A bee, a toad and five trains today at Brinkley, Arkansas, Saturday, July 24, 2010.  Plus we had visitors from London, England in town filming a BBC documentary in nearby Cotton Plant, Arkansas about Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a famous gospel singer of the 1930s and 40s (one of her songs was named 'This Train'). They also took some video of the depot in Brinkley and said the special will air on BBC America and PBS around December 2010.
   It was another hot and humid day in Arkansas with temperature near 100, but moisture from a tropical depression named Bonnie was moving into the state from the south, so some rain was expected by later in the weekend.

Included today:
1) UP 4681, 4947, 4034, 8005
2) NS 7631, 2561, 2734
3) CSX 7611
4) Six puppies
5) One frog
6) One yellow and black bumble bee
7) BBC film crew
8) Farmers Market
9) Inside our display of a one-room house

CLICK ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Or, to view all images in a larger format, click on:
http://thundertrain.org/trains-072410-bb.html


LEFT-I used my Panasonic Lumix G2's 1:1 aspect ratio setting for this square picture. Just playing. I was across the tracks on the east side at 7:58 a.m. to use the better lighting. RIGHT-UP 4681 leading a short mixed freight on the Jonesboro Sub at 8:43 a.m.


LEFT-UP 4681 and 4947, 8:43 a.m. RIGHT-Heading for Pine Bluff, crossing US 70 at track speed, 59 mph.


LEFT-Purple Zenia. RIGHT-Black and yellow bumble bee on a Crape Myrtle.


LEFT-Purple and red. RIGHT-The producer of the BBC documentary (left) talks to Museum Director Bill Sayger at 9 a.m. In the background is the regular Saturday morning Farmers Market held at the depot. Lots of watermelon and fresh eggs.


LEFT-Showing the BBC crew the museum grounds. Like I've said in the first paragraph,  they were here doing a BBC documentary on Rosetta Tharpe, a famous gospel singer who grew up in nearby Cotton Plant, AR.  From Internet sources:
Rosetta Tharpe, who was born in 1915 and died in 1973, was a pioneering gospel  singer, songwriter and recording artist who attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and early rock and roll. She became the first great recording star of gospel music in the late 1930s and also became known as the "original soul sister" of recorded music. The BBC crew, along with Brinkley Depot Museum's Director Bill Sayger went to Cotton Plant and visited her childhood church, the Church of God in Christ, where she started singing at age 4. Her family moved to Chicago in the late 1920s. Her songs like "This Train" and "Rock Me", which combined gospel themes with up-tempo arrangements, became smash hits in the 1930s and 40s among audiences with little previous exposure to gospel music. The documentary will air on BBC America and PBS in December 2010.
   After Bill Sayger went with them to Cotton Plant to help with directions, information, etc., I had the depot museum to myself the rest of the day. Turns out we had quite a few visitors.
RIGHT-Another shot of the small Farmer's Market, but it's growing every week. The cars in the background are customers of Low's Bridal Shop, which is located in the former Rusher Hotel, later a Railroad Hotel. Low's is a famous bridal shop with people coming there from all over the south, including Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma. They have bridal gowns ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to over $50,000. Their web site: http://lowsbridal.com/about.htm


LEFT-Someone brought 6 puppies for sale, all from the same litter. RIGHT-They were cute.


LEFT-
My TOAD (not frog) of the day. I almost stepped on it since it blended very well with the platform. Gee...I've been away from the rural country too long!!) RIGHT-UP 4034, 12:27 p.m. with the daily YCHO UPS train.


RIGHT-NS 7631 and 2561, 1:38 p.m.


LEFT-View of the train taken from inside the old Monroe, Arkansas MoPac depot, moved here years ago from Monroe, about 10 miles south. That line has been abandoned. I was showing visitors the inside of these buildings. RIGHT-We also have a one-room house displayed on the depot grounds, also taken from Monroe, AR. Can you imagine living in a one-room house like this with kitchen stove and bed in one room? The restrooms back then were outhouses, usually located next door.


LEFT-UP 8005 passes at 2:47 p.m. The Monroe depot is to the left. RIGHT-NS 2734 and CSX 7611 at 3:21 p.m.

   You may contact me by email - thundertrain@gmail.com - or by using this CONTACT FORM  - If you use the contact form, please be sure to type your email address correctly in the form, otherwise I can't respond. You will also be asked to enter a sequence of letters and numbers to help me try to avoid spammers.  If you want to view more of my train pictures, click on: http://www.trainweather.com/sunday.html
   You can also find me on FACEBOOK. If you want to become Facebook friends, send me a direct message when you send your friend request and tell me who you are. I try to  post these same photos and links on Facebook.