Hi All, Does anyone happen to know what kind of motive power the MoPac ran into Springfield,MO in the 1960s and 1970s? For the MoPac, Springfield was at the end of a branch which I believe left the Carthage sub at Crane,MO. By the early 1970s, MoPac had trackage rights over the Frisco from Aurora,MO to Springfield, and the line was abandoned between Battlefield,MO and the Carthage sub connection. The only MoPac timetable I have (System Timetable No 4, effective April 15,1973) indicates the trackage rights were in effect by this time. At this point in time, the route in question was identified as the Springfield Sub of the Northern Division. Springfield is identified as station number PD-34 My Dad has an office a couple of blocks from the MoPac and Frisco tracks as the run through downtown Springfield. I only remember seeing UP motive power (or was it MP power in UP paint) on the MoPac line. Of course, I only managed to catch a train on that line once or twice in the late 1980s, and I never happened to have a camera handy. After the M&NA took over, the trackage rights were exchanged for haulage rights, so now the BNSF hauls freight between the M&NA in Aurora and the M&NA in Springfield. Paul
I was never in Springfield during the SLSF/MP era, but recall a Railfan and Railroad article on the last days of the Frisco in 1979, and at that time the MP local had 2 GP38/GP38-2's for power (back to back so that turning the power wasn't necessary). I believe that the MP entered town on Frisco rails as well. Hope this helps.
