Shoot, I was wanting to have a layout with both GM&O and CB&Q, with
the CB&Q having Zephyr service on whatever line that would go thru a
town served by both the CB&Q and GM&O. I guess I'll have to do some
proto-lancing...
--- In CBQ@yahoogroups.com, Bill Hirt <whirt@a...> wrote:
> atsf3460@a... wrote:
> > Good question! It would seem to make sense that GM&O would use
the CB&Q from
> > Mexico, MO down to St. Louis since CB&Q ran from Mexico to
Kansas City, MO.
> > As far as I know this wasn't the case. GM&O used their own line
from St.
> > Louis to Roodhouse and then west to get to Mexico, MO.
> >
> > There is some thought possibly also that at one point the Santa
Fe may have
> > wanted to use these lines to get into St. Louis. I think I've
read or heard
> > this before and if anybody else knows more about this I'd love
to hear it
> > (contact directly if you feel it's straying too far off topic).
> >
>
> In 1940, when the GM&O was merged from the Gulf Mobile & Northern
and
> Mobile & Ohio, the Q held 30% of the GM&N stock. Ralph Budd was
the Q's
> representative on the GM&N board and he opposed the combination of
the
> GM&N and M&O. The M&O gave the GM&N an outlet to St Louis which
allowed
> them to bypass the Paducah connection the Q had just built 25
years
> before. Also at the same time, the Q was running joint passenger
service
> with the Alton from St Louis to Kansas City. Zephyr service was
provided
> by the Ozark State Zephyr (originally powered by 9908 Silver
Charger)
> and a heavyweight overnight train called the Night Hawk. Also the
Q on
> and off over the years had teamed up with the Alton to run freight
> service from St Louis to Kansas City.
>
> Fast forward to 1946. The Alton had continued it's long streak of
losing
> money and the B&O, who had bought the Alton in 20's, allowed the
> railroad to file for reorganization as the B&O was starting to
have it's
> own problems. The Alton would provide an outlet for the GM&O to
Chicago,
> but the east-west line from Roodhouse to Kansas City did not fit
the
> projected GM&O traffic pattern. The Q had long realized that it's
route
> to Kansas City from Chicago needed improvement (in terms of route
> mileage). The Santa Fe had also long desired to reach St Louis.
Hence a
> deal was cut. The Q and Santa Fe would support GM&O's merger
> application. In return, the GM&O would sell the Alton's Missouri
line to
> the Q. The Q would share the purchased line with the Santa Fe
promising
> improvements and upgrades in service. In return, the Q would get
> trackage rights on the Santa Fe from Bucklin to Kansas City (what
BN and
> ATSF did once they merged) and shorten the Q's route from Chicago
to
> Kansas City.
>
> The St Louis-based railroads howled as many were still in
bankruptcy
> reorganization from the 30's (I think the MoP stayed in
reorganization
> into the mid 50s due to it's complicated corporate and subsidiary
> structure). The last thing the St Louis-based railroads wanted
> (especially the Frisco and MoP) was the Santa Fe coming into their
> backyard in St Louis. In a close decision by the ICC, the ICC
approved
> the GM&O buying the Alton, but rejected the sale of the Missouri
line to
> the Q and joint Q/Santa Fe operation. With the ICC rejection, the
Q
> discontinued it's joint passenger operations with the Alton by
1948. The
> Q negotiated an agreement with the GM&O to use their line from
Francis
> to Rock Creek Jct near Kansas City with CB&Q crews. This agreement
> continued until early into the BN era. This also resulted in the Q
> proceeding to build the 78 mile Kansas City shortcut which opened
in 1951.
>
> Bill
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