I wish I knew the names of some of the model railroaders in the Joplin area (I used to know one, but he's moved). The Southwest Missouri Model RR Club operated in that area- they have a show in late MArch and around Thanksgiving weekend out at Schifferdecker Park in Joplin. The ads for these meets are in Model Railroader- there's a contact person, perhaps he can steer you towards a local railroad historian or two. With interurbans, streetcar running, steam railroads, 4 Class 1s, a long-gone shortline, and a regional running nearby, there's bound to be somebody there who knows what's what. HTH
friscobob, i am actualy heading up there this weekend & will try and stop by there (the train show is saturday 3/26). i will check with them and see what i can find. thanks!! beast
went by there and there wasn't much to see, asked one guy at the door and he looked at me very blankly like i was speaking klingon or something. did get ahold of a copy of the map i referred to earlier. according to the 1942 soil map, the grade running south from the atlas (scotland,mo) area down through diamond and to the frisco grade (monett to neosho section) is marked as missouri pacific, not sure when it was abandoned though. more to come when i can find one of newton & barry counties where the others are.
