Rolla-Lebanon Subdivision - Salem Branch - List Of Stations And Mile Posts

Just found this photograph at the State Historical Society of Missouri.

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/36854/rec/277

 

Locations, productions, populations Missouri Historical Review, Volume 022, Issue 4, July 1928, Page 588, 2nd paragraph not below that.

Other ghost towns in the Ozarks are land taken.

 

Glenna Pauline (Harmon) Pitts, from Cook Station.

Photograph taken on the Meramec River bridge at Goltra, MO.

 

This railroad interchange was built by volunteers in preparation for the Salem, Winona And Southern (SW&S) Railroad, the Missouri Southern (MS) Railroad, and the St. Louis, Houston And Mineral Belt (SLH&MB) Railway.

All three railroads were promised to exit Salem from this interchange within a year. None of the three were ever completed. The railroad interchange sat abandoned and unused.

This aerial photograph is from 1955, just before the area was developed for a neighborhood.

 

Cool pictures today from the St. James Library.

Will be going back to search more! I am going to break this down into a few different posts. Let us start with bridges. I am hoping someone can help with this one. This was labeled Steelville Bridge.

What bridge?

Is this the trestle over Yadkin Creek?

The second photograph obviously is labeled as Meramec Bridge.

But which one, Birds Nest or Goltra?

 

This photograph of an engine was captioned.

Sadly it is not a great quality photograph.

 

Today’s research also provided some insight into the various mining spurs, including a definite spur to Marsh Iron Mine.

This first photograph is awesome. Check out the Frisco cars, ready to be filled with hematite. Obviously, there was a spur to the mine operated by Frisco.

Second Photograph - There are a lot of awesome photographs of the iron mining operation at Cherry Valley, as well as the Cherry Valley Railroad. They documented the operation well.

Third photograph - Cars being loaded with iron ore at Cherry Valley Iron Mines.

Fourth photograph - Tram lines running into one of the mines at Cherry Valley.

Fifth photograph - Steelville Iron Bank No. 1 was once a stop on Time Tables for the Salem Branch, so it likely also had its own short spur.

 

First bridge picture during when it is was being constructed. This is funny. I was about to post this same picture tonight.

You pose a good question. I was assuming it was the first steel frame bridge over the Meramec River at Birds Nest, MO. It is likely Yadkin Creek.

Looking at the construction photograph again, the drainage looks small and narrow. If a river, the width of the drainage would be much wider. Also, the distance upward to the rails is small. If over the Meramec river, the height of the bridge piers would be much higher. There are wood piles; no stone bridge piers.

The second photograph is the Birds Nest truss bridge. In my younger years, I was a Meramec River canoe floating guide for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). This is the second or third bridge over the Meramec at this location.

Bridgehunters said that the Birds Nest truss bridge was not the first bridge at that location. I agree.

If there was a prior metal bridge, no picture of that yet, there is also a possibility that the first bridge at that location could have been all wood. With high and fast flooding, an all wooden bridge could of had a limited life. If so, the present bridge at the Birds Nest is the third bridge at that location.

With the railway starting construction at Cuba in 1871, they might have made a decision for a fast construction and an all wooden bridge over the Meramec to quickly get on for 35 miles to Salem. Maybe Jacob could find some old newspaper clips about that phase of the construction.

Today, the present bridge has two plate girder spans, open above and below, no through truss. It is built on concrete piers. The prior truss bridge had stone piers. Those still remain, unused.

 

Map shows Yadkin Creek, Steelville, Birds Nest railroad bridge and more.

Service times at Salem, MO by the St. Louis Salem And Little Rock Railroad and the Salem Eastern Railroad, correct legal name, November 11, 1881 with company officers.

https://books.google.com/books/cont...sig=ACfU3U1Biy1fB5x7LtTaUHDaEii6W_9-7A&w=1025

Edit July 2023: During 1881 was when the Sligo Branch finished construction from Sligo Jct. to the Sligo Furnace Company.

The topographic map attached below shows the Sligo Branch rails remained in place in 1937. The prior issued topographic map, not attached, shows Sligo Branch rails remained in place in 1936, except there was short section of tracks which had been removed preventing a train to entered into Crooked Creek watershed.

The last Sligo Branch schedule service was in 1933 when the Sligo Furnace Company was finished with all of their scrapping. In 1934 was when all of the Sligo company's financial bo0ks were closed with the approval of the State of Missouri.

