Elizabeth saw a posting on the Arkansas-Boston Mountains Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society's Facebook page about the southbound maiden voyage of our Frisco Caboose 1291 "Exeter" on April 27th, 2024! The caboose will be available for reservations for the Springdale-to-Van Buren and the Van Buren-to-Winslow trip. For more information or to make reservations, please call the office at (479) 725-4017." She did that then the week, called back and we were set for a round trip from Van Buren to Winslow, a route that I rode some years ago but Elizabeth never had.
Since we were going to be in the area, we decided to ride the Branson Scenic Railroad at 2:00 PM and would leave a day earlier than necessary to try to avoid the rain.
4/25/2024 We left Columbia and Elizabeth drove us to the rest area on Interstate 44 then I drove us through the rains to Branson, where we parked in their parking lot and since it was raining, I decided to leave my camera in the car.
Our train arrived at the station.
Branson Scenic Railroad F9PH 98, ex. Maryland Area Rail Commmuter 7183, exx. Baltimore and Ohio 4566, nee Baltimore and Ohio 369, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1951.
We ran south through the curves on a wet day.
Entering Crest Tunnel, a 3,485 foot bore completed in 1903 on this end of the railroad.
Exiting the tunnel.
Our route took us along a stone wall.
A red signal which meant we could only go as far as Cricket.
A view on the return trip. The above pictures taken by my wife, who then drove us to Bob Evans, where I enjoyed a steak. We checked into the Best Western Branson Inn and Conference Center for the night.
4/26/2024 We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and Elizabeth drove us to Springdale where we stopped at the Arkansas and Missouri station to purchase T-shirts then proceeded to Bonzana.
Kansas City Southern wooden caboose 626 built the railroad in 1941.
St. Louis-San Francisco Bonzana station, which was relocated here from Hackett. We went to Fort Smith Trolley Museum but they were not operating today, although we took a few pictures.
Hot Springs Street Railway double-ended double-truck open platform streetcar 50 built by St. Louis Car Company in 1904.
St Louis and San Francisco 2-8-2 4003 built by American Locomotive Company in 1919.
Missouri-Kansas-Texas coach 910 built by American Car and Foundry in 1938 and converted to diner-bunk car 100162.
We checked into the Quality Inn in Van Buren then had dinner with Bart and Sarah Jennings at Colton's Steakhouse and enjoyed an excellent meal with equally good conservations and returned to the inn for the night.
4/27/2024 The two of us started our morning in the usual way before checking out and going to Waffle House for breakfast then drove the short distance to the Arksansas and Missouri station in Van Buren.
A semaphore signal in front of the station.
Good friend Bart Jennings distributing tickets for the excursion train.
My former favorite drink, Coca-Cola. As we had plenty of time before the train arrived, we walked through town and at the Union Pacific tracks, found a westbound green signal.
Union Pacific 7334 West with mid-train DPU 7731 and the rear of this train. We then returned to the station.
Arkansas and Missouri Van Buren station built in 1901.
Civil War Comes To Van Buren history board.
The War Comes Home history board.
Arkansas and Missouri C-420 68, ex. Delaware and Hudson 411, nee Lehigh Valley 411, built by American Locomotive Company in 1964.
St.Louis-San Francisco caboose 1291, which was later Burlington Northern. The railroad retired most cabooses in the mid-1980's and donated 1291, built in the late 1960's to Exeter, along the Monett―Fort Smith route. Small towns that received such donations would find over the ensuing decades that the cabooses were targets of vandalism, and that upkeep was expensive.
Meanwhile, a fellow named Paul Slavens was searching for a former Frisco caboose that he could restore to its glory days. Slavens had grown up a few miles southwest of Tulsa, along Route 66 and the right-of-way of a Frisco mainline; there, trains got into his blood. Among the many that he inspected, 1291 was among the more desirable, because it had a straight body.
Eventually, Exeter decided to sell its caboose to him in 2014, and he transported it back to his Oklahoma shop for rehabilitation. He had also acquired other cabooses, some with more damage, to be used for parts. Employing skills he had learned as a young man, such as welding and automobile restoration, Slavens began a multi-year process. Over the next couple of years, the interior was stripped, the floor and interior panels removed, and some steel and parts were replaced.
Although the car was in BN green, one could detect the former Frisco emblems underneath. An artist friend applied black enamel to trace the semi-hidden lettering and graphics, then a digital art company photographed and measured the various graphics, so it could in turn fashion stencils. Slavens later affixed the stencils and hand-sanded the areas where the graphics were to be applied. This enabled him to re-create the originals, not with decals but with actual white paint.
There were many stages of sandblasting, priming, and painting. What Slavens had initially intended to be the finished color did not yield the desired outcome, so some trial and error was incurred before finding the paint mix to produce the proper reddish-brown color for this caboose series.
Slavens had thought that the best hope for running the caboose on tracks in his area at faster speeds would be for it to find a home on the Arkansas &Missouri. The operating constraints of other nearby short line and museum railroads would only allow slow speeds. The A&M would allow both Slavens and the public to enjoy the restored car.
