Shrewsbury, Missouri, last week dedicated a new photo deck so visitors can take a photograph of the historic “Ship It on the Frisco” train trestle that goes over Route 66 in the city.
St. Louis Route 66 historian Norma Maret Bolin said the photo deck is in the lower Kenrick shopping center area and near the new Aldi’s grocery store.
“Mayor Felicity Buckley deserves a lot of praise for getting this project done, all at no cost to the taxpayers,” Bolin wrote in an email.
A little stand in the deck explains the viaduct’s significance:
Shrewsbury’s website had this to say in the wake of the dedication:
The City of Shrewsbury is currently engaged in a Historic Route 66 Corridor Revitalization Project. This project encompasses the section of Historic Route 66 Roadway that is located within the Cities of Shrewsbury, Webster Groves, Marlborough, Crestwood and Sunset Hills.
This project kicks off with the installation of the Route 66 Photo Deck, located at a point adjacent to the intersection of the BNSF Railway and the Historical Corridor (at the Center of Kenrick Commercial District). The City of Shrewsbury will be involved in other activities and projects related to the Route 66 Corridor in the coming years.
According to Bridgehunter.com, the overpass in Shrewsbury was built for the Frisco line in 1931. It’s still used by the BNSF Railway. The south end of the overpass underwent repairs in 2002 after a derailment.
As for the Frisco railroad itself, known officially as the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, it boasted a long history with the Mother Road. One of its main lines shadowed Route 66 from St. Louis to Oklahoma City. The railroad also ran lines out of Tulsa, St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri, and operated a few passenger lines from those cities, as well.
The Frisco operated for more than 100 years until BNSF acquired it in 1980. But remnants of the railroad are there, including at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis,Route 66 Pacific Railfan Center in Pacific, Missouri, and the Frisco Meteor 4500 steam engine at the Route 66 Village in Tulsa.
(Images courtesy of Norma Maret Bolin)
This absolutely was NOT done “at no cost to taxpayers.” The deck cost upwards of $100,000 and is paid for by taxpayers who purchase groceries and other goods for their families at nearby stores. They will be hit with this extra tax for decades.
Ugh. Coral Court gone but there’s a concrete slab to watch trains from… I think there needs to be a kickstarter campaign to rebuild Coral Court. Route 66 just isn’t the same since Coral Court came down.