I searched the Trains DVD looking for info on MOPAC and found very little. MOPAC was a major railroad, why is there such a lack of informatation in Trains, Classic Trains, and Model Railroader? Just wondering where to look to find more info on MOPAC. Thanks
I say to Google it!
Try the "Magazine Index", though I believe that's a "Subscriber Extras" (only) function. I input just "MP" for Trains (only) from 1932 - 2011 and got 57 items back - some I don't understand why, but the majority are valid. A few excerpts to whet your appetite (apologies in advance for any formatting glitches resulting from the copy-and-paste process here):
There are many more of like kind . . .
- Paul North.
Gould and the VanS weren't that much into PR?
(Almost as appalling as the lack of writing about the NYC west of the Allegehnies, especially the Big 4 (CCC&St.L))
I was in Midland, TX in the early eighties. Didn't realize MOPAC had been merged into UP. They were still running unpatched power back then,.
Norm
Welcome to the forum.
Excerpt from Off The Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman
Russel L. Dearmont was chairman of the board of the Missouri Pacific, and passenger rail service was going downhill.
TO RUSSELL L. DEARMONT
July 3, 1961
Dear Russell:
Every time Mrs. Truman and I ride on the Missouri Pacific you always do something for us and we are always grateful. On the last trip from St. Louis to Kansas City the dining car steward would not let me pay for our dinner because you "set it up." That has happened time and again and I appreciate it and so does the "Boss."
Now, Russell, I am going to talk about something else - the Missouri Pacific trains across Missouri, the Colorado Eagle and the Omaha Eagle, have always been the most beautiful trains that cross the State and now I am downhearted because the new President of the Missouri Pacific seems to think that passenger morale is of no value to that great railroad. As you know, I was Vice Chairman of the Committee that investigated the receivership of the Missouri Pacific Railroad when it was in Judge Moore's Court and, if you will remember, when I was making the investigation the Missouri Pacific not only got a fair deal but justice.
I have always been a most ardent Missouri Pacific fan but if I have to continue to ride backward from St. Louis to Kansas City and from Kansas City to St. Louis, which I have had to do on two occasions, my feeling toward your great railroad will gradually decline. I can't understand how a man who has ruined the Rock Island Railroad can take over the Missouri Pacific and try to ruin it.
I sincerely hope that something can be done to restore the public relations situation between the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the people.
I have about come to the conclusion that the best thing for me to do is to take the Santa Fe or the Burlington to Chicago and ride on the New York Central Railroad to New York. I don't want to do that because I like to ride on the Missouri Pacific. The first recollection I have, as a youngster, was sitting on the coal shed at our house on Crysler Street, just about where the Missouri Pacific Depot is, watching the trains go by. As a result, I have always been a fan of the Missouri Pacific.
I don't know where in the world you found this fellow who wants to snub the public, who are his best assets. I wish you would send him back where he came from, or somewhere else.
Sincerely yours,
Harry S. Truman
Interesting story - thanks for sharing. (But shouldn't it be "Harry S_ Truman", not "S." ? )
I wonder if Russell Dearmont responed and waht he said.
George
Paul_D_North_Jr Interesting story - thanks for sharing. (But shouldn't it be "Harry S_ Truman", not "S." ? ) - Paul North.
Paul: I realize Yo' Yankee Background may be missing some information referencing a few things 'Southern" [H.S. Truman hailed from the SW Corner area of Missouri at Lamar.]
Allow me to set the record somewhat straighter: Ck following link:
http://www.usa-presidents.info/truman.htm
Truman did not have a middle name, but only a middle initial. It was a common practice in southern states, including Missouri, to use initials rather than names. Truman said the initial was a compromise between the names of his grandfathers, Anderson Shippe Truman and Solomon Young. He once joked that the S was a name, not an initial, and it should not have a period, but all official documents, and his presidential library all use the name with a period. The Harry S. Truman Library states publicly that it has numerous examples of the signature written at various times throughout Truman's lifetime where his use of a period after the "S" is very obvious.
