Bevier & Southern Railroad"Have Train - Will Haul" |
Bevier, Mo / Jul 1958 / Ron Sims 
Launched in 1914, the Bevier & Southern Railroad operated from a Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (later Burlington Northern) connection at Bevier, Missouri. The line travelled nine miles south to Binkley and primarily offered outbound coal service from local mines. As late as 1961, the railroad still relied exclusively on steam locomotives (2 Moguls and 2 Mikados) to haul coal hoppers to its mainline connection. The BVS was abandoned in 1982, although in the 1990s the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad rehabilitated a section of the line to serve a coal-fired power plant at Thomas Hill Reservoir.
1918 route map clipping / collection
1930 Official Guide ad / collection
1948 Official Guide ad / collection
from Steam Locomotive & Railroad Tradition
magazine #13 [May 1963] / collection
1978 Official Guide ad / collection
Bevier & Southern #109
Bevier, Mo / Jan 1952 / collection
Bevier & Southern #109
to Bevier & Southern #109
Bevier, Mo / Mar 1959 / collection
My father always paid attention to the conversation railfans kept about popular pikes and must-see railroads. Missouri's little Bevier & Southern was one such road, well known in railfan circles in the late 1950s because they operated steam well into the diesel era. Still, hearing and doing are two different things. Dad never made it to the BVS, and the steam is long gone. Can't win them all, I guess. Still, the ex Illinois Central 2-6-0 is a delight to behold, thanks to the pictures of others we've pulled into our collection.
Links / Sources
- Wikipedia article for Bevier & Southern