We arose at the Holiday Inn in Springdale, Arkansas and after our Internet duties, went to the Tiffany Grille and had the buffet breakfast. This was the first day of the Heritage Rail Alliance Conference and Elizabeth and I were representing the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway; Elizabeth is the Director of Communications.
Everyone then waited for the bus to take us to the Arkansas and Missouri station and the two of us sat in the lower level of the dome car and waited for the 9:00 AM departure time. The two cars at the rear of the regular excursion train that were available for conference attendees were dome car 108 "Silver Feather" (ex. Ontario Northland 901, exx. British Columbia Railway Pacific Starlight Dinner Train "Moonglow" 1997, exxx. Washington Central 151, exxxx. Texas Southern, exxxxx. Auto Train 461, nee Western Pacific dome-coach 812 built by Budd Company in 1948) and parlour car 107 "Explorer" (ex. Northern Central Railway, nee Long Island P72 coach 2927 built by Pullman Standard in 1955).
A new feature since our last visit in September 2022 was this planter across from the station.
The view from the upper level of the dome car, after which I went to the back platform of the "Explorer".
Rolled hay.
Scenery on a beautiful autumn morning. I returned to my seat and waited about ten minutes before going back to the rear platform.
We rounded a curve.
Robinson's Branch bridge at MP 362.0.
MP 364.5.
Another curve.
The front of the train.
One of the cliffs in the Boston Mountains.
We continued to climb until we reached the switch for the Winslow siding.
We took the Winslow siding to allow a freight train to run on the main.
Our conductor threw the switch for siding then reversed to the mainline.
The northbound Arkansas and Missouri freight, led by SD70ACe 71 and 72 and T6 18, cleared.
We would reverse out onto the mainline where the switch was thrown and we continued toward Van Buren.
We were now out on the mainline and near Winslow.
The south switch at Winslow.
A cave before we entered the north portal of Winslow Tunnel at MP 374.9.
Inside the 1,693 foot long Winslow Tunnel built between 1881 and 1882, and enlarged in 1968 by Morrison Knudsen.
The south portal at MP 375.3.
A speed sign for 20 miles an hour.
We went through the "S" curve.
A right-handed curve.
Travelling down straight track.
Trestle 1, at MP 376.5, stands 125 feet high and is 780 feet long. The Burlington Northern knew the trestle as Boston Mountain Viaduct #1. It is made up of a series of 13 deck plate girder spans. There are reports that these three trestles were originally timber but other sources say they were steel when built in 1882. The railroad here is 1,566 feet above sea leel and is dropping fast.
A left-handed curve.
Trestle 2, at MP 377.3, stands 421 feet long and 110 feet high, and is known as Boston Mountain Viaduct #2. It consists of seven deck plate girder spans. To the east is Gaylor Mountain, elevation of 2,012 feet.
A curve to the right and another speed sign for 20 miles an hour.
This curve is at MP 378.0.
Trestle 3, at MP 378.2, stands 110 feet long and 451 feet high. Built using seven deck girder spans, it was known as Boston Mountain Viaduct #3 and is at an elevation of 1,396 feet.
At MP 378.7 is the site of a mass grave reportedly for railroad construction workers who died of smallpox. In early 1882, an outbreak of smallpox swept through the tunnel workforce of 300 men and caused dozen of deaths. Untreated smallpox has a mortality rate of up to thirty percent. After a spring of smallpox, the warmer weather of summer brought with it malaria. Black labourers, working on the south end of the tunnel, were buried in four graveyards, one called the "African Center." Meanwhile, whites worked on the north end of the tunnel and were buried in whites-only graveyard.
Taking a right hand curve.
At MP 380.0, we came upon Schaberg Rock Cut, less than a mile north of Schaberg.
Speed sign 25 miles an hour.
Rolling down a piece of straight track.
Howard Fork of the Frog Bayou, also known as Clear Creek, located at MP 383.9.
Beard and Lady Inn in Chester and next to it, the Chester post office which opened in 1883 with the arrival of the railroad.
Used railroad ties as we departed Chester at MP 386.1.
