FRISCO BAY WINDOW CABOOSE #154By Rick L. McClellan

Interior view of Frisco Bay Window Caboose #154, Springfield, MO. April 1953. Frisco photo

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second ina two part edition of the NEW CARSHOP in which Frisco Folk RickMcClellan provides detailedinstructions for an HO Scale model ofthe only wooden bay window cabooseever operated on the Frisco.

FLOORThe floor of Caboose #154 came fromthe Athearn standard caboose kit(#12503). It had to be stretched 1' tomatch the carbody length. This wasdone by cutting the floor in half andgluing a piece of Plastruct 1/16" sheetplastic that was the correct length ontop. The standard tool/battery box onthe Athearn floor was also removed andthe gaps were filled in with morePlastruct 1/16" styrene and Squadronbody putty. The putty was allowed todry and was sanded smooth. Weightwas added at this time in the form ofthree weight plates from a scrap AthearnGP38-2.

The sides of the four stairwayswere carefully carved in a curvedfashion to approximate the curves foundin the prototype photo of #154. The endsills on the floor were carved off andreplaced with a scale 2" x 6" byEvergreen (#146). The coupler boxarea was carved out of the end sills anda Kadee #5 coupler box was glued intoplace.

battery boxes are on the side of thecaboose that has three windows in thewooden carbody.

The airbrake system installedwas from Cal Scale (AH319) and wasmolded in plastic. The manufacturer'sinstructions were used duringinstallation and all of the airline pipingand linkages were hand formed fromDetail Associates 1" brass rod(WR2505). It should be noted that theplastic brake system parts are quirefragile. Cal Scale also makes the samebrake system in cast brass so considerthis when purchasing an airbrakesystem.

ROOF DETAILThe roof has 11 Batts made from scale1"x 4"'s from Evergreen (#8104). Carewas taken and glue used sparingly asany extra glue would ooze out the sideof the Batt and look pretty bad. Theedges of the roof are trimmed withmore Evergreen 1"x 4"'s and a scale 1"x3" was applied to the seam where thewooden carbody meets the roof.

The roof walk was scratchbuiltfrom Evergreen 1"x 6" styrene (#8104)per the Frisco blueprints. They werecut oversized, laid out and glued togetheron cross pieces also of 1" x 6" styrene.The roof walk assembly was next gluedonto the roof walk risers molded on theAthearn roof with ACC glue. The end

UNDE RFRAMEThe underframe that came with theAthearn cupola caboose had the truckcenters too close to match the blueprint's22'6". As a result, two underframeswere used and they were spliced togetherand glued to the floor of the cabooseachieving the correct truck spacing.

The battery boxes werefabricated from miscellaneous scrapplastruct plastic tubing and glued to thefloor of the caboose. Note that the Frisco #154, in service on Rick's Springfield Sub between Nichols and Monett, MO

support brackets for the roof walk werehand formed from Details Associates1" brass wire (WR2505) and glued intoplace.

Finally, a smokestack fromPrecision Scale (#31455) was added tothe roof on the side of the caboose thathas two windows in the wooden carbody. The support wire was simulatedwith a piece of copper wire taken fromthe braided copper shield on some scrapcoax cable. However, just about anystranded wire will work fine.

Eastbound freight #32 gets the "high ball" after dropping a string of cars at Aurora, MO

PAINTING & LETTERINGThe model was first washed in soap andwater with a water color brush to removethe oil from handling and allowed todry overnight. The water color brush isjust right for this kind of job as it canclean the model but not damage anydelicate detail parts. Both the floor andthe car body sections were painted withFloquil Boxcar Red (R74) and laterwith a coat of Floquil Crystal Cote(R4). The lettering came from thefollowing decal sets:

1. Frisco lettering & coonskin:Microscale Frisco Cabooses (87-0085)2. Safety striping: Herald King YellowStriping (DS-3)3. White stripes above & belowreporting marks: Herald King WhiteStriping Set

The decals were appliedaccording to the manufacturer'sinstructions and later sealed with anotherlight coat of Floquil Crystal Cote (R4).