EDIT TO ADD:
The Following link is to the MPHS (Missouri Pacific Historical Society site, a pretty good place to start.
http://www.mopac.org/index.asp
In 1980 the UPRR iniated the purchars of the MOPac RR it was not authorized until 1980 after the SCOTUS set aside a suit from the SP to block UP's deal that made it part of the UNION PACIFIC SYSTEM.
MPRR Continued to exist as a corporate/financial entity until 1997 when it was officially a part of the UPRR. Which was probably the reason that UPRR fielded a number of Armour Yellow/and grey units lettered for Missouri Pacific
samfp1943 [snipped; emphasis added - PDN] Paul: I realize Yo' Yankee Background may be missing some information referencing a few things 'Southern" [H.S. Truman hailed from the SW Corner area of Missouri at Lamar.] . . . He once joked that the S was a name, not an initial, and it should not have a period, but all official documents, and his presidential library all use the name with a period. The Harry S. Truman Library states publicly that it has numerous examples of the signature written at various times throughout Truman's lifetime where his use of a period after the "S" is very obvious.
. . . He once joked that the S was a name, not an initial, and it should not have a period, but all official documents, and his presidential library all use the name with a period. The Harry S. Truman Library states publicly that it has numerous examples of the signature written at various times throughout Truman's lifetime where his use of a period after the "S" is very obvious.
Too bad Paul Harvey is no longer around to give us
'The Rest of the Story!'
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
An absolutely great book on the MoPac is "The Rebirth of the Missouri Pacific" by H. Craig Minor. It covers from the bankruptcy in 1933 thru reorganization (in 1956 - that is a long bankruptcy) and on to the merger with the UP.
MoPac was a really good railroad and had an outstanding CEO during the 60's/70's in D.B. Jenks. He was the right man at the right time. There is a photo in the book of Mr. Jenks on a line side dispatcher phone that is priceless. He is attired in a hat, suit (coat is off), white shirt, sleeves rolled up, and tie. He is standing next to the dispatch phone adjacent to the track at some location which has flooded. You take a look at this man in this photo and it screams...this is one serious railroader.
Their entry into Chicago changed railroading and had they merged with Santa Fe, it would have been a dominant western carrier.
Ed
Attaching just middle initials instead of a name to a child was not restricted to the south. My Grandfather was born in Ohio and moved to Illinois where he was drafted during the Civil War. He was injured at Lookout Mountain and left for dead. Fortunately when clearing the field, he was found to be alive and moved to a field hospital.
After the war, he married and his first boy, my father, was named Robert A., and his second boy was named Byron E.
He had two more sons, and he must have gotten over his angst from the Civil War as they were named Jasper Logan and Roger Sherman.
Art
Strangely, Dad named his first son Robert Arnold and stuck a Jr. after the surname.
Much has been placed into print concerning the Mopac. Its just a matter of tracking the material down. In addition to the Rebirth Of Mopac by Miner, which in my opinion, goes down as the best wriiten work done about the carrier are these other solid books on MP all of which I have in my basement collection: MP Steam Final in KS, MP Steam Diesel Era 1945-1955, MV Coal, Cattle & Crude all three by Lloyd Stagner, Cabooses Of MP (Michales), MP Frt Train Equip (Dorin), Route of Eagles (Stout) and three Morning Sun publications MP vol I, II and Color Guide. Another book which I'd love to have isThe Empire Missouri Pacific Serves. This work briefly describes every station on the system and was written probably in the late 50's. The Newton, KS public library has a copy in its rr section.
Out here in South Central Kansas we still we still have just some remnants of the MoPac parts of which were abandoned in the 1960's.
Starting at Peck, Ks. (on the UPRRs OKT sub) running easterly, ) the line runs to Riverdale,Ks. East to Belle Plaine, Ks where on the west side it would cross the former ATSF (now BNSF Transcon) [note: there is a about a 150' long wooden trestle still standing] ,and then the KO&G RR (Midland Valley). Swung south easterly and crossed the Arkansas R at about Oxford,Ks. (that bridge was washed away in a 60's flood) and thence to Kellogg,Ks. and on to a jct. Winfield, Ks.
