Towns and Nature: Springfield, MO: Depot and BNSF/Frisco Backshops & Railyards

Monday, December 12, 2016

Springfield, MO: Depot and BNSF/Frisco Backshops & Railyards

Depot: (Satellite, the foundation is still visible.)

West Shops: (Satellite)

Engine Servicing: (Satellite, repurposed. The roundhouse was close to Chase Street.)

Freight Yard: (Satellite)

Passenger Yard: (Satellite, mostly gone. The roundhouse was on the west side.)

Raymond Storey posted, cropped
SPRINGIELD MO
Karl Brand: Mill Street… the former Memphis Road depot.
Jim Kelling shared
Springfield Missouri (Frisco Lines)

Richard Crabtree shared his photo

It is 1912 and the Frisco West Shops ~ now BNSF Springfield Yards were still fairly new. Several new subdivision were built to accommodate all the newly hired workers. But if you did not live close by you could take the Nichols Street Line - up Park ending at Division Street. This is the view North from Park and Division at the end of the line. Then you would walk to work.

Except for the tracks, all of this is gone today.

This is the view today
https://www.google.com/…/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBLpBi98MWpTv62…

Photo courtesy - http://digitalcollections.missouristate.edu

Richard Crabtree commented on the above posting
An over head view facing west - Powerhouse and shops are in the middle of the photo.

Tim Starr posted
The St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) shops in Springfield, MO (West Shops) in 1920. They also had North and South shops in Springfield.

Raymond Storey posted
SPRINGFIELD MO
[I could not find this roundhouse in the above aerial. But Frisco is the only railroad that I can find in Springfield that had big yards. In fact, it was about the only railroad. (May 2023 Update: I found it. See below.)]

William Hayslip posted
Charcoal of Frisco's first F3 #5000 leaving Springfield Mo on its maiden trip.

Richard Crabtree posted

Here we see the Frisco's modern diesel freight power.

Having just completed its maiden freight run to Springfield.

Frisco Freight Diesel F3A & F3B No. 5000, 5100, 5101 & 5001 built by EMD in January of 1948.

The A-B-B-A consist has been serviced, and will depart for St Louis with Extra 5000 East.

You can see the Commercial Street Footbridge in the background. Next to the train is the old coaling tower for the steam locomotives, It would fall on November 10th 1953

A Johnson Frisco Company Photo

I so seldom see a coaling tower photo with the skip hoist still intact that I zoomed in on the tower. I'm so glad that the photographer framed the photo with the tower rather than "skunked" the tower with the diesels.

Digitally Zoomed

This topo map taught me that the yard pictured in Richard's comment above was the West Shops Yard. The engine servicing yard was east of that yard.

1935 Springfield Quad @ 24,000

To be done with steam by 1953 was a fast conversion. I have the dilemma that the photo that would have the tower, 1950, is low resolution. But I think the white spots that are a half-block west of Washington Avenue is the tower.

EarthExplorer: Feb 19, 1950 @ 70,000; ARA000700151152

This is the comparable area in a 1959 high-resolution photo. The roundhouse foundation is easily identified. But I could not identify a foundation for the coal tower. Note that this service yard appears to have some backshops as well as the roundhouse.