Missouri Pacific March 1952 Timetable

Annoyingly, the inside front cover of this timetable says that the Eagles are the “smoothest way West-Southwest.” As I complained a few days ago, except for its line to Pueblo, Missouri Pacific didn’t serve the West or the Southwest, so I find this slogan puzzling.

Click image to download a 25.2-MB PDF of this 48-page timetable.

Breaking from the city series in the timetables shown here in the last few days, this one dedicates the page before the centerfold map to Louisiana. As we know from timetables shown here previously, later editions covered Nebraska, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and no doubt several states in editions I haven’t seen yet.

The page after the map brags that Missouri Pacific was planning to lay “64,285 tons of new rail” in 1952. The inside back cover has freight schedules and the back cover notes that a new freight station was opening in St. Louis. Previously, the back cover of the May 1950 timetable that is posted on Wx4 had announced this freight station was being built.

Few rail passengers today would be interested in knowing about the construction and opening of freight stations. In 1952, however, the railroads still carried lots of less-than-carload freight. Knowing where the freight station was would have been as important then as knowing how to ship by UPS or FedEx today.

This is the last of the Missouri Pacific timetables I am presenting at this time. MP apparently published three timetables in some years and four in others, so I don’t know exactly how many I am missing, but I estimate I need about a dozen more in the 1946-1957 period when the full, 48-page magazine-style format was published. I’ll try to add them soon.

In the meantime, below is a table showing some of the distinctive features of the 30 Eagle-painting timetables (including the Wx4 one) I’ve seen so far. Column FC indicates the colors on the front cover (yellow/red, yellow/black, red/black); IFC lists the subject of the ad on the inside front cover; BCF and ACF describe the articles before and after the centerfold map; and IBC and BC describe the inside and outside back covers.

Numbers in parentheses in the BCF column indicate the number in the “states served by Missouri Pacific” series and the “historic landmark” series illustrated by John Mullan Keil. The first in the latter series, the Alamo, isn’t actually numbered but it is part of the series.

DateFCIFCBCFACFIBCBC
47-04R/BSunshine SpecialSt. LouisDenverFast MailRoyal Gorge
47-09R/BSunshine SpecialSan AntonioLittle RockNew OrleansMissouri Hist. Society
47-12R/BSunshine SpecialWichitaLower Rio GrandeRoyal Gorge BridgeWest's First Railroad
48-03R/BSunshine SpecialOmahaDallasSalt Lake CityMexico
48-05R/BTexas EaglesWheat BeltSan FranciscoRoyal GorgeSt. Louis
Music
48-08Y/BTexas EaglesFort WorthLos AngelesSunshine SpecialMerchandise Service
48-11Y/BTexas EaglesRio Grande ValleySt. JosephRailroad Hour RadioWorld Trade Route
49-02Y/BTexas EaglesAustinGalvestonFreight SchedulesTip Top Mtn Project
49-06Y/BTexas EaglesEl DoradoWest's First Iron HorseFreight SchedulesCTC
50-05Y/REaglesKansas CityMexicoFreight SchedulesNew StL Ft Station
51-03Y/BEagle FlockColorado (#3)SpeedboxesFreight SchedulesMore Power (Diesels)
52-03Y/BWest-SW EaglesLouisiana (#7)New RailFreight SchedulesStL Ft Station Opens
52-06Y/BEagles DomeNebraska (#8)Diesel Shop in KCFreight SchedulesMoPac Moves
It Safely
52-09Y/BDome CoachesOklahoma (#9)Radio NetworkFreight StL to CaliforniaTruck
Operations
53-01Y/BEaglesMississippi (#10)1000 New BoxcarsFreight SchedulesNew Type
Tickets
53-09Y/REaglesLouisiana PurchaseDinner in DinerFreight SchedulesFast Freight
(Rabbit)
53-12Y/BEagles CoachesIron MountainNew MP High LineFreight SchedulesLong Hauls or Short Hops (Kangaroo)
54-04Y/REagles VacationsAlamo (#1)Kansas for New IndustryFreight SchedulesOn the Right Track (Bloodhound)
54-12Y/REagle Dome CoachesBattle of NO (#3)Missouri Industrial DiversityFreight SchedulesEconomy Meal Service
55-04Y/BEagles VacationsPony Express (#4)Nebraska Lower-Cost IndustryFreight SchedulesLCL Shipping
55-12Y/BEagles CoachesLand of Evangeline (#6)Southern IllinoisFreight SchedulesChicago-Texas Thru Cars
56-04Y/RChicago-TexasBattle of San Jacinto (#7)Arkansas State CapitolFreight SchedulesMerchanidse Service
56-09Y/BEagles No Extra FareOld St.L. Cthouse (#8)Colorado State CapitolFreight SchedulesNew Containers
56-12Y/RCheaper Than DrivingCoronado (#9)Illinois State CapitolFreight SchedulesTruck-Rail Service
57-06Y/BDon't Drive Until ArriveHot Springs (#10)Kansas State CapitolFreight SchedulesModern Pace
57-12Y/BFun & Fancy FreedomNoneNoneFreight SchedulesThe Wheels Don't Go (Containers)
58-12Y/BCoach Tray ServiceNoneNoneFreight SchedulesPiggy Back
59-06Y/RThrift-T-SleeperNoneNoneFreight SchedulesDoor to Door Delivery
59-12Y/BSleep ThriftyNoneNoneFreight SchedulesSlumbercoach
60-12Y/BSleepers Are CheaperNoneNoneFreight SchedulesRide Relaxed

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