From Kellogg,Ks (unincorp) west of Winfield the line exists as the SK&ORR (a WATCO Property), then easterly to Independence, Ks. and on to Cherryvale,Ks. then east to a junction with BNSF at Columbus, Ks. a junction at Sherwin,Ks takes the line Northeasterly to Pittsburg,Ks and a junction with KCS. there. ( the original line went on east from Columbus to a terminus at Carthage, Mo ( torn out within the last 8-9 years).
The MoPac was originally vharted as the Denver, Memphis,&Gulf RR. and was later morphed into the Denver, Memphis and Atlantic ( some have it as Atlanta) but what I have determined is that it was DM&Atlantic RR). It was started as a narrow gauge railroad and later changed to standard gauge by MPRR. Itis easterly course was to have started around Pueblo, Co. and then across the southern part of Kansas.
From Cherryvale,Ks to Parsons, Ks. its ROW was utilized by an Interurban line that rand from Cherryvale, Ks to terminate around Nowata,OK. From Parsons across to Pittsburg, it was utilized by the Frisco RR. between Parsons, Cherokee, and Pittsburg.
That's kind of a rough outline for the Missouri Pacific RR across Southern Kansas.
MP173 An absolutely great book on the MoPac is "The Rebirth of the Missouri Pacific" by H. Craig Minor. It covers from the bankruptcy in 1933 thru reorganization (in 1956 - that is a long bankruptcy) and on to the merger with the UP. Ed
Until the early 1980's, railroad bankruptcies came under Chapter 77 and the ICC had a major say in the proceedings and had the final say in any plan of re-organization. Long proceedings such as the MP case were not all that unusual, Florida East Coast was in re-organization proceedings for little bit longer, 1931 through 1960, if my memory serves me correctly.
My connections with the Mopac during my youth was watching the McPherson branch local trudge through Newton in the 1970's. This trk was a El Dorado-McPherson stub end branchline which basically remained untouched from its beginning in 1885 until it was connected w/ a UP branch from the north in 1985 making it a El Dorado-Salina through route. Jay Gould played a big role in the start of the line in the 1880's. His goal was to build the trk from El Dorado westward as a mainline route to Pueblo and establish Newton as a division point. Money issues did not make this come about but it gets one to think the 'what if" game.What if Gould had his dream of a mainline from central KS to CO? Would this have been a heavy tonnage frt route? A route of the CO Eagle? Would the trk still survive today undr UP? We'll never know but it is interesting to ponder
MP173An absolutely great book on the MoPac is "The Rebirth of the Missouri Pacific" by H. Craig Minor. It covers from the bankruptcy in 1933 thru reorganization (in 1956 - that is a long bankruptcy) and on to the merger with the UP. MoPac was a really good railroad and had an outstanding CEO during the 60's/70's in D.B. Jenks. He was the right man at the right time. There is a photo in the book of Mr. Jenks on a line side dispatcher phone that is priceless. He is attired in a hat, suit (coat is off), white shirt, sleeves rolled up, and tie. He is standing next to the dispatch phone adjacent to the track at some location which has flooded. You take a look at this man in this photo and it screams...this is one serious railroader. Their entry into Chicago changed railroading and had they merged with Santa Fe, it would have been a dominant western carrier. Ed
dakotafred
stanfc I searched the Trains DVD looking for info on MOPAC and found very little. MOPAC was a major railroad, why is there such a lack of informatation in Trains, Classic Trains, and Model Railroader?
I searched the Trains DVD looking for info on MOPAC and found very little. MOPAC was a major railroad, why is there such a lack of informatation in Trains, Classic Trains, and Model Railroader?
Look up the Missouri Pacific Lines on YouTube.
Andrew
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
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