Missouri & North Arkansas
Railroad:
This railroad having started
in 1899, was the first company approved by the newly formed Arkansas
Railroad Commission.. It acquired the Eureka Springs railway, that in
1882, which ran from Seligman, Mo. to Eureka Springs and in 1901, the
rail was completed to Harrison. In 1906, the line was reorganized and
renamed to Missouri & North Arkansas. In 1903, the rail was extended to
St. Joe and Leslie, later Searcy, and finally, in 1909 it reached
Helena. It was said to be the most expensive railroad built in Arkansas
because of the cost per mile involved in laying tracks over the hills
and mountains. On August 5, 1914, a collision between M&NA passenger
train and Kansas City Southern freight train claimed the lives of 38
people costing the company most of its financial assets. It reorganized
in 1936 as the Missouri & Arkansas Railway only to go out of business in
1946,
Kansas City Southern
Railroad:
This rail was originally
known as the Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Gulf Railroad and was
developed in 1889 by Arthur E. Stilwell. He wanted to run a railroad
connecting Kansas City, Mo. to the Gulf of Mexico. It eventually went
789 miles and ended at Mr. Stilwell’s namesake, Port Arthur. Mr. Still
liked to name towns and develop them with his interests and names. Some
of the towns that he had an interest in were Mena, DeQueen,, Vandervoort,
and the Queen Wilhelmina resort.
St. Louis Southwestern
(Cotton Belt) Railroad:
This rail was commonly known
as the Cotton Belt because it ran through the farm lands of Arkansas to
Texas. It was originally incorporated in the 1880’s as the Texas & St.
Louis Railway, providing service between Clarendon, Jonesboro, and
Texarkana. Trains began running in 1884 but it was forced into
receivership in 1885, when it was re-organized as the St. Louis,
Arkansas & Texas. In 1891 it was re-organized as the St. Louis
Southwestern.
Warren & Ouachita Valley
Railroad:
This line was developed in
Bradley county in 1899 using the route laid 50 years earlier for the
Missouri, Ouachita and Red River Railroad. The plan was to link Warren
and Camden together but only 16 miles from Warren to Banks was
constructed. At Banks the railroad interchanged with traffic from the
Rock Island.
Memphis, Paris & Gulf
Railroad:
In 1905 the paperwork was
filed for a new rail to run from Nashville, Arkansas to Memphis
Tennessee and westward to Paris, Texas. In 1906 the Nashville Lumber
Company acquired the company and construction was started on 26 miles
of track from Nashville to Ashdown, a station on the Kansas City
Southern. Nashville Lumber’s sawmill was the largest customer and in
1908, 15 additional miles of track were laid from Nashville, through
Tokio Junction , to Murfreesboro to new logging camps that were
springing up in that part of the state. Passenger service was also
provided and in 1910, the Nashville Lumber Company merged with the
Grayson McLeod Lumber Company, forming the Memphis, Dallas & Gulf
Railroad. Financial problems after World War I brought foreclosure in
1922. The original route to Ashdown was re-organized as the Graysonia,
Nashville & Ashdown and in 1927, became part of the Ideal Cement Company
transporting cement from Okay, Ar.
Blytheville, Leachville &
Arkansas Southern Railroad:
This rail was owned by the
Chicago Mill & Lumber Company, a huge operation that had mills in
Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana & Mississippi. It owned a box factory and
mill just west of Blytheville providing transportation from the logging
camps to the mill. The tracks extended from Leachville to Rivervale
located on the St. Francis River. Instead of constructing its own
railroad, the company preferred to rent tracks from Jonesboro, Lake City
& Eastern, the Frisco, and the Paragould Southeastern. The company was
acquired by the Cotton Belt in 1928 creating a new short route between
St. Louis and Memphis but passenger trains were never put into use.
Jonesboro, Lake City &
Eastern Railroad:
Formed in 1897 by a group of
Jonesboro residents opened up an isolated region known as “Buffalo
Island” that was located between Leachville, Manila and Big Lake.
Tracks went 87 miles from Jonesboro to Blytheville with a branch from
Barfield to Armorel on the Mississippi River. The company was sold to
the Frisco Railroad in 1924.
Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf
Railroad:
This company was primarily
developed to transport coal from Indian Territory. In 1898 it was
expanded to run to Memphis, Tennessee to new markets that would use the
company’s coal from the mines. After purchasing the Memphis & Little
Rock, the company was able to run between Little Rock, Perry, Danville,
the Oklahoma border. In 1901 it acquired the Hot Springs Railroad
company otherwise known as the Diamond Joe Line in what would now be
considered a “hostile takeover”. Within a few years it became a smaller
part of the Rock Island.
Rock Island Railroad:
The Chicago, Rock Island and
Pacific Railroad began in the 1860’s. It established a presence in
Arkansas when it acquired the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf in 1902. Its
main line in Arkansas extended from Memphis to Little Rock, Booneville,
and on to Oklahoma City;. At one time it also served Fordyce, El Dorado,
Malvern, Camden, Hot Springs, Dardanelle, and Newport letting it compete
with the Missouri Pacific. In November 1940 it unveiled the first
diesel-powered streamlined train called the Choctaw Rocket.
Bentonville Rail Line:
Formed by a group of citizens
from Benton County in the early 1880s, it ran from Bentonville
connecting with the Frisco at Rogers. Their actions saved Bentonville
from becoming a “ghost town” and almost certain death to the community.
In 1898 it was acquired by the Arkansas & Oklahoma Railway and the track
was extended into Indian Territory. It was later purchased by the
Frisco.
Kansas City, Fort Scott
and Memphis Railroad:
This railroad extended to
Fulton* in 1883 and was later incorporated by the St. Louis and the San
Francisco lines.
St. Louis and San
Francisco (Frisco) Railroad:
Established in 1853, to
develop a track running west to San Francisco, running through Arkansas,
it was subject to several reorganizations. It was responsible for the
Winslow Tunnel through the Boston Mountains as well as the Van Buren
Rail Bridge.
Arkansas Midland
Railroad:
Originally established in
n1871 as the Arkansas Central Railroad, built between Helena and
Clarendon (47 miles) it was forced into receivership in 1878 and
re-organized as the Arkansas Midland. In 1901 it was purchased by Jay
Gould to run as a subsidiary of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and
Southern Line.
Iron Mountain Railroad:
In 1874, the following
companies consolidated to form the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, Southern
Railway – St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railroad, Cairo & Fulton Railroad,
Cairo, Arkansas, & Texas Railroad Company. In 1917, it was incorporated
with the Missouri Pacific.
Missouri Pacific
Railroad:
In 1917, the Missouri Pacific
acquired the Iron Mountain rail, became “Mopac” and was the largest and
most important railroad in the state. In 1927, Missouri Pacific
operated 1,810 miles of track in Arkansas, which was more than 35
percent of the total in the State of Arkansas.
Sources:
Arkansas Historic
Preservation Program 2000 – 2007, Arkansas Railroads – Past & Present.
Arkansas
Democrat - 1936 Special Edition, History of Arkansas Transportation
A letter from Jim G (October 2011):
"Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis
Railroad:
This railroad extended to Fulton in 1883 and
was later incorporated by the St. Louis and the San Francisco
lines."
Do you actually mean "Fulton COUNTY" (north Ark) instead of the town
of Fulton (far SW Ark)? I think the KCFS&M ran through Ark on a
route from Springfield MO to Jonesboro to Memphis TN (currently part
of the BNSF Rwy), making a route through the town of Fulton
unlikely.
thank you, Jim G.
Editor's note: This is a transcription of an article wrote in 1936.
It may or may not be referring to Fulton town or Fulton County.
