Frisco Rail Fest
Rolling down the tracks to you, is our inaugural Frisco Rail Fest to be held Saturday June 15th on C-Street in the City Market (321 E Commercial Street). This event is sponsored by the C-Street Community Improvement District, Independent Printing, Sigwo Industries, and Bradley IT Services. This event is FREE! This program is to highlight the importance of the railroad to the development of North Springfield and the C-Street national Historic District! We will have several operating layouts, Steel Highways Rail Camera’s, Missouri Operation Lifesaver, and the Railway Historical Museum will all have exhibits in the City Market area. The Peddler Bicycle Museum will be open to show their exhibit of railroad bikes! The Ozark Model Railroad Association (OMRA) Club Layout will also be open and operating. Win a operating session and pizza party for six of your friends or tickets to the OMRA train show!
The First Train Arrives in Springfield: May 3, 1870
On this day the railroad was welcomed into Springfield, Missouri. This effectively removed the Ozarks as a barrier to Springfield's connection with the east. It also meant that cattle driven from the southwest could be driven to the railhead at Springfield instead of Sedalia. Trivia: Newspapers reported that "Almost everyone in the city and Greene County was there to see it." It was common for entire counties to welcome the first trains to a place.
This post was contributed by Ross Malone. A historian and a retired school teacher, Ross has authored many books about Missouri’s history, weird facts, and folk tales. He has also written children’s historical fiction. Visit his website, and buy his books in the Missouri Life store.
A Portion of the KATY Railroad is Completed: March 15, 1893
Work was completed on the KATY railroad between St. Charles and New Franklin on this date.
The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, commonly known as the MKT or Katy, was a significant railroad in the United States, with its history dating back to the 1860s. The origins of the MKT can be traced to the Union Pacific Railway, Southern Branch, which was chartered in 1865 to connect Junction City, Kansas, to New Orleans, Louisiana. Over the years, the railroad expanded through acquisitions and construction, eventually adopting the name Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad in 1870. The MKT's expansion continued throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the railroad becoming known for its distinctive red boxcars and the slogan "Katy Flyer" for its passenger service.
The MKT's influence began to wane in the mid-20th century due to the rise of automobile and air travel, leading to a decline in passenger and freight services. In 1988, the MKT was merged into the Union Pacific Railroad, marking the end of its independent operations.
Today we know the portion of the Katy railroad that used to traverse our state as Katy Trail State Park. The transformation into a walking, biking, and equestrian trail began in the late 1980s when the Missouri Department of Natural Resources acquired the abandoned railway corridor through a rails-to-trails program. The Katy Trail is now one of the longest rail-trails in the United States, stretching approximately 240 miles from Machens to Clinton, Missouri. The trail offers a scenic journey through Missouri's countryside, along the Missouri River, and through historic towns, preserving the legacy of the MKT Railroad while providing a valuable outdoor resource for our state.
Missouri History Today December 27, 1893: Bellefontaine Bluffs Railroad Bridge Passes Key Test
Engineers successfully test the functionality of a four-span truss bridge at Bellefontaine Bluffs over the Missouri River, according to a history published online by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The railroad bridge is important because it linked St. Charles and St. Louis counties. This image shows a sign on the side of a railroad car for the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad – the same railroad for which the Bellefontaine Bluffs bridge had been built.
Photo credit: Jack Delano. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017849218/
Missouri History Today September 24, 1987: Consultant Revives State’s Fast-Track Dreams
A consultant gets to work analyzing a possible high-speed railroad between Kansas City and St. Louis. To date, multiple attempts at getting traction on such transportation infrastructure have been unsuccessful.
Photo credit: Vachon, John, photographer. Railroad bridge, St. Charles County, Missouri. May. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/2017720129/.
September 30, 1865
The first through train from St. Louis arrived at Kansas City on this day.
This post was contributed by Ross Malone. A historian and a retired school teacher, Ross has authored many books about Missouri’s history, weird facts, and folk tales. He has also written children’s historical fiction. Visit his website, and buy his books in the Missouri Life store.
July 27, 1866
The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, predecessor of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad (known as The Frisco), was incorporated on this date.
This post was contributed by Ross Malone. A historian and a retired school teacher, Ross has authored many books about Missouri’s history, weird facts, and folk tales. He has also written children’s historical fiction. Visit his website, and buy his books in the Missouri Life store.
February 13, 1859
The first railroad across the state was completed between Hannibal and St. Joseph. On this date the eastbound section was joined with the westbound section at Chillicothe.
This post was contributed by Ross Malone. A historian and a retired school teacher, Ross has authored many books about Missouri’s history, weird facts, and folk tales. He has also written children’s historical fiction. Visit his website, and buy his books in the Missouri Life store.
July 30, 1877
Days after the conclusion of the St. Louis general strike by the St. Louis Workingman's Party, the first general strike in the United States, the St. Louis County Council required all able-bodied males between the ages of twenty-one and fifty to work on the roads for six days each year. That day they also made another change; they raised the drinking age from sixteen to eighteen.
This post was contributed by Joe Sonderman. Joe has written many books on Missouri and Route 66 history. You can find his books on Amazon.com and on 66postcards.com.