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Service type | Inter-city rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Discontinued | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Midwestern United States/Southwestern United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First service | 1902 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last service | 1965 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former operator(s) | St. Louis – San Francisco Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | St. Louis, Missouri Lawton, Oklahoma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance travelled | 631.5 miles (1,016.3 km) (St. Louis-Lawton, 1959) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service frequency | Daily | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Train number(s) | 9 (southwest-bound), 10 (northeast-bound) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On-board services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seating arrangements | Reclining chair car | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sleeping arrangements | Roomettes and double bedrooms | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Catering facilities | Chair-lounge-buffet car; diner-lounge car (1959) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Meteor was a named passenger train operated by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (a.k.a. SLSF or "the Frisco"). It ran overnight between Oklahoma City and St. Louis via Tulsa and was later extended to Lawton, Oklahoma on July 18, 1955. The name was shared with a branch line Meteor running between Monett, Missouri, and Paris, Texas. Later this line was truncated to terminate at Fort Smith, Arkansas.
The Meteor was inaugurated between St. Louis and Tulsa in 1902. [1] One engineer who joined the Frisco in 1917 recalled that the Meteor was already a well-known train at that time. [2] Initially the trains were pulled by Frisco-class 1300 locomotives, being high-wheeled Baldwin engines with 2-8-0 wheel arrangements. [3] During the late 1930s and into the early years of World War II, Frisco-class 1500 Baldwin engines with 4-8-2 wheel arrangements took over the job. [2]
Frisco-class 4500 locomotives, and specifically locomotives No. 4500, 4501 and 4502, being three of twenty-five Northern class Baldwin 4-8-4s built for Frisco during World War II, were later designated for use on the Meteor. These locomotives were delivered in a distinctive zephyr blue, white and gray paint scheme with "Meteor" spelled out across the tender in bold red lettering. [4] These three passenger engines also saw service pulling the Texas Special . In 1948, Frisco 4501 still in its Meteor livery pulled President Harry S. Truman's whistle stop tour train through his home state of Missouri.
When the Meteor was converted to use diesel locomotives, No. 4500 was re-painted into Frisco's standard black with gold striping and lettering and assigned to passenger trains such as the Will Rogers. The cosmetically-restored No. 4500, back in its Meteor paint scheme, now resides at the Route 66 Historical Village at 3770 Southwest Blvd. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. [5] Engine No. 4501, also in the Meteor paint scheme, resides at the Museum of the American Railroad, in Frisco, Texas. [6]
The streamlined, diesel equipped Meteor began westbound operations on May 14, 1948, with its first eastbound train departing Oklahoma City on May 15. At the end of its maiden trip the president of the Frisco, while giving an interview in his private railcar attached to the train, pointed to a glass filled nearly to the brim with water. "Not a drop spilled between St. Louis and Tulsa," he said proudly. [2] Frisco purchased the EMD E7 locomotives and Pullman cars for the Meteor at the same time as they purchased ones for the Texas Special, so the two trains shared a distinctive look; bright red with corrugated stainless-steel side panels. Frisco bought sets of named cars for each train.
The last day of Meteor service was September 17, 1965. [1] While its itinerary was on an overnight schedule, it was followed by a day train on the same route, the Oklahoman. [7]
Named trains frequently had named cars; the Frisco named Meteor cars after cities and rivers. Not all cars may have been named, but the ones that were bore their names prominently on their side panels.
