[Dennis Faircloth]

Hi there Thomas, I checked thru some equipment diagrams and have attached the diagram for this series. Note is says “MP” 8730-8759, but built by T&P at Marshall 1958. The drawing would indicate square hatches as delivered. I have not looked for photos yet.

[Dennis Faircloth]

Here is a link to the post in this forum about Train #76 out of Pueblo in 1966, which John is referring to.

http://mopac.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=679&p=2358&hilit=pueblo#p2358

[Dennis Faircloth]

Hi John,

Interesting collection of cars. Short descriptions below, and I have attached the equipment diagrams for these cars.

TP 3606 from series 3570-3619. 70T RBL with 7-ft door. 50’ 1” length, 4396 cu ft capacity. Built by T&P Marshall shops 1958-1959.
TP 719194, 719197 from series 719000-719199, built by Magor 1964. 100T covered hopper, aluminum, 4000 cu ft capacity.
MP 35646 from series 35350-35824. Built by MP DeSoto shops 1955. 50T all steel boxcar 40-ft length.
MP 780125 from series 780050-780149. Built by GATC 1964. 70T RBL 50-ft length.
MP 86298 from series 86200-86399. Built by ACF 1945. 50T all steel boxcar, 50-ft length.

[Dennis Faircloth]

Referring to the FFT train list, car 1 was a caboose. The train list has cars listed counting forward from the caboose.
Car 9 was an equipped gondola, meaning it had fixed cradles or other devices to hold specific types of loads.
Car 16 was a damage-free (DF) boxcar
Car 17 was a boxcar equipped with load dividers
Car 28 another DF boxcar, probably loaded with batteries.

As for the unit coal trains, I have notes on reporting marks. You will have to do some internet searching for possible car types and series, however, we are well before the era of aluminum cars.
CUM/CMU – Mississippi Power Daniels plant via Memphis/ICG DEGX markings, bottom dump
CUS/CSU – Illinois Power, Federal plant (Alton, IL) mix of MP and DRGW bottom dump hoppers
CUI/CIU – American Electric Power, Metropolis, IL AEPX markings, I don’t have other info
CUO/COU – Union Electric Labadie, MO plant cars marked UCEX and AMAX. Ortner 5-bay rapid discharge

I do not know of a way to determine whose racks were on the various TTX cars.

[Dennis Faircloth]

Unfortunately, train lists seemed to be thrown out faster than any other type of paperwork. I have attached the only list we have in the archives for FFT from April 1981. Someone scribbled “not much of an auto train” at the bottom of the list, as half the train was non-Ford fill traffic for DRGW at Pueblo. The CSP and FFT history gets pretty muddied in the early 80s, as MP’s blocking instructions allowed FFT to be filled with non-Ford traffic on certain days, and after the July 1981 retooling shutdown at Milpitas, the MP started originating “their” FFT at St Louis and adding the N&W traffic at KC. CSP also handled Ford parts from connections at the St Louis gateway and would set them out somewhere between Leeds, MO, and Hope, KS, for the FFT.

Coal traffic thru Horace in the early 80s, all off the DRGW, would have been:
CUM/CMU – Mississippi Power Daniels plant via Memphis/ICG
CUS/CSU – Illinois Power, Federal plant (Alton, IL)
CUI/CIU – American Electric Power, Metropolis, IL
CUO/COU – Union Electric Labadie, MO plant

Other bulk traffic were grain trains symbolled GUx where “G” for grain, “U” was the Kansas Division code, and then destinations like H=Houston, N=New Orleans, etc. Also occasional welded rail trains from CF&I in Pueblo.

[Dennis Faircloth]

Great photo. Tipton is the only town along that route that I recall having a water tower like that. It is now painted as an 8-ball (as in pool.)
However, I cannot account for the factory-looking structure in the right background.

[Dennis Faircloth]

Great photo. Tipton is the only town along that route that I recall having a water tower like that. It is now painted as an 8-ball (as in pool.)
However, I cannot account for the factory-looking structure in the right background.

