Nostalgia & History > Santa Fe symbol for Frisco QLA interchange in OK?

Frisco had the super hot freight QLA from Memphis and Birmingham which interchanged to the Santa Fe in OK.
Train interchanged at Avard OK and I believe another OK point before Avard.
What was the Santa Fe symbol for this train on the Santa Fe transcon?

gmojim

I'm sorry I don't have the symbol you're looking for, but I know where it is. Keel Middleton wrote an article, "The Avard Connection" that was in the SFRH&MS "Warbonnet" Volume 16, No. 1, 1st quarter, 2010. I cannot find my copy of that issue.......undoubtedly lost in one of my many moves. The society doesn't have those articles digitized as far as I can tell, but if any Santa Fe guy has the magazine in his files, I'm sure the info your looking for would be in there.

IIRC my feeble memory says the Santa Fe ran it as the QLA until such time that they changed to 3-digit numerical symbols and it became the 668 train.

My collection of Trains Mag that goes back to 1955 or so has a pic, B&W, of I think six Frisco F units in ABBBBA formation on Cajon pass in the early 1960's. I cannot go find it now. But this train was one of the first long-distance run thru trains in the nation. The train symbol may be there. QLA sounds about right. What was the EB symbol; as more loads move east than west on that route? That route never stopped; Santa Fe connecting to Frisco at Avard, OK. It is now a major BNSF Trans-Con route.

The route was SOU - Memphis - SLSF (Frisco) - Quanah (Texas) - QAP - Floydada - Santa Fe. Of course, QAP was a Frisco subsidiary. The QLA and later 668 train, was the hottest thing on the railroad scheduled into Los Angeles before 12 midnight to allow the forwarder merchandise in boxcars to be distributed and delivered next day bu Western Carloading, PANDA shippers, National Carloading and the like. Long before UPS had nationwide operating rights merchandise (wearing apparel, fabrics, shoes, furniture, made in the East and South was given to carloaders who made up full carloads of mixed freight. This traffic was very time-sensitive and the General Manager of Santa Fe would show no mercy to those who failed to get it spotted on time.

Norm

Norman Orfall
Helendale, CA
TIOGA PASS, a private railcar

"This traffic was very time-sensitive and the General Manager of Santa Fe would show no mercy to those who failed to get it spotted on time. "

​There was a day that most GMs felt the same way about getting the job done in time.

Thanks for the replys everyone. So the Santa Fe called it the QLA then the 668 train..  I just found a schedule with the 668 listed.
​Frisco service was from Birmingham and they picked up the Southern interchange at Memphis.

​gmojim

Norm is absolutely correct regarding the priority of this symbol. When you laid in the hotel in Barstow, nothing could put a bigger smile on one's face than a call for the 668!

Thanks to all.
I have a Southern Railroad shot glass and a Frisco drinking glass that I got from the railroads back in the 1970"s when I was a customer.
As I poured by scotch from the shot glass to the Frisco glass I thought about Southern train 173 which had a red hot block for the QLA that was set out at KC Junction in Memphis for QLA to pick up. It was a very big deal on both railroads to see that this interchange went very smoothly.
I named my drink the 173QLA.

Recently I found some Santa Fe coasters , so I put the Frisco glass on the Santa Fe coasters and maybe I need to call it the 173QLA668 drink.

gmojim

JLinDE Wrote:
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> My collection of Trains Mag that goes back to 1955
> or so has a pic, B&W, of I think six Frisco F
> units in ABBBBA formation on Cajon pass in the
> early 1960's. I cannot go find it now. But this
> train was one of the first long-distance run thru
> trains in the nation. The train symbol may be
> there. QLA sounds about right. What was the EB
> symbol; as more loads move east than west on that
> route? That route never stopped; Santa Fe
> connecting to Frisco at Avard, OK. It is now a
> major BNSF Trans-Con route.

Eastbound was the 886 on ATSF, but the westbound was hotter in those days,more freight westbound.

gmojim

When did the 668 move to Avard?
Did that shorten the schedule?

timz Wrote:
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> When did the 668 move to Avard?
> Did that shorten the schedule?

In August, 1972. I don't know what impact it had on the schedule, but surely it must of cut some time off.

ICBW but I don't recall the 886 being an interchange train with the Frisco but the LA-Dallas pigs.

Chico43 Wrote:
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> ICBW but I don't recall the 886 being an
> interchange train with the Frisco but the
> LA-Dallas pigs.

Found a 1982 Official Railway Guide that shows the 886 LA to Avard, intermodal only train.

gmojim

Maybe it was the 885 that I had in mind.