Passing a former derailment site.
At MP 387.0 is Interstate 49, built in the 1990's to connect Fort Smith with the booming Northwest Arkansas.
Howard Fork of the Frog Bayou at MP 387.1, which we crossed on a 633 foot long bridge.
Four-tenths of a mile later, our second crossing, this time on a 220 foot long bridge made up of deck plate girder spans with timber ballsat deck spans on each approach.
At MP 388.0, we crossed Howard Fork of Frog Bayou again on a 438 feet long bridge, which has timber ballast deck approaches with deck plate girder spans directly over the stream.
Another piece of tangent track.
The Frog Bayou Bridge, at MP 388.8, is a 537 foot long span consisting of a number of span types including a through plate girder, a through pin connected truss, I-beam spans and a series of open deck pile trestle spans. While the construction date leads to the possibility that it may have been moved here from another location, the build date of 1898 would make this the oldest truss bridge in Crawford County still open. During the 1960's, the bridge's speed and tonnage was restricted by the Frisco, the only one on the line beside the Arkansas River bridge in Van Buren.
At MP 394.7, a 343 foot bridge traverses Frog Bayou, made up of three deck plate girder and one through pony plate girder span, as well as open deck pile trestle spans on the south approach. Highway 282 also passes under this bridge. During the early 1930's, there was a station here named Amrita, also known as Grotto.
We crossed this small trestle bridge at MP 391.2.
More tangent track.
The Howard Fork of Frog Bayou was crossed yet again on this 290 foot long bridge at MP 391.1.
Our train on tangent track.
A home out to the west, after which we passed through Mountainburg.
A barn on the right.
Clear Creek Overflow, at MP 395.6, on a 159 foot bridge consisting of several deck plate girder spans.
We ran to the next highway bridge.
The last overhead crossing of Interstate 49.
Interstate 49 off in the distance.
At MP 394.7, the 343 foot long Frog Bayou bridge, made up of three deck plate girder and one through pony plate girder span, as well as open deck pile trestle spans on the south approach.
We took a sweeping curve.
Crossing Frog Bayou on a 521 foot long trestle at MP 396.4. It is located at 610 feet above sea level. At this location, a southbound train is actually heading northwest.
We took the curve then ran down this long straight track.
We ran through Stewart at MP 398.2. Stewart was named for the Stewart family that farmed this area. There was a spur here for only a few years around 1910. A Frisco station list shows a station here from 1905 to 1917.
At MP 398.5, this 482 foot bridge crosses Frog Bayou.
Tangent track is prevalent on the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad.
The Caterpilar tractor used for track maintenance.
Rounding a curve before we reached Rudy at MP 401.1, which was bamed for local landowner George Rudy. The area was also known as Kenton. Rudy was a shipping point for area fruits and vegetables, as well as railroad ties and cedar fence posts.
Onto another segment of straight track.
We crossed Frog Bayou yet another time.
Passing MP 399.0.
One-tenth of a mile later, Frog Bayou bridge with ballast deck timer spans on the south approach as well as a number of through plate and deck plate girder spans; its total length is 520 feet.
Rolled hay in the field.
Frog Bayou.
Another piece of straight track.
Frog Bayou ran to our west.
At MP 403.6 is Meadows, where a spur was located before World War II and is often known as Meadows Switch. Frisco records indicate that Meadows was first recognized as a station in 1901 and it closed in 1947, the same year that a number of other Frisco stations were closed.
Curving to the right.
MP 404.0 brought the final crossing of Frog Bayou on a bridge that is 204 feet long using several deck plate girder spans.
More stacks of old ties before we passed underneath Interstate 40.
MP 405.1 near Furry.
We crossed several streets before entering Van Buren. Elizabeth was enjoying herself in the dome car and chatting with several people from railway museums around the country, in particular three members of ExpoRail in Delson, Quebec, two of whom are on the HRA-Canada board.
We arrived at Van Buren station and detrained. I walked over to the Vault Grill and had a hot dog before meeting Elizabeth on the bus for the rest of the day's activities, but alas, that is another story.
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