Preservation of Steam Locomotive & Passenger Car

In January of 2020, a coronavirus made it from China to the United States and by mid-March had spread across the entire world. Named COVID-19, it was considered so deadly that the government forced many businesses to temporarily close and most governors issued stay-at-home orders for all non-essential workers. Schools were ordered closed as learning went online. A formerly bustling economy was now doomed.

In an effort to keep businesses from permanently closing, the federal government established the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) providing money to businesses to keep their people employed even if there was no work. Many Rolla businesses were able to obtain the PPP grant money due to the exceptional efforts of local bankers to get in before the money ran out. After a week of doing odd jobs around the office and the shop, employees of three local businesses (which had received the grant) needed "something useful" to do.

After discussions with city officials about potential collaborative projects, it was agreed that there was enough energy, time and talent among the employees to restore the train at Schuman Park in the eight weeks of wages provided by the grant. It had been 25 years since the outside of the train had been painted and the interior of the passenger car had not been touched for 65 years. It was time!

The project consumed over 2,500 man-hours of labor, half of which was spent on the passenger car. The east wall of the car and a portion of the roof was so deterioriated that the roof was caving in. The floor was so weak in some areas that one of the workers fell through. The seat covers were rotted but the hog hair cushions were still usable after 130 years. All of the windows had to be replaced, as well as the curtains, but the spring loaded brass window catches and curtain restraints worked just fine after being cleaned. This is a testimonial to the skills of workers in an era before computers and mass production.

The most difficult portion of the passenger car restoration was the re-creation of the etched glass clerestory windows which had been removed in the early 1900s. Just one of these etched glass vent windows was discovered in the car. Fortunately, there was enough skill and expertise among the group, as well as the desire, to bring the passenger car back to life as it was when it was in daily service over 100 years ago.

A Salute to the Many People who Participated in the Restoration and Preservation of the Frisco 1501 Engine, Oil Tender and Passenger Car

Employees of CSE Enterprises, LLC Lee Collins . Norman Plasse . Mark Windmiller . Denise Cameron

Employees of USA Express, Inc. Roy Jacobs . Winnie Carroll . Rachel Guth . Kenny Baker . Gary Holcomb

Employees of USA Tours, Inc. Steve Halinar . Jerry Humphrey . Barry Dunnigan . Rex Tennyson . Jody Segraves Mavis Baker . Ronda Guth . Maria Irigoyen . Katelyn Sowers . Saul Leon

Other Participants Frank Snelson - Paint Specialist . Kent Bagnall - Graphic Artist Terry Barner - Videographer . Coby Ellison - Historian

Bradley Lambeth . Amanda Barner . Dane Crutcher Wanda Lucian . Kevin Bainey . Mike Arnold

[Bottom left photo caption reads] The interior of the passenger car was completely removed and each piece restored or replaced. There were over 600 individual pieces.

[All other photos do not have captions but show the restoration effort] . This historical marker was erected in 2020 by City of Rolla Parks and Recreation. It is in Rolla in Phelps County Missouri