# New Hobby - Discovering Old Abandoned Railroad Lines



## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

My wife Marilyn and I have discovered a new hobby (new to us anyway) - that of finding and following where long discontinued railroads ran through Arkansas. This is something that anyone can do wherever they live.

I think it is pretty much accepted that many if not most towns and cities had their beginning, lived and often died based on whether a railroad (or riverboat) decided to put a railroad station (or embark freight) somewhere. With that in mind I have found it strange that there is no evidence of a railroad ever having been run through the vast majority of cities and towns in Arkansas and I am sure that the same is true elsewhere.

After finding a book at the library about railroads in Arkansas my wife and I decided on a whim yesterday to use an old map in the book and try to find evidence of the Missouri and Arkansas Railroad that was abandoned in 1949. I became interested in the Missouri and Arkansas Railroad because it surprised me to find that it had run through many of the towns where I had been unable to find evidence of a railroad when I had driven through them over the years.

Using the map from the book and some topographic maps we were able to find several places where there had been tracks at one time - evidenced by long stretches of flat graded apparent roadbed going through the woods and finally confirmed by an old abandoned steel railroad bridge.

Anyway this is not so much about our trip or even the future trips we plan but rather that this could be interesting and fun for anyone with an interest in railroading plus it can give some great ideas on potential models for a garden railway.

Fortunately for us large parts of Arkansas are forested and hilly with a few mountains thrown in so we are focusing our search where the long railroad grades and river crossings are most likely to be found and working back from there.

There is a sort of appreciation about a railroad that apparently did much to build the State of Arkansas but that has been abandoned for 60 years yet has left traces of its existence for us to find. One one section we found that the railroad bed had become a dirt/gravel county road and part of another section became an under layer of a paved state road.

If anyone else has been doing this and has any suggestions about how to improve our successes I would like to hear them and for others this just may be something you may wish to try.

Jerry


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## rhyman (Apr 19, 2009)

Jerry, 
I share your interest in researching old abandoned railroads. Here is a link to an article I did on the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad which ran across Arkansas. 

http://okng.org/clinics/index.htm 

Go to the site and click on "Bob Hyman". Then select the article from the list. It is a PDF file so you can download it and print out a hardcopy if you want.


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

All I have to do is walk a short distance from my place and I'll be on the old ROW for the Pasadena Altadena RR, one of the earliest in SoCal. 

http://www.mraltadena.com/altadena%...ta_rr.html 

I have traced the old ROW as best I can, its still evident in many property lines around here, one section of remnant property is right along the 210 Fwy at Lincoln Blvd offramp. BTW for any of you familiar with the very well known Mexican resturant "Mijares" here in Pasadena, if you ever sat on the west patio under the gazebo, your on the ROW, Theres a reason that patio is angled, the ROW ran right behind the family resturant. Its very evident also across the street behind the Vons market where theres a very obvious diagonal angle in the properties back there. Google Earth makes it easy to follow the remants.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

I LOVE doing this! 
there are all kinds of old abandoned lines here in Western NY.. 
Im planning to trace the entire route of the DL&W in NY state! (Binghamton to Buffalo) 
and make a webpage about it..only about 25% of the route still has active rail on it..the rest is long abandoned. 

here are some of my similar "tours": 

http://www.frontiernet.net/~scottyc...tours.html

Scot


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## Al McEvoy (Jan 3, 2008)

Good topic, Jerry. 
Here in Maryland, as is true over much of the east coast, urban sprawl has frequently covered over most of the abandoned ROWs in metropolitan areas. Examples include as the Washington Baltimore & Annapolis (WB&A) RR, Maryland & Pennsylvania RR (Ma & Pa), the Georgetown Branch of the Baltimore & Ohio RR (west of Wash DC) and the Claremont Branch of the B&O (southwest Baltimore), and many others. Fortunately others before us have researched these and documented their ROWs in books such as the one you discovered for Arkansas. 

Along with the abandoned ROWs for now-defunct railways, there are also abandoned alignments for existing railroads. The B&O (now CSX) "Old Main Line" has an intriguing original alignment that included several inclined planes to get over the 900 ft. high hill at Mt. Airy, Md. from it's beginnings in southwest Baltimore. While the Old Main Line still exists today (and has a dozen or more trains running over it daily), one can do quite a bit of exploring in seeking out the original alignment that included sharper curves and a few tunnels that are no longer used. In the woods where the alignment used to be, one can still find 170+ year old stone arch bridges over streams and culverts that once carried the tracks for the early B&O. But it takes sone hiking...


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I have been looking for roundhouses and turntables (or evidence of them) on Google Earth and I think I have gotten pretty good at detecting evidence of abandoned tracks.

