St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
Encyclopedia
The St. Louis – San Francisco Railway , also known as the Frisco, was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central U.S. from 1876 to 1980.
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.
was the most famous passenger train the Frisco ever operated, it also rostered an entire fleet of named trains. These included:
The following railroads were acquired or merged into the Frisco:
History
The St. Louis and San Francisco Railway was incorporated in MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
on September 7, 1876. It was formed from the Missouri Division and Central Division of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad
The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjoint segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Southern California. It was incorporated by the U.S. Congress in 1866 as a...
. 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
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
– Tulsa – Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
and Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
– Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
– Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. The junction of the two lines was in Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
, home to the company's main shop facility. Other lines included:
- Springfield – Kansas City (via Clinton, MissouriClinton, MissouriClinton is a city in Henry County, Missouri, United States. The city was named for New York Governor DeWitt Clinton. The population was 9,311 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Henry County.-Geography:Clinton is located at...
) - Monett, MissouriMonett, MissouriMonett is a city in Monett Township in Barry County and Pierce Township in Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,873 at the 2010 census...
(Pierce City) – Wichita, KansasWichita, KansasWichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area... - Monett, Missouri – Paris, TexasParis, TexasParis, Texas is a city located northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States. It is situated in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods. Physiographically, these regions are part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. In 1900, 9,358 people lived...
- St. Louis – River Junction, Arkansas (Memphis, Tennessee)
- Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, OklahomaTulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
– Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States... - Tulsa, Oklahoma – Avard, OklahomaAvard, OklahomaAvard is a town in Woods County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 26 at the 2000 census and is sometimes considered a ghost town. After initial growth Avard began declining in the 1930s...
- Lakeside, Oklahoma – Hugo, OklahomaHugo, OklahomaHugo is a city in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, bordering Texas. Hugo is the county seat for Choctaw County and has a population of 5,395 as of 2009 estimates. The city serves as winter quarters for some circus performers...
– Hope, ArkansasHope, ArkansasHope is a small city in Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2008 United States Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 10,378...
.
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
Texas Special
The Texas Special was a named passenger train operated jointly by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway , it was the flagship of both these lines. It ran between St...
. This luxurious streamliner
Streamliner
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
ran from St. Louis to Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Ft. Worth, Texas and San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. The Texas Special is a popular prototype in model railroading.
The Frisco merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad
Burlington Northern Railroad
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....
on November 21, 1980.
Passenger trains
While the Texas SpecialTexas Special
The Texas Special was a named passenger train operated jointly by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway , it was the flagship of both these lines. It ran between St...
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)
- FireflyFirefly (passenger train)The Firefly was a named passenger train of the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway. At various times, it served St Louis, Missouri, Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Kansas City, Missouri, and Fort Scott, Kansas....
(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)
Former Frisco lines today
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 RailroadArkansas and Missouri RailroadThe Arkansas and Missouri Railroad is a short-line railroad headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas.The A & M, as it is known, operates of line from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Monett, Missouri. The railroad interchanges freight cars with Kansas City Southern Railway at Fort Smith, with Union Pacific...
- Lakeside, Oklahoma to Hope, Arkansas: Operated by Kiamichi RR (RailAmericaRailAmericaRailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada....
) - 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 RailwayAlabama and Gulf Coast RailwayThe Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway is one of several Class III short-line railroad companies owned by RailAmerica, Inc. It operates of track from the Pensacola, Florida export terminals, west of downtown, north to Columbus, Mississippi, with trackage rights along BNSF Railway to Amory, Mississippi...
(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
Predecessors
The following companies were predecessors of the Frisco:- Pacific RailroadPacific RailroadThe Pacific Railroad was a railroad based in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was a predecessor of both the Missouri Pacific Railroad and St. Louis-San Francisco Railway.The Pacific was chartered by Missouri in 1849 to extend "from St...
, charter granted by MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
on March 3, 1849 - Southwest Pacific Railroad, John C. FrémontJohn C. FrémontJohn Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
reorganized in August 1866 - Atlantic and Pacific RailroadAtlantic and Pacific RailroadThe Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjoint segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Southern California. It was incorporated by the U.S. Congress in 1866 as a...
, incorporated on July 27, 1866
Acquisitions
- Missouri and Western Railway: 1879
- St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway: 1882
- Springfield and Southern Railroad: 1885
- Kansas City and Southwestern Railroad: 1886
- Fayetteville and Little Rock Railroad: 1887
- Fort Smith and Southern Railway: 1887
- Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf RailwayKansas, Oklahoma and Gulf RailwayThe Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway was formed on July 31, 1919 from the assets of the bankrupt Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. The KO&G largely consisted of a single line from Baxter Springs, Kansas, to Denison, Texas, prior to its purchase by Missouri Pacific's Texas and Pacific Railway...
: 1899 - Kansas City, Osceola and Southern Railway: 1900
- Arkansas and Oklahoma RailroadArkansas and Oklahoma RailroadThe Arkansas–Oklahoma Railroad started operations on March 3, 1996 and operates on 73 miles of track owned by the U.S. state of Oklahoma between Howe and McAlester. The AOK is based in Wilburton....
: 1901 - St. Louis, Oklahoma and Southern Railway: 1901
- Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railway: 1901
- Arkansas Valley and Western RailwayArkansas Valley and Western RailwayThe Arkansas Valley and Western Railway was built as a short line railroad operating within the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was founded in 1902 to link the city of Tulsa with the main transcontinental line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway at Avard. The line was built in sections,...
