All Aboard! Excursions for the Mind Departing A&M's Station

By Jill M. Rohrbach, travel writer
Arkansas Tourism

SPRINGDALE -- From tunnels to trestles, waving onlookers to fellow passengers, the train's whistle and the clickety-clack of the wheels, the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad's excursion ride is a temporary fountain of youth for the mind and spirit.

At least that's the affect it's having on me as I travel aboard it from Springdale to historic Van Buren and back, a 134-mile trip. This journey is offered Wednesdays and Saturdays from April through September with the addition of a Friday ride October through November. The other excursion is a 70-mile roundtrip from Van Buren to Winslow, offered on the same schedule.

High bluffs, valleys, forestlands, clear-running streams and mountains pass by slowly as the train slips along ribbons of track on its way south. The slight, rhythmic sway of the train's car is soothing, like a mother rocking her child to sleep. In fact, we're just a few miles out of the station and it has already lulled a handful of the 90 passengers into a mid-morning nap. But I'm wide awake, enjoying my coffee, and the soft, plush seats and African Mahogany interior complemented by green stained glass and small gold luggage racks.

Although the diesel locomotives are modern (the A&M's primary function is freight hauling), the excursion cars are restored passenger cars. I'm riding in No. 106, constructed in 1926 for the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The other is No. 104, also known as the Biloxi Blues because it was used in the Neil Simon movie of the same name.

During restoration, it took 150 gallons of commercial paint remover to remove more than 12 layers of old paint. Improvements to the electrical systems and the addition of heating and air conditioning units as well as EPA-required holding tanks were the only major modifications made to the cars.

The A&M railroad extends 150 miles between Monett, Mo. and Fort Smith. The line was originally built by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad between 1880 and 1882 with the intention of reaching San Francisco. Better known as the "Frisco," the line never progressed past Paris, Texas.

In 1980, the Frisco was acquired and merged with other lines to form the Burlington Northern system. Burlington Northern then sold a portion of the track in 1986 to a group of investors who formed the A&M railroad.

A&M runs as many as five trains a day, six or seven days a week. The main commodities hauled are feed grain, sand, steel, lumber, auto parts, coal and poultry products.

As the landscape slides by, I watch for wildlife. Our conductor, John Farrell, a volunteer drawn from the ranks of a local railway historical society, has seen foxes, coyotes, deer, turkeys, beavers, turtles and rabbits. I spot something moving, and, as earlier instructed by Farrell, I call out "Deer on the right," -- the first of many alerts to come.

Wildlife isn't the only element to spot from the train. Along the way are towns and small communities where children -- and adults -- wave to passing trains. I imagine Engineer Tom LeClaire logs more waves than a beauty queen.

From the Springdale station, the train passes through Johnson, Fayetteville, Greenland and West Fork to Winslow. The conductor regales us with train lore and information about the Boston Mountains through which we are passing. He points out that West Fork is named for the west fork of the White River and Winslow is the highest incorporated town in Arkansas. It is named for the 1881 president of the former Frisco railroad, Edward J. Winslow.

The highlight of the trip is passage through the venerable Winslow tunnel, the highest railroad pass between the Rockies and the Appalachians. At an elevation of 1,735 feet, the tunnel runs 1,702 feet through the rock. As we enter it, the light in the car dims then fades to black. Passengers chatter loudly. Looking out the rear window of the train, I see a figure's silhouette against the trailing daylight. My eyes still haven't adjusted to the dark when slowly, light filters back in the windows as the train emerges into the bright sun again.

The tunnel was built in 1882, but enlarged from 1966 to 1968 to accommodate larger, more modern equipment.

Just one mile past the tunnel, the engineer stops the train on the first of three high railroad bridges called trestles. A slight sense of vertigo passes over me as I gaze down from our train's 125-foot-high perch above the valley. During the spring, eagles and red-tailed hawks can be seen soaring above. But I make a mental note to come back in the fall when the leaves will look like a sea reflecting the setting sun.

A distance of one mile also separates trestle two and three; the former is 421 feet long and about 110 feet above the ground, while the latter is 451 feet long and also 110 feet high. Trestle two also marks our descent of a three percent grade, one of the 10 steepest on a standard gauge railroad in the nation.

"If the brakes go out now we would be in Van Buren in about 10 minutes," jokes Farrell. We're still 45 minutes from the city.

According to Farrell, the steep grade benefited train robbers during the 1880s. When the trains slowed during the descent, thieves would drop off a small cliff, known as Schraberg Pass, and onto the train. They then crawled into the cars, robbed the passengers, and jumped off the train where they had staged their horses -- just before trestle three.

As we continue through rugged mountain terrain, my thoughts of such Wild West fiascoes starkly contrast the modern marvel under which we pass three times -- Interstate 540. For the most part, the track is flanked by I-540 and U.S. Scenic Byway 71, routes that are familiar to me.

Yet, the train moves through the heart of Chester, a town I only know from highway signage. Actor Rob Lowe and country singer Randy Travis have been here. They fought a battle at the old hotel at Chester during the shooting of a movie about outlaws Frank and Jesse James.

At Mountainburg, we -- for the first of many times -- cross over Clear Creek, also known as Frog Bayou. As we pass small towns like Rudy and Copp, openings through the trees lining the track provide glimpses of pastures, farms, bales of hay, swimming holes, rope swings, and old homes with screened-in porches. Honeysuckle, Queen Anne's Lace and Brown-Eyed Susans punctuate the view.

As we near Van Buren, we find eighty-nine-year-old Mrs. France, a retired school teacher, standing on her porch waving a white tea towel. LeClaire said she is not only saying hello to the passengers, but also letting the railroad crew know she is okay -- she has broken her hip more than once. France calls the railroad office if she goes out of town so the train crew won't worry and send someone to check on her.

We left the Springdale station at 8 a.m. and arrive in Van Buren at 10:30 a.m. for about a three-hour layover. About six blocks long, Van Buren's Main Street looks much the way it did during the Victorian era, with street lamps and period building facades. Inside the vintage buildings are specialty shops, art galleries and cafes. Among the treasures to be found here are fine art, pottery, dolls, weavings, quilts, wood carvings, soaps, toys, antiques and more antiques. Passengers are welcome to bring back any items -- large or small -- as long as they fit through the train door.

After stretching our legs, filling our stomachs and shopping, we gather back at the train station, talking and chatting as if we are old friends getting reacquainted. I settle back in my seat to enjoy the peaceful ride home and find it's a relaxing massage for my mind.

Suddenly my head is filled with the riddle I recited every time I saw a railroad track as a kid. After all, my grandfather is a retired railroad man. "Car! Car! C-A-R. Can you spell that without any R's?" I smile at the reminder of my youth and wonder when I figured out how to spell that without any R's.

For more information about the excursion rides, contact the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad at 800-687-8600 or visit www.arkansasmissouri-rr.com. For information about Springdale, including dining and overnight accommodations, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 800-972-7261 or visit www.springdale.com. For information about Van Buren, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 800-332-5889 or visit www.vanburen.org.