The End of the Line (Volume 2)

Time for more locomotives from the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis County, Missouri

This is a Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific 1+B-D-D-B+1 gearless bi-polar electrically powered locomotive. It has 12 traction motors mounted directly on the driving axles...eliminating the use of gears. It was built by General Electric in 1919 to pull passenger trains through the Cascade mountains. Among the transcontinental trains that this locomotive pulled was the famous Olympian Hiawatha. This E#2 locomotive is jointed in 3 flexible segments so it could negotiate the mountain curves.

Next, here is a 2-10-0 Decapod type freight locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for Imperial Russia in 1918. Russia contracted for 1,200 of these units. Twenty of them were purchased by the St. Louis - San Francisco (Frisco) Railroad.

Due to WWI, this locomotive was first assigned to the Southern Railway, then the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway and finally the Ft. Smith, Subiaco & Rock Island, before finally going to the Frisco. Still operating, in 1951 it was sold to the Eagle-Picher Company in southeastern Oklahoma for work in their zinc mining operations. The museum acquired this locomotive in 1961.

This is the "Silver Charger". It was built by the General Motors Electro Motive Division for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad in 1939. Locomotive #9908 was the last of the early "Zephyr" trains in which the car body housed the engine and doubled as a mail/baggage car. This unit was also the last 'shovel-nosed' locomotive in service.

The Museum of Transportation is located at 3015 Barrett Station Road in St. Louis County, Missouri. Web Site: http://www.museumoftransport.org/. Phone: 314-965-6885

A Lucky Save!!

So, as we neared Pittsburg Kansas, our taste buds were set for a major fried chicken experience. Roadfood and other guides laud the terrific fried chicken dinners in this area of Kansas. There are no less than six (6) restaurants in Crawford county that specialize in fried chicken! Chicken Mary's and Chicken Annie's are the most famous of the lot...

Well, guess what! None of these six fried chicken restaurants is open for lunch!

So, depressed, despondent and hungry, we drove through Pittsburg hoping to find some place where we could just get something decent to eat.

We drove up and down the main street in town, trying to determine where we should stop, order something to eat...and whine about what might have been!

Lady Luck came through for us! Napoli's Italian Restaurant was chosen by process of elimination.

First came this nice basket of flavorful rolls...

Then there was my huge Stromboli...stuffed with sausage, pepperoni and cheese. This was very tasty and it helped me forget the chicken dinner that we'd missed. Napoli's even had Tabasco for me! The tomato sauce was fresh and had a nice clean taste.

Laurie rolled the dice and ordered Ravioli with Lobster in a nice zesty red sauce... Laurie does't usually like red sauce, but she said that this was just as good as the lobster ravioli at Willie's in Seymour, Tennessee!

We'd lucked out again! Our tastebuds sated, we drove on...maybe we'll have the fried chicken the next time we pass through eastern Kansas!

Napoli Italian Restaurant is located in Pittsburg Kansas at 1301 North Broadway Street. Phone: 620-232-9494

"The Big Bright Texaco Star"

As we were cruised the back roads of eastern Kansas, we passed through the small town of Weir...and we came across this little gem from the past.

How many of us remember the advertising jingle that Texaco used to attract customers?

Well, Laurie remembers it! The jingle goes like this: "You can trust your car to the man who wears the star, the big, bright Texaco Star"

These buildings are along the lines of the classic 40's and 50's filling stations that used to dot the nation. They could easily earn National Landmark status.

The big question is why Weir Kansas, a mining town with a population of about 1,750 decided to preserve these iconic buildings? We didn't see anything to indicate that this cluster of Texaco memorabilia was anything more than visual eye-candy.

Whatever the reason, this was a pleasant sight, which jogged memories of the past. Thanks to the citizens of Weir Kansas!

Bar-B-Que - KC Style!

Welcome to Jack Stack Barbecue in Martin City Missouri! Over the years, I've worked for both Venture Stores/May Company and Montgomery Ward. Both companies had several stores in the Kansas City Market and the resulting store visits provided ready access to the Kansas City BBQ scene. When I first started coming to Jack Stack in the 70's, it was called Smoke Stack Barbecue... No matter, as it's still operated by a branch of the Fiorella family, actually the 4th generation of the family. Another family member still operates a Barbecue restaurant in Kansas City and that restaurant is named 'Smokestack'.