Cars used on the Meteor | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Car name | No. | Railroad | Type | Made | Notes |
Normandy | 251 | SLSF | combination baggage, 30 ft (9.1 m) mail | 1947 | |
Valley Park | 252 | SLSF | baggage, 30 ft mail | 1947 | |
Manchester | 1095 | SLSF | 34-seat coach, dormitory | 1947 | |
Maplewood | 1096 | SLSF | 34-seat coach, dormitory | 1947 | |
Clayton | 1253 | SLSF | 56-seat coach | 1947 | |
Ferguson | 1254 | SLSF | 56-seat coach | 1947 | |
Kirkwood | 1255 | SLSF | 56-seat coach | 1947 | |
Richmond Heights | 1256 | SLSF | 56-seat coach | 1947 | |
University City | 1257 | SLSF | 56-seat coach | 1947 | |
Webster Groves | 1258 | SLSF | 56-seat coach | 1947 | |
Meramec River | 1457 | SLSF | 14 roomette, 4 bedroom sleeper | 1947 | |
Osage River | 1458 | SLSF | 14 roomette, 4 bedroom sleeper | 1947 | |
Gasconade River | 1459 | SLSF | 14 roomette, 4 bedroom sleeper | 1947 | |
Niangua River | 1460 | SLSF | 14 roomette, 4 bedroom sleeper | 1947 | |
James River | 1461 | SLSF | 14 roomette, 4 bedroom sleeper | 1947 | |
Grand River | 1462 | SLSF | 14 roomette, 4 bedroom sleeper | 1947 | |
Canadian River | 1463 | SLSF | 14 roomette, 4 bedroom sleeper | 1947 | |
Neosho River | 1464 | SLSF | 14 roomette, 4 bedroom sleeper | 1947 | |
Spring River | 1465 | SLSF | 14 roomette, 4 bedroom sleeper | 1947 | |
Cimarron River | 1466 | SLSF | 14 roomette, 4 bedroom sleeper | 1947 | |
Tulsa | 1550 | SLSF | 24-seat diner, 18-seat lounge, observation | 1947 | |
Oklahoma City | 1551 | SLSF | 24-seat diner, 18-seat lounge, observation | 1947 | |
Ladue | 1651 | SLSF | 26-seat coach, buffet, 25-seat lounge | 1947 | |
Huntleigh | 1652 | SLSF | 26-seat coach, buffet, 25-seat lounge | 1947 |
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type was first used by the Northern Pacific Railway, and initially named the Northern Pacific, but railfans and railroad employees have shortened the name since its introduction. It is most-commonly known as a Northern.
The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Southern Branch, it came to serve an extensive rail network in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. In 1988, it merged with the Missouri Pacific Railroad; today, it is part of UP.
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, commonly known as the "Frisco", was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central United States from 1876 to November 21, 1980. At the end of 1970, it operated 4,547 miles (7,318 km) of road on 6,574 miles (10,580 km) of track, not including subsidiaries Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway and the Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad; that year, it reported 12,795 million ton-miles of revenue freight and no passengers. In 1980 it was purchased by and absorbed into the Burlington Northern Railroad. Despite its name, it never came close to San Francisco.
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas from 1891 to 1980, when the system added the Rock Island's Golden State Route and operations in Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The Cotton Belt operated as a Southern Pacific subsidiary from 1932 until 1992, when its operation was assumed by Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
The Baldwin VO-1000 is a diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works between January 1939 and December 1946. These units were powered by a naturally aspirated eight-cylinder diesel engine rated at 1,000 horsepower (746 kW), and rode on a pair of two-axle trucks in a B-B wheel arrangement. These were either the AAR Type-A switcher trucks, or the Batz truck originally developed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway as a leading truck for steam locomotives. 548 examples of this model were built for American railroads, including examples for the Army and Navy.
Oklahoma City Union Depot is a building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that served as a "union station" from 1931 until 1967. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It now houses the offices of the Scissortail Park Foundation.
The Sand Springs Railway is a class III railroad operating in Oklahoma. It was formed in 1911 by industrialist Charles Page to connect his newly formed city of Sand Springs to Tulsa, operating both as a passenger-carrying interurban and a freight carrier. At Sand Springs, the company also served his children's home, and Page directed all railroad profits to support the home's operations.
The Museum of the American Railroad, formerly known as the Age of Steam Railroad Museum, is a railroad museum in Frisco, Texas. The museum has more than 70 pieces of steam, diesel, passenger, and freight railroad equipment sitting on 15 acres making it one of the largest historic rail collections in the US. Guests may walk through some of the equipment on guided tours.
