bust over the next 50 years

1. In 1876 The Frisco was totally separated from the Missouri Pacific railroad
2. Beginning in 1874 the Frisco began a wide scale expansion project which included the following spurs
   • Springfield to Kansas City
   • Cuba to Salem
   • Pierce City to Joplin
   • Springfield to Memphis, TN
   • Memphis TN to Pensacola FL
   • Several spurs into Oklahoma and Kansas
3. The Frisco railroad also collaborated with the Santa Fe railroad to connect parts of Colorado and the Southwestern U.S.
4. In 1896 the Frisco was purchased by new owners and operated under their management for the next 16 years
5. This period was the zenith of the Frisco with the following results
   • Frisco tracks expanded from 1162 miles in 1896 to over 5500 miles in 1913
   • Several people, including several Springfieldians such as Col. John O'Day, made spectacular fortunes during this period
   • A focus on building tracks in the lower Mississippi river valley and the Gulf of Mexico
6. During this period of time the Frisco became one of the major railroads in the U.S.

V. However, beginning in 1912 several events occurred which caused the Frisco to go into financial difficulties including;

1. A Mexican revolution created a strain on the Texas area railroads
2. The Frisco began to operate under deficits created by its massive expansion
3. Massive floods in the Mississippi river valley destroyed much of its tracks in that area
4. A massive coal miners strike prevented the railroads from operating at peak capacity during this time
5. In 1913 the Frisco was again sold but it never fully recovered and underwent many restructurings over the next 67 years
6. In 1980 the Frisco merged with the Burlington Northern and ceased to exist

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frisco

Battler and Survivor

The story of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company-known to its mid-South neighbors as Frisco-is a narrative of battles against long odds and of adaptation to changing circumstances. The Frisco was chartered in 1849 as the Pacific Railroad of Missouri, when discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in California fanned America's long-smoldering desire for a connection with the markets of the Orient. Construction began in 1855, but bogged down until the Civil War ended. In the meantime, marauding bands of bushwhackers and jayhawkers that terrorized much of Missouri during the war did considerable damage to the railroad. As a result, it went bankrupt.

In 1876, the southwest branch of the Pacific was purchased by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. Cherokee Indians successfully blocked survey and construction work on the line, dashing the dreams of a transcontinental railroad. Although it remained unable to complete its line through Indian Territory, Frisco was able to extend its trackage to Sapulpa, west of Tulsa, in the 1880s.

After the turn of the century, Frisco completed its line through Kansas and Oklahoma, and into Texas. In 1901, it moved into the Southeast. The Frisco finally fulfilled a long-awaited dream of constructing a link to the Gulf of Mexico in the 1920s, only to plunge into bankruptcy after the Great Depression. The railroad struggled through the grim years of the Depression by abandoning much of its branch lines, and was there when the nation called on it during World War II. Closing of the East Coast sea lanes by German U-boats put oceans of Texas and Oklahoma oil onto Frisco rails for movement eastward. When BN acquired the Frisco in 1980, it added not only a strategically located railroad, but a proud tradition as well.

More Information on Frisco Railroad:   Frisco Freight Trains The following sequence of 2 photos is from the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River and was taken by J. Parker Lamb in 1954. J. Parker Lamb Photo While the MP freight continues east on the Harahan Bridge in the background, a Frisco freight, also led by a FA1 is heading north over the Frisco bridge. This unit will not retain its ALCo 244 engine for long before an EMD 567 engine takes its place. Note how the roadway for the Harahan bridge is woven between the towers of both the Frisco and Harahan bridges. J. Parker Lamb Photo A northbound Frisco freight on the trestle at the west end of the Mississippi River bridge built in 1892 by the Kansas City Ft. Scott & Memphis Railroad and operated by the Kansas City and Memphis Railway and Bridge Company. The consist in this 1954 photo is made up of EMD F3A F9B F3B F7B F7A. The Frisco loved to mix and match their "covered wagons", adding ALCo FA1s and FB1s as available. Contributed by Phil Gosney An eastbound Frisco freight with an A-B-B-B-A consist of F-units enters Memphis at Kansas Ave. in August 1962. Photo by David Johnston Frisco and Missouri Pacific freights proceed across the Illinois Central crossing in this view from the semaphore signal bridge. Note the coonskin herald on the nose of the Frisco GP38. SLSF #651 is the only GP38 with the herald on the nose. Also note the traffic light that guards this crossing, controlled from the gray switch shanty. Phil Gosney Photo Phil's comments continue, "The ultimate insult. The Cotton Belt crew has already waited for a westbound Frisco train to pass at Kansas Street. Now they are getting passed not by not one, but TWO trains simultanenously!! The engineer was right... 'They nevah treat us good in Memphis'" Frisco 911 an SD-45 passes the ill fated Cotton Belt crew, as a eastbound RI train does so at the same time, lead by two GP-7 units. November, 1968. Mike Condren Photo   Mike Condren Photo Frisco SD45 #933 is shown here westbound past Kentucky Street on 11/29/80. Mike Condren Photo Note the 7-units (3 SD45s, 1 U25B, 1 GP35, 1 GP38, and 1 GP40) in the #933 consist. Mike Woodruff Photo Northbound freight crossing the IC. Note the semiphore signals on bridge "A" in the foreground and "D" in the distance. David Johnston Photo SLSF SD45 #938 is northbound at Democrat Road in Memhis, 4/20/75. David Johnston Photo Three Frisco GP35s and a U30B lead a north bound freight crossing the Missouri Pacific at Bridge Jct. AR. David Johnston Photo Frisco GP38-2 is about to cross the Missouri Pacific at Bridge Jct., AR, 8/80. David Johnston Photo SLSF #730 leading this westbound is a GP35 riding on tradein trucks from a retired ALCo cab unit. This page was designed and is maintained by Mike Condren. If you have materials that you would like to contribute, contact me at mcondren@cbu.edu

Add your content here

Frisco USA Engines, Caboose, Pictures:     SLSF Frisco #1776, Needles CA 1976

Add your content here