Shortline
Arkansas & Missouri Railroad
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
The A&M began operations in September of 1986. A&M was founded by an investor group dedicated to creating and maintaining a first-class, profitable operation. That simple, but effective, vision continues to drive the A&M's business practices today. Spun off by the then Burlington Northern Railroad, the A&M has since invested millions of dollars to improve service to customers, enhance public and Company safety, and catalyze economic growth in the 139 mile Monett, MO to Fort Smith, AR corridor. Most rail historians recognize the A&M's tracks as part of the old St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) Railway system built in the 1880's. Some vestiges remain of the Frisco, most notably in the Fayetteville, Van Buren, and Fort Smith passenger depots. And, at various locations, the true rail researcher can decipher the old bones of intersecting railroads or branches long since abandoned, such as the Cassville and Exeter Railroad and the Frisco's Fayetteville to St. Paul branch.
The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad was established in 1986 as a Class III railroad operating a 150 mile route from Monett, Missouri south to Fort Smith, Arkansas. The line was a spin off operation from the former Burlington Northern, leasing this former Frisco route to the shortline until it was purchased entirely in 2001. A&M's corporate headquarters and shops are located in Springdale, Arkansas. Traffic generally consists of grain and feed supplements, paper products, sand, plastic, food products, steel, scrap, lumber, aluminum, and mineral products. Seasonal mixed train and excursion service have been a hallmark of the line. Until 2013 and the purchase of EMD products, the A&M was known in the region for operating a fleet of first and second-generation ALCo locomotives. Interchange is with BNSF, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific.
AM route map / web
Official Guide ad / collection
1910 Official Guide map / collection
1910 Official Guide timetable / collection
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Motive Power
Arkansas & Missouri #20
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #20
to Tennessee Railroad #4
to Southern Railway #4
to Virginia & Maryland #20
to Maryland & Delaware #20
to Arkansas & Missouri #20
RWH
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #22
Saint Louis, Mo / Jun 2018 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #22
to Maryland & Delaware #22
to Arkansas & Missouri #22
to National Museum of Transportation
Jun 2018 / RWH
Saint Louis, Mo / Jun 2018 / RWH
RWH
Saint Louis, Mo / Jun 2018 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #12
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #12
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Aug 1992 / RWH
Aug 1992 / RWH
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
from The Short Line 79
/ Jul 1986 / collection
Arkansas & Missouri #42
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #42
to Penn Central, later Conrail #2031
to Arkansas & Missouri #42
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #44
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #44
to Seaboard Coast Line #1214
to Louisville & Nashville #1353
to Arkansas & Missouri #44
Winslow, Ar / 1991 / collection
Arkansas & Missouri #48
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #48
to Seaboard Coast Line #1227
to Louisville & Nashville #1366
to Arkansas & Missouri #48
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #52
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #52
to Conrail #2073
to Arkansas & Missouri #52
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
from The Short Line 83
/ Feb 1987 / collection
Arkansas & Missouri #58
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #58
to Conrail #2077
to Delaware & Hudson #420
to Arkansas & Missouri #58
Arkansas & Missouri #60
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #60
to Delaware & Hudson #413
to Arkansas & Missouri #60
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #62
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #62
to Delaware & Hudson #416
to Arkansas & Missouri #62
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Dead Line
Louisville & Nashville #1324
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Louisville & Nashville #1324
to Louisville & Nashville #1324
to Arkansas & Missouri, storage
Delaware & Hudson #417
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Delaware & Hudson #417
to Delaware & Hudson #417
to Arkansas & Missouri, storage
Rolling Stock
Arkansas & Missouri #100 "Traveller"
business car / Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #105 "Golden Age"
Bethlehem Steel coach (1927) / Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #170
caboose / Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #216
stone hopper / Springdale, AR / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas & Missouri #414
stone hopper / Springdale, AR / Aug 1992 / RWH
Locations
Springdale
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
shops / Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Click to see these locations plotted on a Google Maps page
Van Buren
Van Buren depot
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Arkansas River bridge
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / JCH
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / JCH
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / JCH
Click to see this location plotted on a Google Maps page
Aug 1992 / RWH
Aug 1992 / RWH
Aug 1992 / RWH
Articles
from The Short Line 87
/ Aug 1987 / collection
from The Short Line 77
/ Mar 1986 / collection
from The Short Line 83
/ Feb 1987 / collection
from The Short Line 80
/ Sep 1986 / collection
from The Short Line 85
/ May 1987 / collection
Video
HawkinsRails thanks Bishop Taylor of Louisiana Rail Productions for sharing his excellent YouTube videos
Louisiana Rail Productions
Lagniappe
Century 420 Conclave
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
Notch 8 Northbound
Van Buren, Ar / Aug 1992 / RWH
I have such wonderful memories of our day on the Arkansas & Missouri. It was the summer after I graduated from high school, and before I started my first semester at Louisiana Tech, my father and I did one of our famous railroad camping trips. This one took us to northwest Louisiana to see the shortlines attached to the Meridian Speedway, then up into the Ozarks of western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Riding mixed train service on the rear of the (at that time) all-Alco A&M surely ranks near the top of the list for that summer excursion. The entire day was an Alco festival, between the local T6 switching, Century 420 lashups pulling freights in both directions, and the mixed train ride from Springdale south to the Arkansas River bridge and back. I'll not soon forget #20, a handsome RS-1 that sparkled even on a drab day thanks to its shiny lacquer paint. A great day on this old Frisco north-south mainline.
Snapshots
Springdale, Ar / Aug 1992 / JCH
Saint Louis, Mo / Jun 2018 / DKT
Links / Sources
- Arkansas & Missouri company website
- Diesel Shop roster for Arkansas & Missouri
- Wikipedia entry for Arkansas & Missouri
- American Rails article for Arkansas & Missouri
- Charles W. McDonald, Diesel Locomotive Rosters - Third Edition (Kalmbach, 1992) 19-20
- Edward A. Lewis, American Shortline Railway Guide - Fifth Edition (Kalmbach, 1996) 29-30