The sides of the prototype'sstairways are bright yellow for visibilityand Floquil's Reefer Yellow (R31) alongwith careful brush painting filled therequirement.

BODY & FLOOR ASSEMBLYOnce the decals and finish coat werecomplete each window was "glazed"with Evergreen clear styrene (#9007)which was glued behind each sashalready in place. Careful fitting alsoallowed for the glazing of the windowsin the angled part of the steel bays.

Next, assemble the floor section

and the car body together and apply asmall amount of solvent glue to thejoints in several places to secure the twopieces together.

END RAILINGS-LADDERS-BRAKEWHEELSThe end railings were hand formedfrom Details Associates 1" brass wire(WR2505) and arranged per the photoand the Frisco blueprints. They wereglued together with ACC cement andbrush painted with Floquil ReeferYellow (R31).

The sides of the ladders on theprototype were slightly unusual as theywere made from flat steel turnedperpendicular to the rungs. Since thiscould not be effectively reproduced,Walthers ladder stock (#435) was usedand was formed to match the prototype.The ladders were also cemented intoplace with ACC glue and brush paintedreefer yellow.

The brake wheels werecemented into special brackets madefrom scrap styrene that was glued to thebottom of the end sills and the platformhandrailing. These were also brushpainted reefer yellow.

FINISHING TOUCHESTrucks from Charlotte's (#40081Bettendorf) were added along with airhoses from Cal Scale (AH319). The airhoses were brush painted Floquil Black(R 10). Kadee #5 couplers were installedinto the coupler boxes and the seams ofthe coupler boxes were glued.

The car was lightly weatheredwith Floquil Grimy Black (R13) torepresent a caboose in service sixmonths to a year. Floquil Rust (R73)was lightly air brushed on the couplersand at the base of the smokestack.

DONE AT LAST!Bay Window Caboose #154 can easilyfit into a late steam or early diesel eralayout. It could even be at home in a60's to 70's layout as a branchline orlocal service caboose.

GOOD LUCK and don't forgetto...

Frisco Bay Window Caboose #154HO Scale Parts List

Athearn 1285Athearn 12503Athearn 12509Evergreen 4050Evergreen 8103Evergreen 8104Evergreen 8106Evergreen 8108Evergreen 8206Evergreen 9007Details Associates WR2505Details Associates 6504Details Associates 6503Details Associates 2202Precision Scale 31455Kadee 5Charlotte's 40081Cal Scale AH319Walt hers 628Floquil R74Floquil R31

ay Window Caboose BodyCaboose FloorCaboose UnderframeSiding1" x 3"1" x 4"1" x 6"1" x 8"2" x 6"Window GlassRailings, BrakelinesEnd Grab IronsSide Grab IronsGrab IronsSmokestackCouplersBettendorf TrucksAir HosesLadder StockBoxcar Red PaintReefer Yellow Paint

Frisco 4-44) #42 (ex-Kansas Midland #72) sits fired and ready for service on the turntableat Enid, OK, circa. 1909

MODELING IN PUBLICMaking Them Look Like The Real Thing!

By Jim Quarles

EDITOR'S NOTE: While themuseum's 12' x 16' modular HO layoutconstruction & operation at SilverDollar City's Ozark MountainChristmas program was the first suchproject attempted by the museum, manymodel railroad clubs and organizationsacross the country have been setting upand operating similar portable layoutoperations for years.

Frisco Folk Jim Quarles hasbeen a model railroader for well overthirty years and has built, set-up, andoperated a number of modular layoutsincluding 50+ hours at the throttle ofthe museum's layout. In thisMODELING IN PUBLIC feature, Jimoffers some insights and "tricks of thetrade" that are both applicable to publicand home layout operations.

