Burlington Route "Map of Month" question

[Anonymous]

OK, this is likely a little off topic, since it wasn’t shown on the map , but Doesn’t BNSF have a route into Birmingham Ala? I always thought that was an old “Burlington” route.

What is the ancestry of that portion of the BNSF system?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by M.W. Hemphill

That’s a Frisco route. The CB&Q never reached farther south than Paducah, Ky., on its system proper (not including the C&S-FW&D to Galveston, Texas).

The Frisco merger was with BN. Frisco’s principal routes were:

1. St. Louis to Quanah, Texas to Tulsa and Oklahoma City, via Springfield, Mo., extending past Oklahoma City to an FW&D connection at Quanah, Texas.
2. Kansas City to Birmingham and Pensacola, Florida, via Springfield and Memphis.
3. Kansas City to Dallas-Fort Worth via Tulsa,

In other words, a big X centered at Springfield, with an important leg from Kansas City to Dallas-Fort Worth. There were some other secondary lines of less importance, including a connection between Memphis and St. Louis; Monett, Mo. to Paris, Texas (AT&SF connection), and Tulsa to Avard, Okla. (AT&SF connection).

Today, a great deal of the former Frisco is gone or of limited future potential. The important part is Kansas City to Birmingham, a major coal route into the Southeast; and Avard to Springfield and St. Louis. The portion of that line from Enid to Avard was a dirt-track railroad with nothing but a mixed train until the 1960s, but now it’s a “found main line,” part of BNSF’s transcon service between Los Angeles and St. Louis and Memphis.

Thanks much for the correction and amplification!

And not to press my luck, but:

1. You mention Frisco as an “X” centering around Springfield, and I notice that BNSF refers to that area as it’s “Springfield division”…I’m betting that’s more than pure coincidence? Is it safe to assume that BNSF’s Springfield division is made up of its aquisition of the Frisco, or are their other former entities wrapped up in that division as well?

and

2. What year was the Frisco line to B’ham put into service?

[Anonymous]

I think that more than adequately satisfys my curiousity[:I] thanks.

I don’t know WHERE I got the idea that was a Burlington route, except hat I did spend some time off and on, in B’ham during the early 80’s, and there is this “cob-webby” memory of Burlington “red” loco’s in Birmingham, I probably just saw some oldies that were still in service, and never made the distinction…