Cool Chromes -- 20 Years Ago On the Arkansas & Missouri

Arkansas & Missouri; Springdale, Ark.; April 9, 1993

The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, located in the northwest corner of Arkansas, has long been a railfan favorite. Most of the excitement comes from the fact that -- until recently -- the railroad only operated locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company. While many photographers have made many visits to the A&M, I have only spent one day on the line, and that was back in 1993. In this edition of Cool Chromes we'll chase a southbound train from the railroad's headquarters in Springdale down to Van Buren, starting with the train coming out of Springdale (above).

The power on the train on this day is three Alco C420 diesels -- Nos. 60, 50 and 62. We next catch the train near Chester, where you can apparently rent a backhoe.

Arkansas & Missouri; Chester, Ark.; April 9, 1993

Winslow Tunnel is the scenic highlight of the line, but I was faced with a decision -- the shot of a train emerging from the south end of the tunnel is a long walk-in shot and would mean forsaking most of the chase. I opted for a more aggressive chase to catch the train multiple times, and thus settled for this shot taken from the north portal of the tunnel as the train is about to enter.

Arkansas & Missouri; Winslow, Ark.; April 9, 1993

I did catch the train a few more times than what is pictured here. The train arrived in Van Buren and I headed across the Arkansas River where I shot Alco T6 No. 12 working. I will be returning to the A&M in June, as it is the host railroad for most of the activities at this year's convention of the National Railway Historical Society. While the line is no longer 100 percent Alco powered (some diesels from General Motors' Electro-Motive Division have joined the roster), there are still plenty of the classics running and it should be a great event!

Arkansas & Missouri; Fort Smith, Ark.; April 9, 1993

Cool Chromes

Author's Note: We're adding a couple of new recurring topics to the blog. In addition to the trip travelogues, we'll be doing a weekly (or so) review of random slides I recently picked to scan (such as below). I shot slides from the mid-1970s until May 2006, so the Cool Chromes will come from that timeframe. In addition, we'll be doing a quick-hit review of one shot from a recent trip where we'll discuss technique, bad or good luck, or just the story behind the shot. Now on to this week's Cool Chromes.

Coming off the scanner this week we have the following four shots. Let's start off with Alcos on the Arkansas & Missouri as we see a trio of C420s lead a train out of Springdale, Ark., crossing over U.S. 71 on April 9, 1993.

Arkansas & Missouri; Springdale, Ark.;

Next up, we're off to Soledad Canyon in southern California where a Metrolink F59PH pushes a westbound commuter train from Lancaster towards Los Angeles near Canyon Country in April 2002.

Metrolink; Soledad Canyon, Calif.;

I remember riding the famed Brill "bullet" cars on SEPTA's ex-Philadelphia & Western between Upper Darby and Norristown. The bullets were all retired by 1990, with many scattered to museums. It was a lot of fun to encounter bullet No. 205 at the Rockhill Trolley Museum and do a night run in June 2003. The bullets were capable of 100-m.p.h. running, and routinely did 80 m.p.h. or more in regular service.

Rockhill Trolley Museum; Rockhill Furnace, Penn.;

And, finally, let's finish with MLW (Montreal Locomotive Works, the Canadian equivalent of Alco) power on the isolated Cartier Railway in Port Cartier, Quebec. A trio of M636s runs around their train at the processing plant at the south end of the line near Port Cartier in September 2001. Located eight hours northeast of Quebec City and with no rail connection to the rest of the world, the railroad is one of the most isolated in North America; it serves Quebec Cartier Mining (now Arcelor Mittal) with a 260-mile railroad from the mines at Mont Wright to the processor.

Quebec Cartier Mining; Port Cartier, Quebec;

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