Model railroading is somewhatunique in the modeling world. Ourmodel trains are not static. We actuallyget to run them and see how theyperform. In seeking to build the ultimatetrain model sometimes we forget theoperational aspect. Having someexperience running on a number oflayouts over the country I havediscovered a few tricks I'd like to sharewith you on how to make the operationalmodels appear to behave a hit more likethe real things.

Weathering: Some like, some don't.A model doesn't look real to me unlessit looks like it was earning it's keep andbeing used. The one you do first hurtsyou the worst. Sometimes you over doit, but then look around, you can alwaysfind something that is moreunbelievably aged than your own worstefforts. The best thing is the more youget into it the more details you willnotice you can incorporate into your

efforts. Chalks, washes, and air brushcan all be used successfully. Like mostscenery it is one of the less expensivethings you can do and you will get a lotof satisfaction from it once you are ableto swallow that lump and start.

Cars That Wobble & Shake: Checkto make sure all wheels are round byturning the car over and spinning eachset of wheels. Look for dirty wheelsthat have collected residue on the wheelmaking it run off center. Those that areactually out of round will need to bereplaced. If the wheels are true thenwith screw mounted trucks, tighten oneset of trucks so they are snug, but canstill swivel freely. Leave the trucks onthe other end of the car loose so theywill better follow imperfectly laid tracks.Those trucks that clip on are more of aproblem. Many of them have rubbingblocks cast into the trucks and the bottomof the cars. Make sure the trucks thathave the blocks on them are on thecorrect end of the car with the rubblocks on the car. Sometimes you haveto modify the car and put a screw in onetruck to be able to tighten it correctly.One truck snug, one truck loose worksbest for me.

Scale Speed Operation: Rememberspeed is reduced just as the size of yourmodels are. You need to operate yourmodels in accordance with their size:1/87 to 1 for HO and 1/160 for N. Thisscales out to about one foot per secondequals 60 scale miles per hour in HOand 120 miles per hour in N. A littlechugging sound effects boxcar will dowonders to slow you down if you runsteamers. It usually takes a good qualitypower pack to do this. With can motorsit takes a transistorized throttle to getgood slow speed operation.

Slow Speed Operation: Model trainslook much more realistic if they are notoperated like slot cars or race cars.Accelerate S-L-O-W-L-Y and P-O-N-D-E-R-O-U-S-L-Y. It helps if the engineis well lubricated with lubricant de-signed for model trains. Also use a bitof Rail Zip, a water soluble conductiv-ity enhancer on the track to improveconductivity between the wheels andtrack. The small amount of lubricationhelps the wheels slide by the imper-fections in the track also. Rememberbetween shows it is possible for thelubricant to evaporate and dry out.Check each loco out before the show,they always run better if they are runthrough a pre-show inspection/lube.

Trains breaking apart: Coupler heightis the most likely problem here. Thisisn't too bad on NMRA couplers but itcan he a real problem with Kadees,especially on modular layouts that haveproblems with humps at the joints. Itseems to be more prevalent on HOlayouts than N scale. If you are runningon modules use short cars and engines.The longer the wheelbase of the unit themore the couplers are shifted verticallywhen a hump or uneven track is en-countered. If you need to run long unitsthink about using NMRA couplers or avariety that lock better than the Kadees.

Squeaky axles: If the tone is not tooloud it can be an enhancement, espe-cially if you are running slow. If,however, you are high balling it soundssuspiciously like crickets or a bunch ofmice, not like a scale flange squealingaround a curve. Best to use the Labelleon the offending truck and keep themquiet. More pre-show inspections arein order.

Wheel gauge: Running on a variety of

track on modular layouts will really testthe standards of your equipment. Usethe NMRA gauge on everything youown, including the track on the layout.I once had quite a bit of trouble with aset of diesels during a show on anotherfellows module. We had a good timeteasing each other about his faulty trackverses my faulty engines. Turned out itwas both! One of my engines had a setof wheels that were loose on the axles.He had a turnout that had been heatedtoo hot with a soldering iron and therails moved together. This all com-bined to the point where that one enginewould not go through that particularturnout without going on the ground.

