Nostalgia & History > Mop Monday: Armco Steel in Kansas City

Here’s a Mop slide I absolutely don’t remember shooting. And after scouring Google Maps I’m convinced most, if not all of the background landmark structures are gone. Also not found in G-Maps is any trace of the old ‘Armco Steel’ complex. Unless my memory is totally shot that’s the generic, catch-all name we used to call this heavily industrialized section of Kansas City. Today’s street view reveals great bare spaces where all sorts of buildings & structures once lived. 40 years ago there was a whole trainload of interesting shooting spots and angles. Today a shooter would have to trespass just about everywhere those old shots used to be. Security chain link fencing runs all over the place. That’s OK, there just ain’t much left to shoot anyhow...

1. MP 3132 leads a grain train toward Neff Yard(?) through the Armco Steel district of Kansas City, MO.
Photo date: August 23, 1981.

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

---

Now I knew you had some old mop photos somewhere stored in the Vault back through the cobwebs down on the bottom never to see the light of day!
Maybe you will find a couple more some day! Thanks for posting! David

Lance, nice MOP shot, northward almost on the east-west KCT diamonds in the Sheffield Interlocking. KCRW287

Nice Double Eagle!

Ricky
Austin, TX

Nice shot. Almost makes me nostalgic for Jenks blue.

Posted from iPhone

dpc37 Wrote: > ... I knew you had some old mop photos somewhere ...

You will be thrilled to know that I just got done WEEDING OUT over 120 Mop scans from my "UP Merged RRs" folder during my ongoing RR (digital image) Master Folder rebuilding project. And now (chuckling) before you panic, I tossed them into a temporary 'for reference only' folder, along with about 110 SP & WP scans. And before I flush them down the cyber sewer I can use them to find the matching slides in my MP, SP & WP Logan Boxes. These scans are from my original Hewlett-Packard G5040 and are absolute garbage. Too small and horribly lacking in sharpness. But when I can steal 2-3 hours from my usual 36-hour work day I'll scan the whole motley mess and have yet another file of 200+ sharp, correctly sized Epson scans earmarked for future P-shopping & posting. Down the road. Someday. But likely not very soon ;^) But don't take too much comfort: a lot of these scans are boring roster shots... :^(

Lance/199

 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/21 09:48 by santafe199.

They are still GOOD because as you say, a lot of what is shown no longer exists.

KCRW287 Wrote: > ... northward almost on the east-west KCT diamonds in the Sheffield Interlocking ...

Thanks Jim. My instinct told me this train was heading north, but I can supply no logical reason why I felt that way. I shot around the Armco Steel district only maybe 2-3 times, tops. And like this shot probably was, they would have been pure hit & run grab shots. Damn shame, too. As wide open as Kansas City was in the 70s & 80s I could have shot the hell-o out of the Armco & Sheffield areas. LOTS of great action & scene photography to be had back in 'em days... :^/

Lance

Excellent shot, Lance!

RC Lundgren

Good one, steel mills and industrial buildings make great backdrops for train photos. Some guys shy away or just want to show pristine scenic vistas, which are great, but this is where railroading starts. Besides, props to any road that painted their loco trucks blue, or even painted them at all. Not many...

BTW, this year marks 20 yrs GST (Armco/Sheffield) shut down...

JG

First rate MP image, Lance. And I remember the Armco plant there quite well -- and am always saddened today to go past its largely vacant site. Thanks for posting this.

MC

santafe199 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dpc37 Wrote: > ... I knew you had some old mop
> photos somewhere ...
>
> You will be thrilled to know that I just got done
> WEEDING OUT over 120 Mop scans from my "UP Merged
> RRs" folder during my ongoing RR (digital image)
> Master Folder rebuilding project. And now
> (chuckling) before you panic, I tossed them into a
> temporary 'for reference only' folder, along with
> about 110 SP & WP scans. And before I flush them
> down the cyber sewer I can use them to find the
> matching slides in my MP, SP & WP Logan Boxes.
> These scans are from my original Hewlett-Packard
> G5040 and are absolute garbage. Too small and
> horribly lacking in sharpness. But when I can
> steal 2-3 hours from my usual 36-hour work day
> I'll scan the whole motley mess and have yet
> another file of 200+ sharp, correctly sized Epson
> scans earmarked for future P-shopping & posting.
> Down the road. Someday. But likely not very soon
> ;^) But don't take too much comfort: a lot of
> these scans are boring roster shots... :^(
>
> Lance/199
>
>
:( Well I guess I will just have to wait to see some more UP merged RR Photos and boring roster shots!
Waiting for Mop Monday or Toto Tuesday or any other day of the week or untill I panic!!  David

Excellent MoP shot Lance. Reminds me of somewhere around 12th St when I was there a few years ago??
Brian Stevens

Posted from iPhone

The photographer (Lance) is standing near the KCT-MP diamonds at Sheffield.  The diamonds are behind him.  View is facing south.  The track diverging to the right is the MP connection to the Kansas City Terminal Rwy.  Armco Steel is on the left.  The overpass in the background is Independence Avenue.   This location is considerably north of 12th St.  The MP had double track (current-of-traffic with ABS) south from Neff Yard to Leeds Jct, which was on the west side of the General Motors plant.  Niether of the MP mains were leased from Frisco.  The Frisco had a separate, but parallel right-of-way to the west of the MP, not visible here as it veered to the west before making its own connection to the KCT.   The Rock Island had trackage rights on the Frisco from Frisco's "Leeds Jct".  The twin smokestacks visible beyond the overpass are at the former Ford assembly plant (the original KC plant) located north of 12th Street and on the west side of the Frisco right-of-way.  At this time, it was owned by Armco and used as a warehouse, served by the Frisco.

Ted Ferkenhoff
Flagstaff, AZ

Boy that brings back memories.  I was a young, assistant trainmaster on that line at that time!  Wow.  But alas, I didnt stay with the Mopp and now work every day with my own small business instead of being retired from the railroad!