Nostalgia & History > WAG Wednesday: Rock Island motor car LAST Run! (pt 1)

Here we go with our much anticipated series on Rock Island’s last runs of motorcar trains #24 & #23 between Kansas City & Eldon, MO. Some of the 60 or so images to be posted in the coming weeks have been previously posted, but with lousy H-P scanning and not-quite-adequate Picasa photo-editing. I hope nobody gets too ruffled because I’m re-posting some much better scans...

Onward to the captions!>>>>>v

1. On its very last run east, CRI&P 9090 with train #24 is at Pleasant Hill, MO. This is one of many places where... railfan

2. ...Dick Barger, among others, shot the train. These fans will be riding & recording this last trip of a venerable old motorcar.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/21 06:30 by santafe199.

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Shots from on board the train: I didn’t get a chance to talk to Art, so I’ll have to “wing it” with a few captions:

3. Art gave no location to this slide, but with the second pole line & the obvious ridge running through the brush this is most likely an old right-of-way. Looking at the next 2 images it might be a good bet this is ex-MKT right-of-way. (Corrections cheerfully accepted... ;^)

4. Here is the newly “orphaned” MKT depot at Leeton, MO. Followed by...

5. ...this scene of unknown activity. Art also IDs this slide as Leeton.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/21 10:02 by santafe199.

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6. Rolling into Windsor, MO Art has to deal with persnickety cloud cover. Even so, CRI&P 96163 still makes for an interesting piece of M.O.W. equipment.

7. Now at the Windsor depot, the sun has graciously re-appeared!
7 photos taken April 11, 1959 by William A. -Art- Gibson (WAG) Jr 

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
Art Gibson (wag216)

Next week we’ll meet a senior Rock Island trainman, shoot a couple of depots and arrive at the turn-around point of Eldon, MO...

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Superlative set - Your last image is a true treasure.
Bob

What I would give for the 58 Chevy truck. I’ll order mine with the 348 and a dump box please. 👍

Posted from iPhone

Spectaciuar that this has been so well documented! Thanks for posting.

B&OBill

Lance, this is a nice group of photos, I have picked some up of this trip and Art helped me fill in the blanks on locations, mine aren't very good b/w, now I see what they look like in color. Tearing out the Katy is part of what is to come in the future all over the country. KCRW287

Great coverage of an important trip. These motor cars were the railroad's answer to many of the branch line services.
The last photo is totally awesome covering the time it was taken.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Great series!  I'm looking forward to the rest of them.

Great historical coverage !
The last one is excellent.
Gary

love the kid in the window

You have posted some really good photos over the years but, this has got to rank right up there with the best of them.  Just by themselves, they are a great photo story of the serious beginnings of losing railroads as us old geezers knew them.. The Rock and the  Katy's demize was also demonstrated in Texas along with the loss of their motor cars very similar to the photos shown.   How common they were and then gone.   Sadness abounds.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/21 08:19 by tomstp.

Good stuff, Lance, thanks for posting.  I'm curious as to which Katy line this was.  I don't think it was the St. Louis line but am not sure.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Kansas City to St. Louis. wag216

Several are absolute classics, really capture the time.

Bob

Very NICE and interesting series!

Larry

The Katy line that is being torn up ran from Paola Ks to Bryson Mo, Bryson is located between Clinton and Sedalia on the Katy ML. KCRW287

Here's the schedule for Nos. 23-24 from the November 1958 edition of the Official Guide.
Passenger service for the entire St. Louis-Kansas City route had not been available for
many years. 

 

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Wow, those are wonderful photos, especially those at the various stations.
I'm hoping to ride the Rock Island trail in Missouri in the next year or so and now I can imagine how things used to be when I'm out there on the bike.

2-10-2

Leeton was where the Rock crossed MKTs Osage Division, which was abandoned in 1958. The MOW car behind the critter is marked MKT. With that frame and rigging, lifting rail would be my first guess.