Car weights: The cars do track betterif they are brought into the NMRAstandards as far as weight goes. Theywill also track better if you test rollthem down an incline of about 2%.Shift wheel sets in the trucks, lubricate,and finally discard the wheelsets ortrucks that won't roll. They will causeyou more grief than they are worth. Thefirst time I encountered this concept Ithought it was real nit picking, but try it,you'll like it!

Metal vs Plastic wheels: This can starta lot of discussions (arguments!). Dowhat works best for you. The plasticnon sprung trucks work better for me. Ifound a buddy that liked metal wheelsets and we swapped about 100 sets oftrucks. Now we are both happy!

Fill those track gaps: On modularlayouts no matter what happens or howaccurately the modules are built, thetrack is cut, or gauged, changes in hu-midity, moving the modules, the phaseof the moon, etc., there always seems tobe gaps in the track joints between themodules. Cut the track to fit or havesomeone go around with small piecesof styrene to fill the cracks. Trains don'tlike jumping from rail to rail, especiallygoing into a curved piece of track. We'veused all kinds of cutting gauges etc. totry to hold the tolerance to an acceptablefit and we have always had to trim to fit

to get the trains to run well. I think thisis a bigger problem in HO than in Nscale.

Too much ballast: Use the NMRAgauge to make sure the ballast is notcausing derailments. Also use an oldcar with a set of trucks with deep flangesand push it around feeling for ballastthat is too high near the railhead. Cutthe high spots down with a smallscrewdriver. Clear out all flange wayson turnouts and crossings, etc. Makesure the ballast is securely tacked downwith adhesive. You don't want it movingaround or vibrating while the trains areoperating. That can cause ghostly de-railments. The darned things neverderail the same place twice!

Humps between modules: I have beenfortunate in belonging to four differentmodular groups over the years. Theyall have trouble with humps betweenthe modules. N scale does not seem tobe bothered as bad as HO. I have notseen any infallible solution yet.

Track going out of gauge: In one lo-cation we had to set up our modularlayout outside a number of times. Eachtime this was done if the direct sunlightwas allowed to strike the track it heatedthe rails so hot they caused the plasticties to soften and how the rails togetherto the point that we couldn't run thetrains because the track gauge becametoo narrow. This gets expensive intrack, time, and especially frustration ifit happens while you are operating infront of a crowd. Don't let the sun shinedirectly on the layout!

Rain on the layout: Don't laugh, it hashappened three times to clubs I havebelonged to, including a covered picnicarea that leaked, a large building thatneeded roof repair, and a roof leak overthe museum's layout at Silver DollarCity! How much water fell determinesthe damage done. If the layout got agood soaking expect warping. If it wasminor then a little scenery repair is all

that is needed. A good coat of paint onthe modules before applying scenerywill do a lot to prevent harm whenthings like this happen. Remember youhave to soak things down pretty wellwhen applying the scenery and ballastanyway, so the paint is probably a goodidea. In one of the occurrences we hadso much water falling in a short timethat it actually washed the scenery offthe layout.

Some Thoughts on ModulesIf you have a partially finished module,bring it to the show. You don't have toput it in the layout. People get a realkick out of seeing how they are built.Better yet if a module is finished on oneend and without scenery on the otherthe crowd can see the scenery progres-sion. If you have trouble with theindividuals in the crowds wanting totouch the layout or scenery, get an oldmodule and spruce it up a bit and thenput it out by itself and label it thePETTING MODULE. Now you don'thave to go negative when someonereaches out to touch your module. Justsuggest the go touch the PETTINGMODULE. It works great!

Modeler's Conduct and the DON'TTOUCH Syndrome.