In 2014, he had met someone at a Joplin model railroad show. Fast-forward to 2021, that person informed him that A&M was seeking a Frisco caboose, Slavens got in Arkansas and Missouri coach 105 "Golden Age" built by Harlan and Hollingsworth in 1927 for the Central Railroad of New Jersey and this car was used in commuter service for years. Arkansas and Missouri diner-lounge 109 built by Budd in 1950 as Southern Pacific coffee shop-lounge 10409 "Pride of Texas". The car became Amtrak 8322 in 1971. Amtrak sold the car to Ohio Central and in 2014, it was acquired by
Arkansas and Missouri. Arkansas and Missouri dome "Silver Feather" built by Budd in 1948 as Western Pacific dome-coach 812. When retired it went into Auto Train service becoming 461. In the 1980's, it served on Texas Southern before turning into
Washington Central 151, and in 1997 it moved to BC Rail and their Pacific Starlight Dinner Train but became "Moonglow". It was sold to Ontorio Northland and renumbered 901. In December 2010 the car was sold to Arkansas and Missouri,
numbered 108 and renamed "Silver Feather". Arkansas and Missouri parlor car "Explorer" built by Pullman Standard in 1955 as Long Island P72 coach 2927. This car went to the Northern Central Railway in Pennsylvania before being moved to the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad in
December 2004. St. Louis-San Fransisco caboose 1291. Elizabeth and the author in the cupola of the caboose which we rode to Winslow. We left Van Buren. Leaving Van Buren behind. Van Buren High School Blakemore Stadium. Van Buren High School Football Stadium. We ran by Smeltzer siding, capable of holding ten cars. Going underneath Lost Beach Road. My loving wife Elizabeth riding in the cupola across from me. Curving to the right. Looking out of the south end of the train. The author in the cupola. The view forward. Frog Bayou was crossed on a 204 foot trestle. Curving to the right where a welded rail was replaced. A look back beyond the train. At Stewart, we stopped for two passengers. Finally we saw the locomotives. A delicious and plentiful lunch was distributed to all passengers. Crussing Frog Bayou on a 520 foot trestle. Another crossing of Frog Bayou, this time on a 482 foot trestle. Frog Bayou on a 521 foot trestle, with a trespasser in the picture. The next crossing of Frog Bayou on a 493 foot trestle. The train continued to curve to the right. The next crossing of Frog Bayou was on a 493 foot trestle. We approached Interstate 49. View from the caboose looking forward. Hurricane Bridge, an 355 long trestle. Frog Bayou, a 290 foot trestle. A look back down the tracks behind us. The train ran through Mountainsburg. Clear Creek. Frog Bayou Bridge, a 537 foot testle. Another right-hand curve. The Howard Fork of Frog Bayou, crossed on a 633 foot trestle. We next ran through Chester. A look back at Howard Fork of Frog Bayou Trestle. We went under Interstate 49. Howard Fork of Frog Bayou Trestle, 653 foot trestle. The trains curves to the right. Going underneath Interstate 49. Interstate 49 waterfall. Yet another curve. Passing through Armanda. Looking back from the cupola. We entered a cut. This portion of the route allowed for excellent views of the locomotives. Trestle 3, 110 feet high and 451 feet long, was built using seven deck girders and is known as Boston Mountains Viaduct 3. Trestle 2, known as Boston Mountains Viaduct 2, is 421 feet long and 110 feet high. The train curved to the right. Trestle 1 stands 125 feet high and 780 feet long and is known as Boston Mountains Viaduct 1. Looking back to Trestle 1. The train curved to the right. We entered the Winslow Tunnel built by the railroad in 1968. In 1981, Morrison Knudson enlarged, commencing construction on September 26, 1981 and completing it on July 27, 1982. It had a length between 1,693 and 1,703 feet before
the tunnel portals were installed. The north end of the the tunnel. The Winslow train shelter. We pulled into the siding. The crossing. The motive power ran around the train. The engines then re-connected to our train. The group picture inside St. Louis-San Francisco caboose 1291, taken in Winslow. On the return trip, Elizabeth and I rode in the bottom portion of the caboose so that others could enjoy the view from the cupola. On the Mainline A&M Railroad Caboose Restoration. Arkansas and Missouri emblem. The Interstate 49 waterfall. Frisco emblem in the caboose. We returned to Van Buren and our excellent, smooth and enjoyable trip in the caboose was over. We said our goodbyes and drove to Fort Smith. Pioneer Railroad GP38-2 3832, ex. Norfolk Southern 5071, nee Southern 5071, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1973. Fort Smith Railway emblem. Fort Smith Railroad GP16 2002, nee Santa Fe 3002, built by Electro Motive Division in 1960. Fort Smith Railroad slug 2256, ex. Larry's Truck and Electric 2256, exx. CSX 2256, nee Gulf Mobile and Ohio 508, built by Electro Motive Division in 1963. Overview of the engine facility. Hot Springs Street Railway double-ended double-truck open platform streetcar 50 built by St. Louis Car Company in 1904. We boarded for a ride but this particular car cannot negotiate the tight turns of the museum's trackage and
therefore can only be operated on the straight portion. The operator gave us two rides up and down that portion, then we thanked him before visiting the gift shop to buy a couple of T-shirts. We then drove to Sallisaw, Oklahoma and went to David and Rachel Cantlin's house where the four of us enjoyed dinner from Braum's and Elizabeth helped David with a couple of items before we drove to their daughter and son-in-law's
(Rebekah and James) house for the night.
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