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Wabash, Frisco & Pacific Live
Steam Railroad
Train Picnic
by Ron Gawedzinski
photos by Richard Schumacher
On Saturday, September 6, 2008, the Gateway Division
NMRA and the St. Louis Chapter NRHS held the first ever
joint picnic at the Wabash, Frisco, and Pacific
Railroad. The WF&P RR runs 12 inch Gauge Small Scale
Steam Trains alongside the Meramec River at Glencoe,
Missouri. It provides a 2-mile roundtrip. From 1939
until 1959 it was located near St. Louis Lambert Field.
As they say, the only scheduled steam passenger trains
in Missouri.
The weather was great, the steam locomotive rides
were many and the scenery along the Meramec River was
beautiful. There were 95 registered members, family and
guests from both groups, along with an additional 18
crew members from the WF&P and 9 crew members from the
Decatur, Illinois, steam club.
The steam club from Decatur brought their Denver &
Rio Grande locomotive down to pull trains. The WF&P
provided four steam locomotives and one diesel engine.
There were train rides all day. The WF&P and the Decatur
club were very gracious hosts and they enjoyed having us
there as much as we enjoyed their facilities.
Ron Gawedzinski (GD/SLC) chaired the picnic. Fred
Blank (SLC) and Hank Kraichely, Gateway Division
President, did the cooking; Ron, Jean Myers (SLC), and
Mary Birdsell (GD/SLC) worked the serving line. Joe
Obernuefemann (SLC) handled registration, nametags and
attendance
prize tickets. Bill Birdsell (GD/SLC) and Joe
Obernuefemann, along with the help of some very young
railfans awarded the attendance prizes. Various members
of both organizations donated fifty prizes. Bud Anderson
(SLC) and his family served snow cones.
The picnic crowd consumed 158 cans of soda, 20 pounds
of potato salad, 14 pounds of cole slaw, 4 gallons of
baked beans, 120 hamburgers, 84 hot dogs, 4 pounds of
baby carrots, 1 gallon of pickles and 180 cookies. The
committee and both organizations thank you for your
attendance and any and all help and donations that made
this picnic a success. Ron especially wants to thank the
above named volunteers, for without them this event
could not have been held.
Finally, thanks to the WF&P crews and the Decatur
crews for making this a success: WF&P – Don “Tennessee”
Angles, Greg Wapelhorst, Jim Scott, Jimmy Scott, Mike
Lorance, Jim Greathouse, John Grewe, Matt Grewe, Brad
George, Andrew Dean, Jerry Fritchle-Ellen, Matt Horn,
Dale Bitsch, Dave Neubauer, Wayne Mosbacher, Mike
Brennan, Clayton Cullen and Elliott Littlejohn. Decatur
– Kenny Dan, Ray Heaton, George Roadcap, Tommy Roadcap,
Jim Adams, Tim Jacobs, Robert Jacobs, Matt Davis and Al
Trenholm.
Click any photo to view a larger version.
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