Finally, remember Model Railroadingis Fun. Make it fun for those that don'tknow it yet. If you build a module totravel to shows, go in front of a crowd,and be displayed to the public, it willget touched, become damaged, tatteredand frayed. Expect it, it will happen.Expect to do maintenance and rebuilds.We are poor representatives of the hobbyif we scream and shout at people whenthey do break the rules of touching. Ifthe module is that important to us per-haps we would he better off if it wereleft home as a static display. I wouldn'twant to be the model railroader thatyelled at a kid and destroyed his interestin the hobby. With a little encourage-ment he might turn out to be the nextLinn Westcott or John Allen. Whenthey reach out to touch, they are dis-playing an interest... cultivate it!

DOWN AT THE DEPOT

Fort Sill, OKStation G626

Chickasha Sub-DivisionSouthwestern Division

On July 15, 1899, theOklahoma City & Western RailroadCo. was incorporated under the laws ofthe Territory of Oklahoma and by theterms of its charter was granted theright to, "...construct, own, maintainand operate a line of railroad extendingfrom Oklahoma City, in the Territory, ofOklahoma, in a southwesterly direction,through the counties of Oklahoma,Cleveland and Canadian, in theTerritory of Oklahoma; thence throughthe Chickasaw Nation; thence throughthe Kiowa, Commanche and ApacheIndian Reservations, and Greer county,in the said Territory of Oklahoma, tothe northern boundary line of the Stateof Texas, including a bridge across theRed River near Quanah, Texas."

The company was organizedby C.G. Jones of Oklahoma City, andcertain of his associates, but aside fromcompleting the organization, nothingwas done until the latter part of 1902.About that time, the contracting firm ofJohnston Brothers of St. Elmo. IL,acquired control, and entered into acontract with the company forconstruction of its proposed line of road,

under which payment for suchconstruction was to be made in stockand bonds of the company. On October15, 1901, Johnston Brothers agreed tosell all the securities received by itunder the construction contract to theSt. Louis Trust Company of St. Louis,MO, at the rate of $15,565 per mile ofroad, and on April 4, 1902, the St. LouisTrust Company agreed to sell thosesecurities to the St. Louis and SanFrancisco Railroad Co.

On March 10, 1903, all thesecurities of the company weredelivered to the Frisco and on July 18,1907, the company executed a formaldeed conveying its property, rights, andfranchises to the Frisco. At the date ofsale, the company owned about 174miles of standard gauge, single trackrailroad, located entirely within the stateof Oklahoma.

In March, 1903, when the linewas first included in The Official Listof Officers, Stations, Agents, Etc. of theFrisco, it was listed as the OklahomaDistrict of the Southwestern Division.

Four miles northeast of Lawtonwas the location of Ft. Sill, StationG626. Ft. Sill, located on MedicineBluff Creek, was first established in1868 when troops were sent out to quellan Indian uprising. A wooden stockade

was built there and called Ft. Wichita.The first permanent structure, built in1869, was a corral in which the men andanimals lived. At that time, GeneralPhil Sheridan succeeded in having thename changed to Ft. Sill in honor of aWest Point classmate, Joshua WoodrowSill, who was killed while leading hisbrigade at the Battle of Murfreesboro in1862.

Although some type ofpassenger facility was in operation asearly as 1902 when R. H. Crow wasappointed agent (November 10, 1902),the first permanent station of recordwas built in 1912. The 55' 9" x 23' 9"frame structure was set on a concretefoundation with a 1/3 pitch hip roofdesign. The exterior featured dropsiding and sanitary facilities were"outside." The interior was dividedinto a freight & baggage room on thesouth end, ticket office in the middle,and waiting room accommodations onthe north end for both white and "negro"patrons. The ceilings were 11' 4" high,covered with V-joint hoards and thefloor, somewhat unusual in Friscodepots, was 2 1/2" maple.

According to company records,a "new" station was constructed in 1917and enlarged in 1942. (See LookingBackward feature, p. 8)

Will discontinue its daily passenger trains Nos. 409 and 404

between Lawton, Okla. and Quanah, Tex. The last trips these

trains will make will be their regular runs onJULY 17, 1955

WHY IS THISBEING DONE? These trains have been losing approximately $55,000.00 annually

because of lack of patronage. So, -in the interest of good business,the Frisco has no alternative except to discontinue them.