The Texas Special was a named passenger train operated jointly by the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad and the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway. It was the flagship of both these lines, operating between St. Louis, Missouri, and San Antonio, Texas, from 1915 until 1959, after which time the Katy changed the northern destination from St Louis to Kansas City after the Frisco discontinued service from St. Louis.
St. Louis–San Francisco Railway 1522 is a two-cylinder, simple class T-54 4-8-2 "Mountain" type steam locomotive built in 1926 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (SLSF), also known as the "Frisco". It was retired by the Frisco in 1951 and in May 1959 donated to the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri, where it is currently on display. It was restored to operating condition in the spring of 1988 and operated in excursion service until the fall of 2002 when it was placed back into retirement at the museum.
The Belton, Grandview and Kansas City Railroad (SHRX) is short line passenger railroad and museum located in Belton, Missouri. It operates as a heritage railroad, on what was once the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (Frisco), on the Kansas City to Springfield branch. With the merger of the Frisco with the Burlington Northern, the line was partially sold to the Kansas City Southern Railway north of 155th Street. The north of the line is used once a year when tree trimming/weed spraying takes place, and the tracks are bad though can still can be used. The bridge is still there past Markey Road but with missing ties, while the southernmost portion from Peculiar, MO. to Clinton, MO. has been scrapped and abandoned. This left the remaining trackage of a few miles connecting Grandview and Belton, Missouri. The railroad currently operates a 1952 GM GP 9 locomotive, which is used to pull an excursion train. Also included in the railroad's collection are various locomotives, cars and equipment.
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class L2s was a class of USRA Light Mikados originally purchased (1919) for the subsidiary Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad. Similar in size to the home-designed and built L1s, the L2s was easily distinguishable by their radial-stay fireboxes and Hodges fabricated trailing trucks. They were built by ALCO. All were retired in 1948.
The Firefly was a streamlined passenger train operated by the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway. At various times, it served St Louis, Missouri, Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Kansas City, Missouri, and Fort Scott, Kansas. It made its maiden run on March 29, 1940, and ended May 22, 1960. It was Frisco’s first streamliner, and the first streamliner to be built in the southwest.
The Russian locomotive class Ye, and subclasses Yea, Yek, Yel, Yef, Yem, Yemv and Yes were a series of 2-10-0 locomotives built by American builders for the Russian railways in World War I and again in World War II. They were lightweight engines with relatively low axle loadings.
St. Louis–San Francisco 1352 is an Alco built 2-8-2 Steam locomotive. Built in 1912 as a 2-8-0 Consolidation-type by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York, for the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, the engine was later rebuilt into a 2-8-2 Mikado-type to keep up with the traffic demands from World War II. After being retired from the Frisco, the locomotive was moved to many locations under several owners, until it ended up in a small engine house in Rural, Illinois. The locomotive was disassembled by a group with the intent to restore it to operation. Later, the American Steam Railroad ("ASR") was founded, and they purchased the No. 1352 locomotive in 2008 with the hopes of restoring it to operating condition. However, it was left partially disassembled in Taylorville, Illinois, due to the ASR being busy working on restoring another steam locomotive Reading 2100. In November 2023, the No. 1352 locomotive was purchased by the Valley Railroad located in Essex, Connecticut.
The St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway was a subsidiary railway to the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco) operating 159 miles of railway line in Texas. The Frisco, including the subsidiary, formed a large X-shaped system across the states of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. It merged into SLSF at the beginning of 1964; SLSF merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1980.
St. Louis–San Francisco Railway locomotive 4500 is a 4-8-4 Northern type steam engine.
The St. Louis–San Francisco class 4500 was a class of 25 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works between 1942-1943 and operated by the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway.
The Route 66 Historical Village at 3770 Southwest Boulevard in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is an open-air museum along historic U.S. Route 66. The village includes a 194-foot-tall (59 m) oil derrick at the historic site of the first oil strike in Tulsa on June 25, 1901, which helped make Tulsa the "Oil Capital of the World". In a nod to Route 66, it has the Route 66 Village Station, a tourism information center modeled after a 1920s-1930s gas station, which includes a giant Route 66 map for travelers.