Firefly (train)


The Firefly was a streamlined passenger train operated by the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway. At various times, it served St Louis, Missouri, Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Kansas City, Missouri, and Fort Scott, Kansas. It operated from 1939 to 1960 and was the Frisco's first streamliner.

History

The Frisco introduced the Firefly on December 10, 1939, over the Kansas City—Tulsa—Oklahoma City route. The Firefly was the Frisco's first streamliner, intended to compete with the Santa Fe, which on nearly the same day expanded its diesel streamliner service The Chicagoan/Kansas Cityan/Tulsan to serve Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Despite utilizing elderly steam locomotives, the Firefly ran competitive times, running five hours and five minutes to Tulsa and seven hours and fifteen minutes to Oklahoma City. The Frisco provided convenient daylight service, while the Santa Fe, operating through service to and from Chicago, arrived at and left Oklahoma City in the wee hours of the morning. The Firefly proved popular enough to overwhelm its three-car consists, and mismatched conventional cars were often used to enlarge capacity during World War II.
In the 1950s the train's itinerary was shortened to Kansas City-Tulsa. The train's last run between Fort Scott and Tulsa took place on May 22, 1960; between Fort Scott and Kansas City it ran combined with the Sunnyland. The Firefly was the last Frisco train serving the Tulsa-Fort Scott route.

Equipment

Two consists were necessary to protect the Firefly's schedule; each was composed of refurbished heavyweight cars. A standard consist included a baggage-mail coach, coach, and cafe-parlor car. Initially power was supplied by a pair of 1910 Pacific type 4-6-2 steam locomotives, numbers 1026 and 1031, which were refurbished and streamlined in the road's Springfield shops. The driving wheels were enlarged from 69" to 73" by means of extremely thick driver tires, for greater speed. Later the run was powered by various of the road's EMD E-8A locomotives named for racehorses, or by EMD FP-7 locomotives.