Most cities have streets that are layed out orthogonally... North/South and East/West... except where they follow a water feature or a Railroad. If there is a street that runs at a very odd angle compared to the majority of the streets and there is no river or stream then it is a good chance that it paralleled a RR. Even if there is also a waterway, RR's often followed them, too.

Often the street will also have a name like "Railroad St."! You'd be surprised how many cities and towns have a Railroad Street, or Avenue, Boulevard or Lane, etc. Some are named after the RR company or the company president at the time it was built (or even his wife's name!) that ran through the area.

Also, many times buildings were built to have one wall parallel to the tracks, even of the other walls were parallel to the orthogonal streets, so if there is an odd shaped building or one that is not square with the city streets, there is a good chance there was a track next to it.

I have even found a roundhouse by seeing a pie shaped building. There is absolutely NO evidence of any rail lines anywhere near where it is. I checked on what business is in the building and found that the name is "The Roundhouse Bar" I did some investigation and understand that most people in the area say that it is the remains of a small 3 or 4 stall roundhouse.

When trying to follow the tracks out of a city it can often be followed by observing tree lines along the old RR Right-Of-Way. These get interrupted by farmers that have reclaimed the land to connect crop fields together, but if I look around, following the lay of the land or making a guess as to where the line was going (next city in the direction it was headed) the tree line can be picked up again and followed further. I have been fooled quite a few times, but not often enough to give up on the strategy. Looking for abandoned bridge abutments and piers in waterways also helps to pick out and further follow the old ROW.


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## armorsmith (Jun 1, 2008)

Another great way to find the old rail lines is to use the USGS maps. I followed and eventually located all the remnants of the Knoxville, Sevierville and Easters Ry in east Tennessee that way. The only part I was not able to locate was the engine facilities in Sevierville, they had be long built over by the city. 

Bob c.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry: I have several Railroad Atlas that I use for tracking RRs. When I was still working by talking to the various RR personnel in the areas I did inspections provided me with info also on abandon RR locations. One interesting RR that built out of Alpine TX that crossed OKL to the KS line and was known as the Orient RR. They built a lot of ROW in KS but never laid any track. It followed much of the ATSF going to KCMO. 

Another source is if you can find a old Depot that has been turned into a museum it should contain a bunch of info. I did just that this summer on my trip to the UP of Michigan and traced my old RR to Ironwood. . Found the restored depot and had tons of info and even found a 1894 timetable that they let me take pics of. 


When I was still working I traced a lot of abandon RRs. I still do but not as much as I use to. Back in 1978 Arkansas had 3522 miles of RR of course that has dwindled down since then so you should have a lot of RRs to find. Good hunting and enjoy. Later RJD


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry et al- 

It can be a VERY fun hobby. We have done a lot of this (friends and family) in a few states. Everything from driving it to hiking bits of them (with property owner permission) and the (love it or hate it) bike trails. 

The older DeLorme books were good, but the new ones are not so hot. 7.5 USGS quads are OK, but the 15 min (good luck) ones were better. There are some states where these are online, but not many. 

The SPV atlases out of the UK are nice, but without other refereces and a small RF scale, a bit of a pain in the ass. A few interesting errors also, wiich they ask for comment on, but then never fix.... 

Track charts and time tables help also. 

Also, it is amazing what does remain intact. For example the NC&StL Lebanon (TN) branch was lifted in the early 1930s, but much of it still can be seen including in urban areas such as Donelson and Hermitage, on out to Lebanon proper. 

But a lot of it comes to having a trained eye. There are two areas I have driven through here in TN numerous times and thought "gee, it looks like a railroad could have run here" and sure enough, they were there, one narrow gauge and the other standard. 

Also gotta comment on the street names above, sometimes you get a big help. For example, guess what was near the sign for "OR&W Tunnel Road"? 

But often not so much. 

The Europeans seem to have more organized info on this, here is a good site on abandoned NG lines, most in Germany: 

http://www.stillgelegt.de/


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## Tom Lapointe (Jan 2, 2008)

*Jerry, exploring abandoned railroads can be a VERY addictive *







*facet of the hobby!*

- *I know a good segment of the railfan population HATES *







*"rail trails" (bike trail conversions of old railroad roadbeds), but that's what got me into *







*that segment of the hobby!*

*I'm a bit of an excercise freak, try to swim at least 3 miles a week (I used to do 8!) down the local gym, & bike @ 30 miles a week (or more) when the weather allows. Most of my biking is on local "rail trails", in my immediate area, virtually all ex- New Haven RR branchlines. *







*By far, I do most of my riding on Rhode Island's popular "East Bay Bike Trail", originally built as the "Providence, Warren & Bristol Railroad". I actually did some research & wrote up an article on if for the Abandonedrails.com website; here's my article on it: The Providence, Warren & Bristol RR . (The recent pictures were added by another contributor, check back a bit & you'll see some of the one's I took). Of course, it helps to have a decent bike: * 











*(My $2000, 27-speed Cannondale Recumbent - the bike equivalent of a luxury car!)*









Although I primarily ride the East Bay trail because it's relatively close to where I live, other old rail lines I've ridden include the Cape Cod Rail Trail (the former New Haven roadbed from South Dennis to Wellfleet, MA, with a branch to Chatham - which still has it's old station as a railroad museum!







