The Nash subdivision was a branch line on the Frisco (SLSF) in southeast Missouri. Frisco's mainline on the River Division ran from St. Louis 110 miles south to Chaffee, Missouri, which was where all crews and operations in the area occurred. 3 miles north of Chaffee in a tiny community called "Nash", a local line was split off to service communities away from the mainline from Nash to Poplar Bluff and beyond. The Nash Subdivision handled passenger as well as freight traffic in the early to mid-1900s. It eventually continued south and reconnected to the Frisco mainline running from Springfield, MO to Memphis, TN at Hoxie, Arkansas.
The Nash line headed southwest from Nash (which was 6 miles southwest of Cape Girardeau) through Delta, Missouri. Delta was a unique town because it only had 500 citizens, but was crossed by 4 railroads on 3 lines. The Frisco's Nash line, the Iron Mountain and Southern's branch line from the Missouri iron areas southeast to Charleston, Missouri, and then the busy Cotton Belt line which the SSW shared with the MP to bring over 50 trains a day on. The Nash line continued southwest from Delta through Arbor, and on to Advance where industrial spurs are seen. From Advance the line curved south and serviced the lumber rich areas of Puxico and Mingo. Hauling wood accounted for a good portion of the Nash line in the early years.
As the years advanced, the Nash sub was eventually cut in half when the Corps of Engineers build a large reservoir lake. Like many branch lines, it struggled along but really couldn't produce the needed traffic to justify its existence and in the 1960s the line was abandoned.
Thanks to Doug Sanders for contributing information about this route.