Trackside Travels: missouri

Thursday, September 04, 2014

Tri-State Chase on Kansas City Southern

Kansas City Southern; Ginger Blue, Mo.; June 16, 2014

On the same day we chased the Amtrak display train behind Alcos on the Arkansas & Missouri (June 16, 2014), brother Bruce and I headed over to the Kansas City Southern for the afternoon looking for a southbound train to chase. Trains were fairly plentiful, but the hard part about the KCS proved to be finding trains with KCS power -- Union Pacific and BNSF power was predominant. We waited at the grain elevator in Anderson, Mo., looking for a southbound, but the first one had Union Pacific power. The second one had BNSF power, but we chased it south to the bridge over Indian Creek near Ginger Blue.

BNSF Railway (on KCS); Ginger Blue, Mo.; June 16, 2014

Kansas City Southern; Anderson, Mo.; June 14, 2014

The third time was a charm, however, as a southbound appeared with one of KCS's "Retro Belle" (a modified paint scheme used on the old KCS Southern Belle passenger train) SD70ACe units on the point and a second one halfway back in the train as a helper. Of course, the clean one was back in the train; the lead unit was a tad dirty.

The chase started at the elevator in Anderson (right). From there it was a quick drive south (except for the speed trap town of Lanagan) to the turn-off at Ginger Blue, then winding down the hill to Indian Creek at the Eagles Nest Campground. Timing was fortuitous here, as a group of kayakers were just making their way under the bridge as the train crossed (top photo of the post).

We then crossed the state line into Arkansas, setting up for a shot just south of the border at a concrete deck bridge on the outskirts of Sulphur Springs. The sun was starting to swing around, as it was getting late in the day, but it turned out to be a pretty good shot.

Kansas City Southern; Sulphur Springs, Ark.; June 16, 2014

The warm afternoon sun was back on the nose of lead locomotive No. 4037 as it made its way slowly through Gravette. It took so long to get here that we briefly thought we might have missed the train and it was long gone. After several anxious moments it appeared, however.

Kansas City Southern; Gravette, Ark.; June 16, 2014

Northbound rail traffic started to interfere, and while we were waiting at the former KCS F-unit on display in Decatur, Ark., a northbound showed up. By the time it met our train north of town and No. 4037 worked its way south, the shadows were really beginning to creep in.

Kansas City Southern; Decatur, Ark.; June 16, 2014

Getting ahead of the train once more, our next shot was off the overhead bridge at Gentry. While the low sun was making shooting difficult in tight quarters (like at Decatur), it was making for some really sweet light when you had open space to work with and weren't fighting shadows.

Kansas City Southern; Gentry, Ark.; June 16, 2014

We crossed another state line, putting us in Oklahoma as we chased. The shadows were definitely in play as we paused at the large feed mill in Watts. The train crawled through here and came to a stop in the small yard just south of the mill. That should do it for our day.

Kansas City Southern; Watts, Okla.; June 16, 2014

Or so we thought. As we consulted maps to see what the best way was to Van Buren, Ark., so we could grab a motel for the night, the train started moving again. The first few miles to Van Buren stayed with the tracks, so we ducked in at Westville where we found wide open spaces. This allowed for a pan shot of the mid-train helper to finish off a three-state chase.

Kansas City Southern; Westville, Okla.; June 16, 2014

More photos from this day can be found here.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Train Rides In the Ozarks

Silver Dollar City; June 11, 2014

As part of the 2014 convention of the National Railway Historical Society, we had the chance to visit three tourist railroads in the Ozark Mountains of southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas, each one quite different from the others. First up was Silver Dollar City outside Branson, Mo., and its Frisco Silver Dollar Railroad. Silver Dollar City is a family theme park established in 1960, and the steam-powered railroad is one of the oldest rides in the park. The two-foot gauge railroad uses foreign-built steam power such as No. 13 (above), built by Orenstein & Koppel in Germany in 1934.

During the busy summer season two trainsets are in service making the loop through the park. We see No. 43, built by Orestein & Koppel in 1938, as it backs out of the shop to begin its daily duties.

Silver Dollar City; Branson, Mo.; June 11, 2014

The railroad has one U.S.-built locomotive, No. 76, which sits on display near the shop. This diminutive 4-4-2 was built by Davenport in 1922 and operated in New York state before coming to Silver Dollar City. Acquired in 1961, it was the park's first locomotive. It was retired in 1980.

Silver Dollar City; Branson, Mo.; June 11, 2014

The line forms a circle and features impressive grades, some over six per cent. The little locomotives are realy put to the test on the route.

Silver Dollar City; Branson, Mo.; June 11, 2014

Branson Scenic Railway; Branson, Mo.; June 11, 2014

Just a few miles away is a railroad that is an operational opposite of Silver Dollar City. the Branson Scenic Railway is a standard-gauge diesel-powered line that operates out of its namesake town using a streamlined passenger train.

The railroad operates over a freight short line, the Missouri & North Arkansas Railroad. Like many short lines, the M&NA was spun off from a bigger railroad, in this case the Missouri Pacific (later part of Union Pacific) in 1992. Depending on freight needs, the Branson Scenic can operate in either direction out of Branson. It can head north to Galena, but lucky riders will get a trip south over the much more scenic part of the line to Barren Fork Trestle. The decision on whether to go north or south is made usually about 15 minutes before departure, so it's always a guessing game for both the rider and the chaser.

To facilitate moves in both directions, the train operates in pull-pull mode. On the north end is Electro-Motive Division F7 No. 98 (above crossing the White River). It was built in January 1951 as No. 369 for the Baltimore & Ohio, and later operated in commuter service for Maryland Area Commuter Rail (MARC) out of Washington, D.C. Interestingly, it has the nose from a Canadian National F9 after the original nose was damaged in a wreck. On the south end is EMD GP30 No. 99. This is also a former B&O locomotive, built as its 6973 in January 1963.

We finish off our tour of the Ozarks in north Arkansas at Eureka Springs on the appropriately named Eureka Springs & North Arkansas. This tourist operation was establisjed in 1981 on a branch line that was never part of a major rail system. Primary power for the railroad is EMD SW1 No. 4742, built by EMD in 1942.