The 90th anniversary of the Frisco Depot will be celebrated at the Moark Regional Railroad Museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday during the annual Iron Horse Festival in Downtown Poplar Bluff.
Built in 1928, the second Frisco station in Poplar Bluff replaced the 1901 structure destroyed by a tornado in May 1927.
From 1901 to 1965, the Frisco Railroad operated trains from Cape Girardeau through Poplar Bluff to Hoxie, Ark., where they connected with the main Frisco line going to Memphis, Tenn., and Pensacola, Fla.
Volunteers have operated the museum in the Frisco Depot for 27 years and have been busy making improvements to the interior and the 33-foot model train layout, including the painting of a nine-foot wide mountain scene.
Three HO-scale trains travel around the big layout. An elevated G-scale train is operated in the main exhibit room.
Displays of exhibits covering 146 years of railroad history in Poplar Bluff have been improved. Train Shop merchandise has been expanded and landscaping has been added.
Admission to the museum, located across Fifth Street from the Black River Coliseum, is free.
Retired and current Union Pacific Railroad workers are invited to share their experiences with museum visitors and display railroad equipment.
A steam-operated car and calliope will be displayed.
Operation Life Saver will have a display and the Missouri Pacific caboose will be open to the public. The museum also has a Frisco caboose and a Union Pacific mail/baggage car which are not open.
The Poplar Bluff Police Department will have a K-9 unit stop by to greet visitors part of the day when not busy working investigations.
From 1977 to early 1990, the police station was in the Frisco Depot. Retired police officers who worked in the depot building are invited to share their experiences with museum visitors.
Deputy Police Chief Donnie Trout is the only current officer who worked in the depot. His first year as a patrolman began in early 1989.
"I remember it was a very small facility," Trout said. "There were several fights in the small booking room."
Museum volunteers are happy the police department selected the historic Frisco Depot to display on their new shoulder patches.
"The Poplar Bluff Police Department began in 1883 and we wanted something on our patches that had been around for a long time," Trout said.
Placed on the National Register of Historic Places, the depot is filled with photos, maps and other exhibits telling the story of the railroads in Southeast Missouri and Northeast Arkansas.
Exhibits also cover the Iron Mountain, Missouri Pacific, Union Pacific, Cotton Belt, Butler County and Amtrak railroads.
The first train to arrive in Poplar Bluff was on the Iron Mountain Railroad in 1872. The first Frisco train arrived in 1901. The Butler County Railroad started in 1904.
Amtrak information is available at the museum. Two Amtrak Texas Eagle passenger trains stop nightly at the Iron Mountain Depot built in 1910. It also is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museum volunteers thank businesses and individuals for donations during the recent fund drive. All funds are used to maintain the museum. There is no paid staff.
Annual memberships are available for $12 per individual and $20 per family.
Regular museum hours are 1-4 p.m. Saturdays. The museum is closed on major holiday weekends.
Model trains and layout accessories can be purchased for Christmas gifts in the museum's Train Shop. All profits and donations are used to maintain the museum.