On our latest personal trip to Kansas City, with limited time available, Laurie and I had to decide whether we should go to Jack Stack or to another non-BBQ place that we really like. In the end, we decided to go to Jack Stack vs. Stroud's with it's pan fried pork chops. We knew that we were going to sample some Memphis BBQ on the way home and we wanted to compare that BBQ with the Memphis version so we could report back to Larry, aka "Big Dude", our local BBQ expert. (http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/)



Laurie ordered the 'Three Rib Platter', with Beef, Pork and Lamb Ribs. It was accompanied by a hunk of toast and Jack Stack's Hickory Pit Beans. Her favorite ribs by far were the lamb ribs...she even let me taste one! Next in line were the beef ribs... The pork ribs were good, but they didn't measure up to those smoked for us by Big Dude! The other highlight on her plate was Jack Stack's beans...



I ordered the 'Jack's Best' platter. This included the Crown Prime Beef Rib, Baby Back Pork Ribs and Beef Burnt Ends. I also ordered the Beans and the Cheesy Corn Bake. The Burnt Ends were #1 for me, followed in order by: #2 - the Jack Stack Beans...full of bits of meat and flavor; #3 - the Beef Rib...very nice; #4 - the Baby Backs...better than the ribs that Laurie had, but again not up to the standard set for us in East Tennessee, and; #5, the Cheesy Corn Bake...Laurie liked it but I didn't think that it had a lot of flavor.


We were stuffed when we finished our platters...actually leaving some odds and ends...but we still managed to order a dessert to share. This is the Vanilla Rum Bread Pudding...and it too was excellent!



We would recommend Fiorella's Jack Stack to anyone who enjoys good Barbecue! Good quality and good service. Our very competent waitress has worked for Jack Stack for over 24 years! She said that they're such good people to work for, she's never really considered leaving.


There are 4 Jack Stack locations in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area... Martin City is the original, but other restaurants are located in Country Club Plaza, Overland Park KS, and in the Kansas City Crossroads Art District. In addition to BBQ, we saw some great looking steaks and seafood dishes being served at nearby tables. The phone number for the original Martin City Restaurant is 816-942-9141. Learn more about Jack Stack at http://www.jackstackbbq.com/.

Size Does Matter!!

One of the things we like about cruising the backroads is that we often find little gems or unusual attractions along the way. Look at what we discovered just west of West Mineral Kansas.

Now this is not a little thing! This is Brutus, a 'retired' electric shovel used for strip mining. This 160 ft. tall behemoth was built in 1962. Because of it's size, it had to built in place, that is assmbled on the site. It weighs 11 million tons or 5,500 Tons and it cost 6.5 million dollars to build.


Brutus required a crew of three to operate it. It's top speed was 1/4 of a mile per hour but it's shovel bucket had a 150 ton capacity...with one scoop being enough to fill 3 railroad cars. In it's last month of operation, the electric bill to operate it was $27,000!


How big is this beast!? Look closely at this photo. Do you see the roadgrader in the foreground? That roadgrader is much closer to the camera than Brutus is and it's hard to even notice at first glance.


For more information about Brutus, go to www.bigbrutus.org/. Phone: 620-827-6177.


One other footnote: Brutus is only the second largest electric shovel ever built...

Remember Air Travel in the 50's?

This gem of a museum is located at the old downtown Kansas City Wheeler Airport. Back in 1985, the co-founders were sitting around and one commented on the Lockheed Constellation and what a beautiful aircraft it was. So, they founded a non-profit organization...Save-A-Connie...now renamed the Airline History Museum. We both really liked this museum!

This DC-3, in a 8-window/24 passenger configuration, was built in 1941 and delivered to TWA. That airline had this plane in service from 1941 until 1952. In 1939, 90% of all airline passengers world-wide were carried on DC-3s! Over 13,000 of these planes were built...

This plane is fully restored inside and out. Originally it had been recovered from an airplane 'graveyard' in Roswell, New Mexico. During our visit, the engines had been removed so they could be rebuilt. This plane is still flying to airshows and taking passengers up for a real old time flight experience. We'll be watching for our opportunity! Laurie has never flown in a DC-3 and the last time that I flew in one was back in 1958...from Detroit MI to Erie PA to Buffalo NY. It was a real kick...lots of leg room too!

