I’m contemplating a trip to Arkansas yet this fall and I was wondering if anyone could offer some must-see locations, operations, etc.
The initial draw was the Alco’s on the Arkansas and Missouri and KCS Rich Mountain.
Any other suggestions? Is the museum at Poplar Bluff worth the miles to get down there?
I’m guessing I’d fly into Little Rock. Would love to take Amtrak from Chicago, but the 0300 arrival at Little Rock isn’t that appealing.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thx
Doublestack:
If you go into Little Rock, Ark and have a rental car; you might enjoy a side trip to Hoxie,Ark. it lays at the north/South BNSF (Thayer Sub), formerly Frisco (Memphis Springfield, Mo line) there former MoPac runs east and west (NLR to Walnut Ridge,Ar.). used to have a lot of traffic and it was very interesting as the diamons are at grade there. Now UP runs one way, Northbound.
You might find this lin to Railroad Forums by William H. Davis,jr odf some interest, about the Hoxie,Ar.area:
http://www.railroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12982
I had a chance several years ago to visit the railroad museum in Poplar Bluff, it is in the old Mo Pac Station, downtown, and was kind of an eclectic mix of a large HO railroad and memorabilia, with some outside displays of railroad cars, It was kind of interesting, but the local fans really made it of interest to me, on our visit there.
Hopefully, some of the Forum members from that area can respond to, and update current potentials for a trip there, and provide some tips for things to see, There used to be a member who lived around the Poplar Bluff area, maybe he will respond to your inquiry.
The Poplar Bluff museum is in the former FRISCO station and is only open on weekends.
The much bigger MoPac (amtrak) station is scheduled to be saved, but it has almost fallen apart.
Poplar Bluff is 178 miles north of N. Little Rock on US 67
You might try Pine Bluff which was the Cotten Belt’s SSW/SP big yard.
Two years ago my family and I took the Arkansas & Missouri railroad from Van Buren to Winslow. We upgraded to the 1st class tickets and had a fantastic time in the palor car. The employees on the train were very knowledgable and full of interesting local facts and history. I can imagine that the Boston Mountains will be very colorful this time of year.
Next to Van Buren is Fort Smith which has a trolley ride. That is located next to the Fort Smith Histroical Museum which is very interesting. It is not that large but you can easily spend several hours in there. Nearby is Judge Parker’s courthouse. He is also known as the hanging judge. There was a movie made of him starring John Wayne.
I hope this helps a little.
things have certainly changed since i lived in little rock for 7 months back in 1950-51, but i went back in 2003 to ride the new trolley line which uses replica double-truck birneys - very nice and i understand the system has since been extended. the steamers used to labor up the grade south of the MP (now amtrak) station; maybe the diesels still do, once they cross the exx-RI main. i believe the dardanelle & russellville, a 4-mile shortline, still operates located abut halfway between little rock and fort smith, and i think the prescott & northwestern, which once operated a weekly mixed train, is still active down between hope and texarkana. -arturo
THANKS! DAVID;
and [#welcome] come aboard!
Thanks for the update on the Poplar Bluff Museum.
May I suggest the Missouri & Northern Arkansas RR between Branson, MO and the Arkansas River valley?
The area is mountainous and scenic. Some back road chasing is necessary, but easy to accomplish with the Rand McNally state map book.
While in Branson, be sure to ride the Branson tourist train: www.bransontrain.com/ You can also stop at the excellent hobby shop, TPA Hobby Center. The model railroad club is next door and often open for visitors.
Also, the Boone County Historical museum in Harrison, Ark. has a fantastic section on the local railroads. It’s a hands-on museum where you can flip through pictures, files, etc. http://www.bchrs.org/
While chasing, swing by Eureka Springs, AR for a ride on the dinner train. http://www.esnarailway.com/
We lived in Arkansas from 11/82 to 9/89; have only been back once to visit, and didn’t do any railfanning then, so some of this may be out of date.
Don’t know how much time you have to spend, but it might be worthwhile to roam around a bit in the Little Rock area, especially if you’re interested in the Rock Island. My understanding is that the Clinton Presidential Library incorporates the old RI passenger station, which is a stop on the trolley route. Interstate 30 toward the south side of LR goes beside or over what was once a RI freight yard; back then the remains of the yard hadn’t been redeveloped, but I don’t know about now. Back then part of the old RI southwest and then west from LR was in use to serve a paper mill, as the Little Rock and Western, using Alcos. If you keep going toward Danville (I think that’s the name of the town), there’s a state highway that parallels the old RI for miles.
Rich Mountain is definitely worth a visit. The Talimena Scenic Trail goes from Mena, AR to Poteau, OK and goes right by Queen Wilhelmina State Park, which has (or had) a lodge built by the KCS. The lodge was named in honor of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, because Dutch investors bought a bunch of bonds while KCS was under construction, without which the RR wouldn’t have survived. There was a locomotive or two displayed at the state park, which were in bad shape back then. Interesting tidbit: the Mena airport is where the Iran-Contra weapons flights originated.
Was interrupted before finishing the previous post.
Someone mentioned the Dardanelle & Russellville RR, which IIRC is a seven-mile shortline between its namesake cities. The last I knew it ran on an as-needed basis, but that was years ago. Russellville is on I-40 an hour or so west of Little Rock. If you go there, go south from I-40 into town, I believe on Arkansas Hwy. 7. I highly recommend Feltner’s, a burger joint across from Arkansas State University; their large order of fries has defeated many a teenage male’s appetite. Almost at the center of town you will cross UP’s former-MoPac line from LR to Coffeyville, KS. Also, turn right on U.S. 64 and go 2-3 blocks to see the headquarters building for the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest; it’s a cool old stone-and-timber building that looks like a hunting lodge.
Don’t know about your other interests of if you would spend time doing other things, but the Ozark-St. Francis Nat’l Forest is north of I-40 (except for one Ranger District), and the Ouachita Nat’l Forest is between I-40 and Hot Springs. They have the usual recreation areas, and up north at Mountain View is a large cavern managed by the Forest Service. There used to be a pretty decent antique auto museum at Petit Jean Mtn., which I believe is a state park, not far off I-40 between LR and Russellville.