Springfield, Missouri, U.S., St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Employee Cards, 1940-1980

Source Information

Original data: The Frisco: A Look Back at the Saint Louis-San Francisco Railway - Employee Cards. Springfield, MO, USA: Springfield-Greene County Library District.

About Springfield, Missouri, U.S., St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Employee Cards, 1940-1980

General Collection Information

This collection contains employee cards from the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway headquarters in Springfield, Missouri. Cards in the collection were used to register employees for the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board. Dates in the collection range from 1940 forward. Most records are handwritten on pre-printed cards, but newer records may be typed.

Using this Collection

Records in the collection may include the following information:

  • Name
  • Sex
  • Race
  • Date of birth
  • Age
  • Birthplace
  • Address
  • Marital status
  • Employment start date
  • Employment end date
  • Name of employer
  • Occupation
  • Date of death
  • Names of parents
  • Names of previous employers

    • Employees found in this collection weren’t just railway workers; the Frisco offered a variety of employment opportunities. Workers may have been anything from nurses to cooks to engineers. The Frisco company headquarters were located in Springfield, Missouri, but the collection isn’t limited to Springfield residents. Railway offices were found throughout the Midwest and Southern states, mostly in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Despite its name, there were no offices in San Francisco.

    Collection in Context

    Beginning in 1876, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway became an independent company after splitting from the Pacific Railway. Affectionately called the “Frisco,” the railway offered both passenger and freight service throughout the midwestern and southern states. Although lines to San Francisco were planned, the railway only went as far west as Texas due to conflicts with other railways and Native American land rights.

    Despite declaring bankruptcy multiple times, the Frisco was a successful railway with a devoted clientele. In 1903, railway president B.F. Yoakum would embark on one of the most ambitious expansions in railroad history. Known to historians as “Yoakum’s Dream,” the project would add 17,000 miles of track in 10 years. However, the huge cost of the expansion, compounded with difficulties from the Mexican Revolution and a series of floods, would lead the company to bankruptcy in 1916. Another bankruptcy would follow in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. The Frisco was revived during World War II and embarked on three successful decades in service.

    In 1980, the Frisco was merged into the Burlington Railway. Many of the lines used by the Frisco are still in operation today.

    Bibliography

    American Rails. “St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, Ship it on the Frisco!” Last modified May 2, 2019, https://www.american-rails.com/frisco.html.

    Bradbury, John. “St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company.” State Historical Society of Missouri. Last updated March 9, 2020, https://missouriencyclopedia.org/groups-orgs/st-louis-san-francisco-railway-company.

    Frisco.org “About the Frisco Railroad.” Last modified February 20, 2021, http://frisco.org/mainline/about-the-frisco-railroad/.

    Springfield-Greene County Library District. “History of the Frisco.” Last modified July 16, 2018, https://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/history/1962history.cfm.