Only 103 Martin 404's were ever built, with 60 of them being delivered to Eastern Airlines and 40 to TWA. Martin built this as a replacement for the DC-3...but it never really caught on. This plane was delivered to Eastern in 1952 and in 1965, Southern Airlines bought it. AHM acquired the plane in 1990 and flew it until 2000, when they put it on static display. It has a fully refurbished interior, complete with a lavatory that has a skylight! There are only 5 surviving Martin 404s in North America. This plane was configured for 40 passengers.

This is one of the most beautiful airplanes ever built. A total of 856 Lockheed Constellation L-1049s, (civilian version), and the C-121s (military version) were built. This 'Connie' was one of the last three built in 1957. Due to an order cancellation, it sat in a hangar for 2 years. finally being acquired by Slick Airlines in 1959.

This Connie served as a Cargo transport...parts for the military, race horses, bug sprayer, etc., until she was retired in 1975. The 'Save-A-Connie' organization rescued her from an airline graveyard in Mesa Arizona in 1986. It was bought at auction for the starting and the only bid of $4,000! It's new name is the "Star of America".

The co-founders and over a dozen members of the group spent 9 weeks in Arizona, making it flyable... Then it was shuttled to Kansas City where the real work began. It took over 2 years to finish the initial restoration.

The Constellation has a maximum range of 4,815 miles. This is the only airworthy civilian Constellation in existence. All others are ex-military aircraft.

The interior of the aircraft was completely renovated during the winter of 2002 - 2003. The cabin configuration is a mix of Connie interiors...in order to show the various possibilities to AHM visitors.

Note: The aircraft boarded from the back... First class was located in the back because the ride was smoother and quieter behind the propellers. These planes also had a lounge area... Just a little different than flying on the 'cattle cars' we're stuck with today!

At the time of our visit, the staff was working toward a renewal of flight certification. This aircraft will be back in the air for appearances at various airshows!

As we finished our tour, (Laurie & I plus a guide), we came across this gentleman with his daughter and granddaughter. They were touring the facility as well. His TWA captains attracted our attention so we introduced ourselves. In 1946, after serving with the Army Air Force during WWII, Bill Graff joined TWA as a pilot. At first he flew DC-3s, then the Connie...but he also delivered the first Lockheed L-1011 for TWA. He ended his career in 1980 flying B-747's.

Bill had just turned 90 years old. Despite the wheelchair, he was as sharp as a tack... He even had his TWA logbook with him. He told us that his daughter had been a Stewardess and had flown on the Connie's a few times.

The Airline History Museum is much more than these 3 planes. There are 3 or 4 large rooms packed with airline memorabilia, parts, uniforms, etc. In January of this year, the AHM also took delivery of a huge Lockheed L-1011. The plan is to refurbish that aircraft as a static display. It's parked on the Tarmac right by the museum. The guides are volunteers and our guide was excellent!

The museum is located in Hangar 9 at the Downtown Wheeler Airport, at 201 Northwest Lou Holland Drive in Kansas City, Missouri. Phone: 816-421-341. For more information and a video of the Connie in flight, go to http://www.ahmhangar.com/.

Ferry Ride!

Laurie and I love being on or near the water... Add mountains and/or beautiful scenic countryside and the combination is hard to beat!

One of the things that I try to do as I drive the back roads of the country, is to seek out those few ferry boats that still exist and then fit them into our itinerary.

The first photo is of the countryside in northern Arkansas, just south of Bull Shoals Lake. This is on Arkansas Highway 125 headed north towards the lake.

And here comes our ride! This little free ferry is operated by the Arkansas Department of Transportation. It operates year around and it connects Arkansas Highway 125 from Peel AR to a peninsula jutting down into the north side of the lake. The peninsula is part of Arkansas, and it's just south of Protem, MO.

Here the ferry has docked on the south shore of Bull Shoals Lake and it's about to unload. Next, it will be our turn...headed north.

The ferry operates at 20 minute intervals during daylight hours year around...weather permitting.

I'm enjoying the ride...watching the water slide by and checking out the scenery.

Here's Laurie, my better half and co-pilot, relaxing on our short journey across the lake.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the only ferryboat in operation in Arkansas. Missouri has 4 ferryboat operations on the Mississippi River and one crossing the Current River within the Ozark National Scenic Riverways area.

Moving north and east after the ferry ride, this is a bit of scenery along US Highway 160 in southern Missouri.

This little road trip involved about 2,500 miles of driving...visits with family...a few nights in motels and lots of exploring!