Some
pictures of the Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad in North
Dardanelle, Arkansas taken on September 24, 2009. This area is about 75
miles west of Little Rock on I-40. Several locomotives and old rolling
stock were in the active yard. Included are (please let me know if my information needs correcting):
1) D&R Headquarters building and grounds in North Dardanelle, AR (postal Russellville) 2) Old wooden baggage/mail car, number unknown 3) DR-15 (SW1, built 4/1949, ex-Galveston Wharves 201) 4) DR-16 (SW1, ex-Missouri Pacific/C&EI) 5) DR-18 (S1) 6) DR 1143 (GMD1-has CN lettering on the black frame; also has "GR-12t" under the 1143 number) 7) DR Boxcar 14045 8) Unknown boxcar with a faded "?K?68 9) UP yellow caboose, no number, built in 1979 10) MP red caboose 13927 11) UP yellow caboose, UP-W754500 (these 3 cabooses are apparently for sale) 12) Evans-Air Pak boxcar
The following taken from Wikipedia, which used as reference Hull,
Clifton E. and Pollard, William A. (1995), The Dardanelle &
Russellville Railroad, University of Central Arkansas Press, Conway,
Arkansas. ISBN 0-944436-18-8:
The Dardanelle and
Russellville Railroad Company (reporting mark DR) is a Class III
short-line railroad headquartered in Russellville, Arkansas. DR
operates a 4.8 mile line in Arkansas from Russellville (where it
interchanges with Union Pacific) to a point beside the Arkansas River,
across from Dardanelle, Arkansas. Current DR traffic generally consists
of pulp board, plastics, and forest products. DR is currently owned by
Arkansas Shortline Railroads, Inc., a short-line railroad holding
company.
History: The line was initially chartered in
1883, and the company reorganized under its present name in 1900. When
originally constructed, the railroad carried cotton and other
agricultural products. The predominant traffic shifted to coal by 1900,
thanks to extensive semi-anthracite coal production along the railroad.
Coal production along the D&R ended by the mid-1950s. At one time,
the railroad owned the Dardanelle Pontoon Bridge and Turnpike Company,
which operated a pontoon bridge (for wagons and later automobiles, not
trains) across the Arkansas River at Dardanelle. The D&R was also a
leader in the trend for railroads to branch into other transportation
modes, owning a highway subsidiary from 1919-1960. The highway
subsidiary, Dardanelle Transfer Company, operated both bus and truck
service over an expanded territory much larger than was served by the
railroad itself."
Here's their address and contact information:
Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad Company 4416 South Arkansas Avenue Russellville, AR 72802-8405
LEFT-The D&R headquarters in North Dardanelle. RIGHT-Old wooden red car. The old wooden baggage- coach combine is former Moscow, Camden and San Augustine and is owned by Richard Grigsby of the Reader Railroad. (Thanks to Everett Lueck and Jimmy Barlow)
DR-16 (SW1, ex-Missouri Pacific/C&EI - bldr #1474, frame # E457-3, probably not stamped that early, nee CEI 99 to CEI 6001 to MP 6001:1 - from Norm Metcalf) LEFT-D&R 16 with two tank cars. RIGHT-DR-18 (S1) LEFT-Looking
to the east from the yard. RIGHT-Looking west. The tracks run 4.8 miles
from here north to a UP connection at Russellville.
LEFT-Two engines across a grassy area. RIGHT-D&R 15 (SW1, built 4/1949, ex-Galveston Wharves 201 - bldr # 8613, frame # E1194-1, nee GWF 201 - from Norm Metcalf) LEFT-DR 1143 (GMD1-has CN lettering on the black frame; also has "GR-12t" under the 1143 number - bldr # A1706, order # C258, blt Feb or Mar 1959, nee CN 1043 to CN 1143] 7) DR Boxcar 14045 - from Norm Metcalf). RIGHT-Both 15 and 1143 together.
LEFT-Bell on D&R 15. RIGHT-Exhaust system on 1143.
LEFT-DR 14045 boxcar.The overpass is Arkansas Highway 7. RIGHT-Unknown boxcar.
Three
cabooses are stored here. The two UP cabooses were built in May 1979.
They told me they might have sold one of the UP cabooses. Doesn't look that this caboose moved too recently!!
LEFT-All I could see from on this caboose was that it was built in 1979. RIGHT-MP caboose 13927 in the line.
This caboose still looks pretty good with the trucks still red.
The second UP caboose. UP-W754500.
RIGHT-That's
the Arkansas River under the Highway 7 bridge. At 1,469 miles long, the
Arkansas River is the sixth longest river in the United States,
the second-longest tributary in the Mississippi-Missouri system, and
the 45th longest river in the world. Its origin is in the Rocky
Mountains in Lake County, Colorado, near Leadville, and its mouth is at
Napoleon, Arkansas on the Mississippi River. It's main origin of water
is glacier/snow melt in the Rockies.
LEFT-Looking west into the D&R's yards. RIGHT-Evans
Air-Pak boxcar uses as one of their offices. The main office is in a
small building to my left. They have several employees including an
office staff.
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