 

Folks,

Keep up-to-date with the Salem Branch Research Team. Their results Map is Evergreen.

xd9t3-MTlA8rLR9yk5Y2lYaALqrpUU&g_ep=CAISBjYuNTE
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1PuNhgAIN1iQgJVUw==&g_st=ic jdstotler, Feb 6, 2023R&ll=37.60785751524502,-91.49153365979261&z=10

 

Charlie,

Thanks for sharing my map again.

I have a lot of hours invested in it at this point!

 

At the bottom of this page, is the Salem And Eastern (S&E) Railroad's November 1881 operations.

That railway went from Salem, MO south to the Riverside Mine. Train operation times and owners are shown.

St. Louis, Salem And Little Rock Railroad, 1881 Time Table and the owners and officers are shown .

1881 is when the Sligo Branch connected the SLS&LR mainline to Sligo, MO and the Sligo Furnace Company. The SLS&LR Railroad, the Sligo Furnace Company and Sligo, MO, all had the same owners, A. L. and H. A. Crawford.

The SLS&LR Railroad being built during 1871 to 1873 was before the birth of the SLSF Railway in 1878. Between 1871 to 1873 the railroad through Cuba was the Atlantic And Pacific (A&P) Railroad.

Several other 1881 SLSF routes are shown in this document.

1881 information

 

Jacob,

By the trees in the background being on both sides of the heavy truss bridge, I would say that is at Birds Nest, MO. This is where the approaching route is headed perpendicular to the river.

If it were at Goltra, MO there would not be trees to the left. That is where the approaching route was heading parallel to the river.

View attachment 44507 is a wood pole pilings tressel is at Yadkin.
View attachment 44508 is at Bird's Nest. A heavy duty truss bridge over the Meramec River. It has stone pilings. How being unloaded, those still exist today.

 

Charles,

Looks like excerpts from the Official Railway Guide and not an Employee Time Table (ETT).

 

Let us have a contest.

What is the earliest route timetable of any type posted on frisco.org?

Going back to 1878.

1866 - Atlantic and Pacific Railroad

1878 - St. Louis and San Francisco Railway

 

The old water reservoir for the steam engines at Cook Station, Missouri

It is located just behind the mercantile.

It still stands today.

 

Keep up-to-date with the Salem Branch Research Team.

The results Map is Evergreen as research proceeds.

xd9t3-MTlA8rLR9yk5Y2lYaALqrpUU&g_ep=CAISBjYuNTE
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1PuNhgAIN1iQgJVUw==&g_st=ic jdstotler, Feb 6, 2023R&ll=37.60785751524502,-91.49153365979261&z=10

 

Topics for this Salem Branch, Rolla-Lebanon Subdivision forum.

The branch line from Cuba south to Salem was built by the St. Louis Salem And Little Rock (SLS&LR) in 1871 t0 1873. That was even before the SLSF started their operations in 1978.
More on that, is later below.

Reference the page 288 time tables document is about numerous railroads and has been posted prior for this forum. Karl is correct, that document is not an official Frisco ETT. Thanks to Karl.

Not for the SLSF part on that page 288 document, presented here is early information about St. Louis, Salem And Little Rock and also about the Salem Eastern (SE) Railroad in 1881. For both early railroads we have never found anything like this before.

We will have to search for some other old Official Railroad Guides and Evaluations Reports for these two railroads. Other frisco.org members are welcome to help to find other information.

The Frisco received trackage rights for on the branch line from Cuba south to Salem in 1887. Operating on it for 10 years, then in 1897 the Frisco purchased the that branch line and they officially name it as their Salem Branch.

Off of the Salem Branch were many finger branches, some were owned by local short-lines railroad companies. Most were for iron ore, shipping smelter iron, timber and freight. The longest short line was the Sligo And Eastern (S&E), Inc. operating from 1902 to 1929. Through the years, most of those other finger branches became the Frisco's.

For specific information about any finger branch, ask our frisco.org member Jacob Stotler. Surprisingly, there were many finger branches. He heads up our Salem Branch Research Group. His investigations and results have been massive.

Just to us, he as made over 150 emails to Pat Moreland and myself. Jacob shows no sign of slowly up. His many photographs and knowledge on this and other forum is amazing.