There was a time when these trains served a transportation need,but the development of fine highways and the expansion ofcompeting forms of transportation have combined to cut downthe need for them.

WILL IT AFFECTFREIGHT SERVICE? Absolutely not! The Frisco will continue to maintain the same

fine freight service it now offers this territory, but it willbe relieved of the burden of operating passenger trains that arean absolute economic loss to the Company.

HOW ABOUTMAIL SERVICE? The Post Office Department has given assurance that adequate mail

service will be provided the post offices served by these twopassenger trains. This service will be comparable to that nowin existence.

We believe the public will understand our position and agree withus that there is no other alternative than to remove these non-paying,revenue-sapping trains. We believe that you would prefer to havea healthy railway system serving you than one whose strength wascontinually being drawn off through maintaining services whichhave ceased to be in public demand.

Records concerning the 1917 depot arecurrently not available.

The Ft. Sill facility alsoincluded a 50,000 gal. water tank, pumphouse, agents dwelling, and an umbrellashed.

In the early 1900's (circa. 1910)Ft. Sill was served by two passengertrains, Nos. 9 & 10, between St. Louis& Quanah, TX, and Nos. 407-408between St. Louis & Lawton, OK. Inthe 1920's (circa. 1925) three daily trainsstopped at the station: 9 & 10, 3 & 4 theOklahoma Special, and Nos. 417 & 418.The 1930's (circa. 1935) saw a declinein passenger revenue on the line andservice was relegated to a daily motorcar, Nos. 409 & 410. In 1942, servicewas limited to mixed train service onNos. 403-410. The year 1945 saw thereturn to full passenger service on trains409-410 and the addition of daily busservice, Nos. 302 & 309, provided bythe Oklahoma Transportation Co.between Union Station at OklahomaCity and the Main Post Exchange at Ft.Sill.

In 1950, service was providedby trains 404 & 409 and on July 17,1955, passenger service to Ft. Sill wasdiscontinued

Among the many questions thatare commonly asked of museums,including The Frisco Railroad MuseumInc, is, "What is the oldest item in yourcollection?" While we have an"oldest"piece, two items in thecollection are usually given recognition.

One, (the oldest) is a 7" x 4"leather hound notebook containing handdrawn survey transit notes for theSouthwest Branch of the PacificRailroad, Osage Fork, from Springfieldto Pulaski, Sta. 485-712, dated 1853.The notebook was discovered in a boxof miscellaneous books and papersdonated to the museum last year. It is inexcellent condition, considering that itis 139 years old!

Another item that, while not having thedistinction of being the oldest, bearsmention is an advertisement of HOMESIN MISSOURI, offering 1,000,000acres of land in Missouri for sale by theSouth Pacific Railroad Company. The

ad appears on the back cover of Moore'sRural New Yorker, a weekly magazine,Volume XX, 1869.

Both these "oldest" items arecurrently on display in our museumdisplay facility.

The Frisco Station SchoolEDITOR'S NOTE: The significantcontribution that women made on theFrisco is evident in this article aboutThe Frisco Station School, which firstappeared in the Frisco Man magazine,December, 1917.

edented shortage of man powerthroughout the country, caused by thewar, the Frisco quickly realized thenecessity of training women for posi-tions in station service. With this viewin mind, the 'Frisco Station School' atSpringfield has been established.

"The sole object of the schoolis to train women for such vacanciesthat may occur from time to time thatcan be filled by them and it is not theintention, at any time, to discharge aman employee to make room for awomen.