[Dennis Faircloth]

Ron, you didn’t specify a year or era, but here is a 2-page key from a 1945 set:

[attachment=0:2ng29dok]CTP_Arkansas_Division_1931-1945 2.pdf[/attachment:2ng29dok][attachment=1:2ng29dok]CTP_Arkansas_Division_1931-1945 3.pdf[/attachment:2ng29dok]

[Dennis Faircloth]

Is it possible you are referring to the paired single-bay Airslides? There were several sets parked at DeSoto in the late 1980’s. Here are the “A” and “B” units paired as MP 720995. I do not have a shot of both in the same frame.

Note the “A” unit without any reporting marks.

[Dennis Faircloth]

Larry, here is a 1970s version track chart for the Hardtner Subdivision.

[Dennis Faircloth]

Hi Larry, give me some time to search our archives. I had a set and donated it to be scanned.

[Dennis Faircloth]

I have this one in my collection….

MP 863002
Port Reading, NJ
02-15-1987
Bill Guoff

[Dennis Faircloth]

Hello J,

Here is some basic info on each of the 3 locomotives shown in that group of photos. I have not found any specific assignment information other than for #133 in 1940.

#6425 4-6-2 Pacific type steam locomotive. Oil burner. Built between 1910 and 1913. Off roster by 1956.

#133 2-8-0 Consolidation type steam locomotive. Coal burner. Built by Brooks in 1910. Off roster by 1956. Shown assigned to the Bonne Terre TSE job (traveling switch engine) in a survey made 4-17-1940 for General Supt. Of Transportation W. F. Kirk.

#582 F7 diesel locomotive. Built by EMD 9-27-1949. Later renumbered to 801. Retired 1970-71.

Ted Ferkenhoff
MPHS Digital Archivist

[Dennis Faircloth]

There is now a preliminary schedule for the Ft Smith annual convention posted on the convention page.

http://www.mopac.org/annual-convention/220-2019-ft-smith-ar-train-scheduled-to-depart

[Dennis Faircloth]

Illmo Beanery

Prior to the early 1960’s, crews operating between Dupo and Poplar Bluff, and Dupo and Paragould, AR, changed at Gale, IL. In June 1950, a previous agreement (dating to 1927) was revised outlining separate crew pools for trains running through Gale. A side letter to this agreement stated that MP would continue the practice of furnishing crews “on trains first and second 67, 65, 361, Gulf Coast Blocks 360, 72, and 60 with two meat sandwiches, pie and coffee or milk not to exceed a cost of 80 cents, when the engines of such trains do not have to be serviced at Gale or the train does not have to be switched.”

In the early 1960’s (prior to 1964 but I do not have an exact date), MP elimated Gale as a crew change point and established the beanery at Illmo to provide lunches to crews operating Dupo-Poplar Bluff and Dupo-Paragould. At this time, lunches were handed up to all trains. This service was for MP only, it did not involve Cotton Belt. When the C&EI was folded in, crews in the Salem-Poplar Bluff pool also got lunch. The practice continued into the UP era until the implementation of the St. Louis Hub Agreement in November of 1999, when it was specifically written out of the agreement. In 1993, the owners were Bob Camp Jr and BL Wheeler. Camp was a 43-yr employee with MP and UP before retiring in 1988. Wheeler was a retired engineer.

Crews phoned their orders in at Poplar Bluff or Dupo, giving their train symbol. As southbound trains came over the Thebes Bridge, or northbound trains crossed the Frisco at Rockview, they would call their symbol and location over the radio on the road channel. The beanery staff were listening to the road channel with a scanner. The lunches were prepped, bagged and put into baskets, which were set onto the swinging platforms as seen in the photos. Headend and rear end crews snagged the baskets, extracted their lunch bags, and tossed the baskets to the ground.

I cannot provide photos with MP locos getting lunch at Illmo, but here are two of my photos of a northbound UP train picking up lunch in 1991. This should help illustrate the operation. Also an uncredited photo from Facebook taken on a Mopac train in the 1970s.

[Author]

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