Thought I might pick some of ya'lls brains a bit. In SW MO, there is an abandoned rail grade that ran from Exeter to Wheaton and points toward Diamond. My dad says that as far as he is aware, it was abandoned around the turn of the last century. The highway follows highway 76 on one side or the other for several miles. What railroad is this? I have been unable to find any maps showing anything on them. Could be i'm just looking in the wrong spot. Thanks!
My oldest reference is a 1916 Official Guide. It shows some Frisco tracks in two of the towns you name. But not connecting all three. Another town was on the Missouri & North Arkansas. But doesn't seem to have connected to the two Frisco stations. So, it could indeed have been something earlier. Perhaps Charlie, or another of our Frisco fans, will have an idea what companies interchanged down there. Boxcab E50
My 1928 RR Atlas shows the Frisco running through Exeter. I don't show the other towns on the map but I do show the Cassville and Exeter (C&E) running for 5 miles to Cassville originating in Exeter.
hmmm..... this is more of an east west line. could be the cassville and exeter. i think the frisco is a north south, but i could be mistaken.......
C&E was only 5 mile long endeavor. Connecting the towns of Cassville, and Exeter. It existed until 1956, when it then was shut down, and abandoned. This doesn't fit the scenario of those originally named towns. Boxcab E50
talked with my dad a little more and he said that it could have even went as far as the atlas powder plant (a place east of duneweg (just east of joplin), but he couldn't remember for certain. that's about a 30-40 mile stretch to get there from wheaton... he said it could have even had something to do with the lead and zinc mines that were in that area.... the plot thickens.. thanks for the help guys!!!
I found an 1893 railroad map on the 'Net. Nothing shows that connects the towns you named. Other than several of the towns..... Boxcab E50
hmm.... here's a link to wheaton and you can see the old grade running diagonally through town: terraserver link
If we could just narrow down when this operation existed. That may be the key to finding an answer. Not showing on that 1893 RR map. Not in my 1916 Official Guide. Did it come about, briefly, in between? Or pre-date 1893? I've a friend that I'll call in a while. He has an old Official Guide. Believe it's dated 1896. Will see if anything shows there. Meanwhile, I'll try to find an older map. Maybe someone can give Sherlock Holmes a call, and ask for his help? Boxcab E50
Nothing showing in my friend's old Official Guide. Guess we'll need to find an older map than 1893? Boxcab E50
i'll keep doing some looking. it might involve getting a legal desription of a hunk of property that the grade runs through and hitting the local courthouse. i have looked on terraserver.com and have traced it all the way to what i always know as atlas, which is sw of carthage and about 3 miles e of dunaweg. at that point, too many trees. i'll keep doing some digging, this has got me downright curious. thanks for all of the input. if i find out something, i will definitely post it and let you know. thanks again!!
I don't live in the area, and am not very familiar with railroading there. My main interests are much further north, and west. But it's always fun to dig for information. And for some strange reason, this one has me hooked. My curiousity level up. I feel sort of like those early explorers might have, who were digging for King Tut and his lost tomb.... Boxcab E50
found out a little more. my dad was cleaning out a box and found an old high school ag book that had a map of the area. i haven't seen it yet, but the area was aerially photographed in 1927, and that was used when they did the soil survey of the area in 1940-42. According to a notation on this map, it is the Spring River Valley Railroad. i'll do some more hunting to see what else i can find.
At least with a name, searching should be a bit easier. Tried a Google search. But nothing there. I've been checking what little data I have, and so far, no luck. Somewhere, I have an abbreviated list of abandoned RR's. But cannot locate it! The Official Railway Guide released a volume in 1974, that was called "The Golden Guide." Which is alleged to contain the names of every railroad ever listed in an ORG. And their dispositions. Perhaps if you could find someone who collects these issues? I've been seeking a copy of this for my collection for some time now. Elusive! Boxcab E50
boxcab, i will try and do my best to find out some more. there are a couple of mining museums around that area (i grew up about 12 miles almost due east from dunaweg). i'm sure i'll turn up something, but i don't get up there real often. beast
ok, more research has shown an error. There are 2 different railroad grades accroding to the topo maps. the one that runs through wheaton ends up just outside of neosho. the one that goes through diamond looks like it used to interchange with the frisco main between ritchey and granby. more to follow as it is discovered.
Oops! Two grades. A plot complication. Sounds like a great excuse to get out this summer. Do some field archaeology. Boxcab E50
yeah it is...... i'll have to scan in that one map. the grades are within about 4 or 5 miles of each other at one point, and from aerial photos they looked like they could have connected, but the topos say different. will have to do some more searching. i will keep ya'll posted, but it may take some time to dig this all up. beast
You know, you could try the SPV Maps for MO they just might have something. They trace many roads abandoned and alive, you might get lucky.
