St. Louis – San Francisco Railway

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St. Louis – San Francisco Railway

Logo

System map
Frisco system as of 1918; the Fort Worth and Rio Grande in central Texas would be sold to the Santa Fe in 1937
Reporting mark SLSF
Locale Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas
Dates of operation 1876–1980
Successor Burlington Northern
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters Springfield, Missouri[1]

The St. Louis – San Francisco Railway (reporting mark SLSF), also known as the Frisco, was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central U.S. from 1876 to 1980.

Contents

[edit] History

The St. Louis – San Francisco Railway was incorporated in Missouri on September 7, 1876. It was formed from the Missouri Division and Central Division of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. After bankruptcy, the Frisco emerged as the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, which was incorporated on June 29, 1896. This company also went bankrupt. On August 24, 1916, the company was reorganized as the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway, although the line never went west of Texas.

The St. Louis – San Francisco Railway had two main lines: St. Louis – Tulsa – Oklahoma City and Kansas City – Memphis – Birmingham. The junction of the two lines was in Springfield, Missouri, home to the company's main shop facility. Other lines included:

From March, 1917, through January, 1959, the Frisco, in a joint venture with the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (MKT or the Katy), operated the Texas Special. This luxurious streamliner ran from St. Louis to Dallas, Texas, Ft. Worth, Texas and San Antonio, Texas. The Texas Special is a popular prototype in model railroading.

The Frisco merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad on November 21, 1980.

The city of Frisco, Texas was named after the railroad and currently uses the former railroad's logo as its own logo.

[edit] Passenger trains

While the Texas Special was the most famous passenger train the Frisco ever operated, it also rostered an entire fleet of named trains. These included:

  • Black Gold (Tulsa – Fort Worth)
  • Firefly (Tulsa – Kansas City)
  • Kansas City – Florida Special (Kansas City – Jacksonville)
  • Memphian (St. Louis – Memphis)
  • Meteor (St. Louis – Oklahoma City/Fort Smith)
  • Oklahoman (Once connected Kansas City – Tulsa but was later rerouted between St. Louis – Oklahoma City.)
  • Southland (Kansas City – Birmingham)
  • Sunnyland (Kansas City/St. Louis – Atlanta/Pensacola)
  • Will Rogers (St. Louis – Oklahoma City/Wichita)

[edit] Former Frisco lines today

1899 poster showing a boy and a girl in a SLSF waiting room

The core of the former Frisco system continues to be operated by BNSF as high-density mainlines. Other secondary and branchlines have been sold to shortline operators or have been abandoned altogether.

  • Kansas City – Springfield – Memphis – Birmingham: Operated by BNSF
  • St. Louis – Springfield – Tulsa – Dallas: Operated by BNSF
  • Fort Scott, Kansas to Afton, Oklahoma: Operated by BNSF
  • St. Louis to Memphis, Tennessee: Operated by BNSF
  • Tulsa, Oklahoma to Avard, Oklahoma: Operated by BNSF
  • Monett, Missouri to Fort Smith, Arkansas: Operated by Arkansas and Missouri Railroad
  • Lakeside, Oklahoma to Hope, Arkansas: Operated by Kiamichi RR (RailAmerica)
  • Tulsa, Oklahoma (Sapulpa) to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Operated by Stillwater Central RR
  • Oklahoma City to Snyder, Oklahoma: Operated by Stillwater Central RR
  • Snyder, Oklahoma (Long Siding) to Quanah, Texas: Operated by BNSF
  • Enid, Oklahoma to Frederick, Texas: Operated by Grainbelt/Farmrail
  • Amory, Mississippi to Pensacola, Florida: Operated by Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway (RailAmerica)
  • Springfield to Kansas City (via Clinton): Abandoned
  • Monett (Pierce City) to Carthage, Missouri: Out of service
  • Carthage, Missouri to Wichita, Kansas: Mostly abandoned
  • Chaffee, Missouri to Poplar Bluff, Missouri to Hoxie, Arkansas (Hoxie Sub): Abandoned

[edit] Predecessors

The following companies were predecessors of the Frisco:

[edit] Acquisitions

Frisco 1522 has been preserved and restored. In this picture the locomotive is sitting in Arkansas City, Kansas

The following railroads were acquired or merged into the Frisco:

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] Asset absorptions

The following is a list of partial or full asset absorptions, many times through bankruptcy courts or creditors. In some cases the SL&SF was a creditor. Assets can include mineral rights, property, track and right of way, trains, bonds, mortgages, etc.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Patrick Hiatte, Springfield, Missouri: The Heart of the Frisco, 1955, Trains magazine, December 2003

[edit] External links
Current
Former
(1956–present)
Timeline
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