Rick McClellan's Frisco

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The Frisco Railway features the Frisco mainline from Kansas City to Paola, KS from 1974-1978. This HO scale railroad features three operating yards (2- SLSF, 1-MKT), UP/SLSF/SCL pool trains, transfer trains from connecting KC railroads, unit coal trains and general merchandise trains for both the MKT and SLSF. Construction on this railroad began in November, 2001 and the first operating session was December 27, 2002.

Division or location: Frisco Northern Division: Kansas City to Paola, KS
Interchange Railroads: CNW, BN, MP, NW, ATSF, UP, ROCK, KCS, MILW
Owner: Rick McClellan
Size of Railroad: Not really sure, too busy building to measure
Minimum Train Length: Frisco – 25 cars, MKT – 15 cars
Layout Height: 55 inches
Scale: HO
Era: 1974-78
Control System: CTC80 Command Control with CVP Products wireless throttles
Scale Clock Speed: Still too busy to get the clocks up
Length of Session: 3 hours (real time)
Number of Crew: 6-7
Train Control: Verbal Warrants. Radio’s not required
Listed Jobs: 19^th Street Yard Master, Rosedale Yard Master, Glen Park (MKT) Yard Master, Transfer Job, Ft. Scott Local Switch Job, Road Job(s).

Rick sez:
The Frisco Railway is operated in a relatively slow pace over a three hour period covering a 12 hour work day. Safety is first. There are no fast clocks (yet) and I walk the aisles acting as the Dispatcher so you can leave your radio in the car or in your hotel room. Road traffic is not very dense. When road trains meet, it’s usually in the terminal area or somewhere along the double main that extends south from Rosedale Yard to Lenexa. Railfans seem to always be around during a meet. They must have radio scanners. Eventually we will have the phone system operational but it’s just not worth it until we get big enough to have a dispatcher.

The railroad is only 25 percent complete in its present form. It will eventually go to Springfield and then on to Newburg on the Eastern Division. I decided to complete this project in phases in order to operate quicker. The first phase, KC to Paola, has been operational since December 2002. The next phase, Paola to Ft. Scott may be complete by Prairie Rail in February. If that occurs, the Ft. Scott Local will become even more interesting as Paola will provide more switching along with the grain elevator at Fontana. At present Paola is only a staging yard. The staging yard will be moved to Ft. Scott as soon as final touches are added from Spring Hill to Paola (translated: scenic base). There is no timetable for completing the balance of the layout.

The road jobs and the Ft Scott switcher crews need to bring comfortable shoes because you will be doing some walking.

Rosedale Yard Master (Frisco) This job in the Frisco outbound yard classifies and blocks the southbound trains to either Tulsa or Springfield along with the Ft. Scott Local. All transfers from connecting roads drop off cars at Rosedale so they can get on the outbound trains as soon as possible. Inbound trains go to the 19^th St. Yard and bypass Rosedale. Rosedale crews are always welcome to stop and railfan while an inbound train creeps through on the northbound main. The Rosedale Yard Master will also switch the car repair facility, local Rosedale industries and transfer 19^th Street Yard traffic to that yard. Minimum train length out of the yard is 25 cars, so be ready to switch and block some long trains.

19^th Street Yard (Frisco) This yard is the Frisco inbound yard in KC. At least two trains a day come into this yard for classification. Outbound transfers to connecting railroads leave out of 19^th Street. The 19^th Street Yard Master is also responsible for switching the Frisco Freight House, 19^th Street local industries, company service tracks and, if time permits, the Hill. 19^th Street is home to the engine and caboose service facilities where road crews will get on their power and caboose before picking their train up at Rosedale.

Glen Park Yard (MKT) This job works the MKT’s KC yard and also runs the MKT road trains to Paola. Usually there is only one road train to or from Parsons, KS each session. The Glen Park Man will switch several industries served only by the MKT and make his own outbound transfers to connecting railroads. This lucky job gets to run the famous F3M road slug (#401B) over the road.

Transfer Job The transfer job brings inbound traffic from connecting roads to the Frisco Rosedale Yard of the MKY Glen Park Yard. There are usually 3-5 transfers the are sent to both the Frisco and the MKT. The transfer job also moves transfers out of !9^th Street for the Frisco and assists the Glen Park Man move MKT traffic into the KCT staging area.

Road Job(s) (Frisco) These jobs run the mainline trains between Paola, KS and Kansas City. There are at least three northbound and three southbound trains along this route. Typically there is a special movement like a Frisco chat train or an MKT unit grain train to get across the railroad as well. Most of these trains are Frisco, however, there are also two SCL/SLSF/UP intercontinental trains over this route each session with an interesting mix of motive power on the lead.

Ft. Scott Local This is the local switcher that works the towns between Rosedale and Ft. Scott . At present this includes Merriam, Lenexa and Spring Hill, KS. This can be either a one or two man operation depending upon the circumstances.

About the layout host:
Rick lives with his wife Jo in Shawnee, KS along with two hyperactive Schnauzers. He has worked for Sprint Telecom for 22 years and also plays guitar in a local KC band.

About the layout host:

Rick lives with his wife Jo in Shawnee, KS along with two hyperactive Schnauzers. He has worked for Sprint Telecom for 22 years and also plays guitar in a local KC band.

Layout photos (click on thumbnail to enlarge)