Sunday, July 6, 2014

the 'Texas Special'

judging from the lady's hat on the right, this could be from the 1920s
a Howard Fogg watercolor depicting the train with a Katy steamer

1950s era art, available as a jigsaw puzzle
The Texas Special was operated jointly by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (a.k.a. the Katy) and the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (a.k.a. the Frisco). It was the flagship train of both and ran between St. Louis, Missouri, and San Antonio, Texas, from 1915 until 1959, when the Katy changed the northern destination from St Louis to Kansas City after the Frisco discontinued service from St. Louis on 5 January 1959.

The streamlined Texas Special made its first revenue run from St. Louis to San Antonio on 16 May 1948. The cars were labelled The Texas Special on the letter board and the ownership was designated by a small plate near each end lettered either Frisco or Katy. Frisco sleepers were named after famous Missourians. Each railroad contributed one complete streamlined train set. It was soon determined that a third train set was required for this service which was composed of several heavyweight cars, including coach-buffet, diner, and a 12-section, 1 drawing-room sleeper. These cars received a red and silver paint scheme with shadow striping. 

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