Steam & Excursion > SL-SF Saturday Pt 2 Noisy day in Stanton,MO

Westbound double headed freight behind 4-8-2s #1508 and 4414 are digging in after a stop for water and perhaps even coal judging from 4414's tender and are about to pass new 4-8-4 #4503 in the siding which has sections following according to the green flags. Frisco was a busy single track main west of Pacific, MO during WWII and the dispatchers had their hands full.
Stanton, MO is 62 miles west of St. Louis on the Rolla Subbdivision of the Eastern Div between St. Louis and Springfield, MO.
Venerable Baldwin 1508 and her class were jack of all trades and did well at all of them.
As the saying goes "later that same day" the doubleheader is hooked up and making time near St. Clair, MO. The fireman seems happy with the trip.
I've often wondered if my Dad wasn't engineer on one of these engines. He was promoted to the right side early 1940 and was very busy during the war.
Photo: Frisco company photographer, prints my collection.

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Thanks for sharing, Don. One can feel the drama of the meet in the photos. And the locos look well cared for.

My old time, Wabash conductor friend told me how busy it was on the during WWII. And his time-books showed it too. Wabash President Arthur Atkinson, who was more a financial type, didn't want to spend the money on the Wabash 4-8-2s and 4-8-4s acquired in the early 1930s . But they sure proved their worth during WWII. (Atkinson felt the 2-8-2, "Big Mikes" on the roster were adequate.)

My friend Clarence was never laid off his entire career from 1938 to 1978. With his deferral, the war years helped him get his seniority before things slowed down again.

Victor Baird



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/25 17:30 by wabash2800.

The scene in photo one is an histotic gem!
Bob

In the 2nd photo, what's with the white "froth like stuff" near the rails.  Was the 4414 making a disposition at this point?  In looking further back along this train it appears there is possibly more of the same.  Was this another form of material trackside and not related to these two steam locos?

Possibly the white stuff is fresh chat.

I don't mean this disparagingly, but what would today's T&E folks think if hooped up a set of train orders of the complexity necessary to keep this section of railroad fluid during the time all the oil was moving?  I remember these photos well.  They were published in, I think, Highball.  That book and Mixed Train Daily were in the Carnegie Library in Fort Smith and I just about wore the covers off them.
Gordon

OK, I found this related to the above.  This train order was in a small display in the Frisco Building in St. Louis back in the day and was claimed to be legitimate.  I cannot prove that.  This is the section of railroad where the photos were taken.  
Gordon

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That is why I said the dispatchers were busy people! This order is a great example. Multiple sections, hold main track or in the passing track, times, have a nice trip!
Imagine having this hooped up to you while you're bouncing along in the cab in the dark and rain with a student fireman and trying to get all of that in order in your mind.
Dad said they had an operator who used a very hard pencil and they couldn't read some of it and he had to stop, back up and ream out the operator and ask what the order said. He reported it and the operator suddenly had soft pencils and you could read the orders and I'm sure he got several chewing out upsetting traffic like that.
Crews had to be on their toes before CTC, radios and more modern methods.

Good gosh, I had to read that 3 times to understand it..  On the T&P we never saw orders like that.  They would usually be 3 different orders.  Or maybe it was because  they  did not have a large number of trains running close.  But maybe it was that way also during the WWII.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/25 15:40 by tomstp.

I'm not a wealthy guy, but I think I'd pay a bunch to watch a repeat of that scene.  Very nice and thanks again for these photos.  

Craig Hanson
Vay, Idaho