"The school is located atSpringfield, MO., and is under the di-rection of the Inspector of Stations, (in1917 the Inspector of Stations was C E.Gerties) who with two experiencedassistants, give the students the trainingfrom a practical standpoint and the les-sons are arranged, so the work done inthe school is, as near as possible, likethe duties performed at a station; actualwaybills with their numerous notationsand passing stamps are used to famil-iarize the students with the same con-ditions they will meet when placed inpositions at stations; actual shippingtickets and bills of lading are used forbilling purposes to acquaint the stu-dents with the many abbreviations andthe different styles used by shippers inpreparing their hills of lading. In thismanner the students gain a knowledge,while in training, that will enable themto better understand the work assignedto them at the station.

"The first two weeks are con-sumed in studying the Frisco Systemfrom a geographical point of view, its

officers, the business terms used, theuse of waybills, expense bills, bills oflading, tariffs and classification, and atthe end of this period the students havea general knowledge of the work theyare entering. The interest displayed atthis stage is quite keen and their ea-gerness to continue the work is veryapparent.

"During the third week of studythe classes are formed into two stationsnamed: 'St. Louis' and 'Springfield,' anda complete routine of station work iscarried on; positions being changedfrequently, so each student will becomefamiliar with the entire work and thushe able to understand the relation oneposition hears to another, following thethread through the entire routine of theoffice. This feature affords the oppor-tunity to the students of selecting theparticular class work that appeals tothem most and enables them to givespecial attention to that part of the work.

"The term of training consumesabout eight weeks which includes twoweeks of actual work at the SpringfieldStation and at the end of this period it isfelt the students are able to go into anoffice and render valuable services andin a short time become proficient in theduties regularly assigned to them.

"The course of study is inter-spersed with lectures by officials fromthe various departments, thus givingthe students the benefit of theirknowledge which could not he given tothem through our regular printed les-sons.

"The success of the school isassured as will be seen from the fol-lowing figures:

"The school was opened Sep-tember 3, 1917, and by the end of theweek fourteen students were enrolled.At the present time we have thirty-seven students in the classes and up tothe present time fifteen students have

been sent out to positions."Reports from the stations to

which these students have been sent arevery favorable, the Agent being pleasedwith the efforts being made by thestudents to fill their positions.

"New classes are entered onthe first and third Mondays of eachmonth and so far we have had eagerclasses awaiting these dates.

"The Station School is agrowing institution and the good re-sults obtained is the reward for ourefforts."

EDITOR'S NOTE: One such indi-vidual who, quite possibly was agraduate of the Station School, wasFrances Warthen who was affection-ately referred to as the Central Division'sFirst Lady.

Frances' father, WilliamWarthen was sent from the Lebanon-Dixon area to Jenson, AR in 1882 asSection Foreman. Frances first hiredout as 3rd trick telegraph operator atJenson in 1910. In 1966, she retired onthe closing of the Hackett AR Station,where she served as station agent forthirty years.

Thanks to the generosity of hercousin, and Frisco Folk, Jim Hartness,the museum has acquired a number ofunique and valuable items of Friscohistory, including Frances' twenty-fiveyear award pin, which is proudly ondisplay in our display facility.

Frances Warthen, on duty at Hackett, AR,December, 1955. Frisco photo

Both bridge photos are of bridge#863.3, located at Atmore, AL.The top photo is of a 74' Deck PlateGirder over Nashville, St.The middle photo is of a 60' ThruPlate Girder over the L & N tracksadjacent to Nashville, St.Both were built in 192 7.

R.E. Napper photos

Frisco Folk Wayne Porter took thisphoto of Frisco caboose #1176alongside the restored Frisco depotat Mammoth Spring, AR, Septem-ber 15, 1991.

SPECIAL NOTICE ATTENTION ALL FRISCO SPECULATORS!

Plans are now being made to begin a new feature in future issues of the ALL ABOARD that will add an additional perspectiveto our FRISCO IN THE 1990's. Have you ever wondered, What would the Frisco be like if it were still operating as the Friscoin the 1990's? What would the operations department look like? What would a particular Division, Sub-Division, or branchline operations be today? What types of motive power would be in service? What kinds of freight, company service,passenger? equipment would be in use. If you have an idea (be creative but realistic), send it to us and we will include it inour new feature.