: 1907 - Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern RailwayBlackwell, Enid and Southwestern RailwayThe Blackwell, Enid and Southwestern Railway was built as a short line railroad operating in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.It was founded in March 1900 to link the Frisco Beaumont, Kansas subdivision and Vernon, Texas...
: 1903 - Red River, Texas and Southern Railway: 1904
- Oklahoma City and Texas Railroad: December 19, 1904
- Crawford County Midland and Railroad: May 20, 1905
- Oklahoma City and Western Railroad: 1907 – December 19, 1910
- Sapulpa and Oil Field Railroad: 1917
- West Tulsa Belt Railway: 1922
- Jonesboro, Lake City and Eastern RailroadJonesboro, Lake City and Eastern RailroadThe Jonesboro, Lake City and Eastern Railroad was a short line railroad that operated in Mississippi and Craighead Counties of northeast Arkansas...
:1924 - Pittsburg and Columbus Railway (Pittsburg, KansasPittsburg, KansasPittsburg is a city in Crawford County, in southeastern Kansas, United States. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and in southeastern Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 20,233.-History:...
): 1925–1926 - Springfield Connecting Railway: May 11, 1926
- Kansas City and Memphis Railway and Bridge Company: 1928
- Paris and Great Northern Railroad: July 21, 1928
- Kansas City, Clinton and Springfield RailwayKansas City, Clinton and Springfield RailwayThe Kansas City, Clinton and Springfield Railway, also known as the Leaky Roof Railway, is a now abandoned rail line that ran from Olathe, Kansas, near Kansas City, through Clinton, Missouri, and on to Ash Grove, Missouri, where it tied in with the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Gulf Railway, later...
: September 1, 1928 - Alabama, Tennessee and Northern RailroadAlabama, Tennessee and Northern RailroadThe Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad was a short line railroad operating within the state of Alabama. It was founded in 1897 as the Carrollton Short Line Railway to link the city of Carrollton, Alabama with the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at Reform, Alabama. Through mergers, acquisitions...
: December 28, 1948 - Northeast Oklahoma Railroad: December 27, 1963 (Division dissolved February 27, 1967; Roads involved include: NEO RR, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri Interurban Railroad, Joplin and Pittsburg Railway and Oklahoma Traction Company)
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.- St. Louis, Wichita and Western Railway: 1882
- St. Louis and Oklahoma City Railroad: 1898
- Kansas Midland Railroad: October 23, 1900
- Oklahoma City Terminal Railroad: 1900–1903
- Fort Smith and Van Buren Bridge Company: 1907
- Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway: 1907
- St. Louis, Memphis and Southern Railroad: 1907
- Sulphur Springs Railway: 1907
- Joplin Railway: 1910
- Fort Worth and Rio Grande RailwayFort Worth and Rio Grande RailwayThe Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway, chartered under the laws of Texas on June 1, 1885, was part of a plan conceived by Buckley Burton Paddock and other Fort Worth civic leaders to create a transcontinental route linking New York, Fort Worth, and the Pacific port of Topolobampo, which they...
: 1919–1937 - Fayetteville and Little Rock Railroad: 1926
- Little Rock and Texas Railway: 1926
- Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham RailroadKansas City, Memphis and Birmingham RailroadThe Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in the southern United States.The company was created by consolidation in 1887 from a line of the same name and the Memphis and Birmingham Railway. The KCM&B operated between Memphis, Tennessee and Birmingham,...
: September 1, 1928 - Muscle Shoals, Birmingham and Pensacola Railroad: 1928–1947
- Miami Mineral Belt Railroad: 1950
- St. Louis, Kennett and Southeastern Railroad: 1950
- St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway: 1963–1964
- Birmingham Belt Railroad: 1967 (liquidation of BB RR and distribution of assets)
See also
- Frisco, TexasFrisco, TexasFrisco is an affluent city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U.S. state of Texas and a rapidly growing suburb of Dallas. As of the 2010 Census, 116,989 people were living in Frisco up from 33,714 in the previous census. Frisco was the fastest growing city in the United States in 2009, and also...
- Gulf Coast LinesGulf Coast LinesThe Gulf Coast Lines was the name of a railroad system comprising three principal railroads, as well as some smaller ones, that stretched from New Orleans, Louisiana via Baton Rouge and Houston to Brownsville, Texas...
- Benjamin Franklin YoakumBenjamin Franklin YoakumBenjamin Franklin Yoakum was a visionary railroad executive of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who attempted to join the Frisco and Rock Island Railroads into a great system stretching from Chicago to Mexico...
- Fort Worth and Rio Grande RailwayFort Worth and Rio Grande RailwayThe Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway, chartered under the laws of Texas on June 1, 1885, was part of a plan conceived by Buckley Burton Paddock and other Fort Worth civic leaders to create a transcontinental route linking New York, Fort Worth, and the Pacific port of Topolobampo, which they...
External links
- Frisco Modelers' Information Group
- The Frisco: A Look Back at the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (historical information at the Springfield-Greene County Library District)
- Mike Condren's Frisco Railroad Homepage
- The Frisco Railroad in Kansas
- Western Historical Manuscript Collection—Rolla—University of Missouri-Rolla "Guide to the Historical Records of the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Company" Retrieved September 16, 2005
- "The Frisco in photographs," Classic Trains magazine, January 18, 2001, accessed 5 April 2011. Includes photos and system map.
- "Frisco System," Handbook of Texas Online, accessed 5 April 2011.