), & the former Hartford, Providence & Fishkill roadbed (also a Rhode Island rail trail). Riding these trails got me interested in New Haven RR history more than I had in the past (although local, I originally wasn't that interested in the New Haven since they dieselized relatively early







- & I'm a steam buff!







).

While many railfans are horrified







at the thought of rail beds being converted to bike trails, there are *GOOD aspects to rail-trail *







conversions as well!

*Bridges, tunnels, & frequently line-side structures are often preserved in the process. *







(The old Hartford, Providence, & Fishkill line goes over *several spectacular old railroad bridges *







) Even a couple of *turnouts were carefully preserved *







on that trail, with the bike path detouring around them! Most of these lines were so *overgrown *







as to be virtually invisible in the past; now it's possible to see what the views might have been riding as a crew member or passenger over them again.









I'll also put in a good word for *Google Earth *as well; sit down with a railroad map beside your PC & try to find the old right-of-ways!
















*Tom*


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## work4fil (Jan 4, 2008)

Back in my youth, when an out of work actor was President, my job was essentially following old railroad grades for reconstructing roads. I was working as a logging engineer and was responsible for accessing areas of second growth redwood that was to be harvested. I enjoyed following the railroad grades because the ground was favorable and the curves plenty gentle. It made for easy earth work calculations back in the office too. These graes were all abandoned anywhere from 50 to 100 years earlier. The bonus for me was I found lots of artifacts, which I brought home. The down side was my wife was no where near as excited with my finds as I was. There may be a spike somewhere in my stuff from those days, plus a 100 year old coffee mug I found near a spar tree. Most of all I miss my youth, not that I am bitter.

My son has followed my original career path. He finds abandoned grades in his work as a forester. His ethusiasm is not as high as mine in finding these old grades. He finds his pleasure in discovering antlers. Go figure.

So I applaud those who continue to trek on the lines of old. I say keep on tracking.


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Forgot about google earth, I have followed some abandoned lines in the Czech Republic, it is amazing how much you can actually track down. 

Nice recumbent bike, I don't see many often. I am a small wheel bike enthusiast myself. 

I think much of the 'rails to trails' problem is the lobbying behind it. There have been some battles over this, most recently one that resulted some actual physical altercations in central Ohio: 

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/liv...ml?sid=101 

And another case where the land owner won, I know this plot of land, my father's landloard of a house he rented in the 1960s owned the property until she died about 25+ years ago (sorry for the lawyer page, but the _Columbus Deathpatch_ has removed the article from their pages apparently): 

http://www.nationaleminentdomain.co...of-a-mile/


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## RioShay (Feb 26, 2009)

Same for us! we get out in a group and explore old R/R sites and mines. we've found some amazing old abandoned sites and eqipment. one of the more interesting has been an area where Gen. Patton trained his tank crews out in the arizona desert. there are many military campsites that are still have the old tent and walkways lined with rocks and army insignias, and we routinely find belts of 50cal ammo, we'll ride way up to the top of mtns and find tunnels with the ore car tracks and old mining eqipment. we like to take our metal detector because one day we're hoping to find a Shay buried under the sand!


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## barnmichael (Jan 2, 2008)

I used to do a fair amount of wandering old rail lines when I traveled a lot and was much younger and could walk farther. I remember following an old line up in Oregon. Way out in the middle of nowhere in the sticks was a magnificent trestle. It crossed a fairly deep ravine and must have been 300-400 feet long. Absolutely beautiful. That was about 30 years ago. I have since never been able to remember exactly where it was, nor can I find the two rolls of pictures I took (rats). 

One little town I went through had all the crossings asphalted over, the track obviously not used. There was sort of a road alongside the track and I had time, so I followed it, thank goodness for four-wheel drive and high ground clearance. After about 20 miles, it opened up into huge flat fields. There was a switch, but the spur track was all pulled up for about half a mile. Then I found boxcars on the siding! There was a string of several dozen boxcars, some flatcars, some tankers. Some of the flats had large boxes chained down. Banging some of the tanks with a rock it seemed like some were not empty. Some of the boxcars even had freight in them. After about a mile, the siding tracks were torn up and a half mile or so was a switch the siding once connected to. From the looks of things, those cars had to have been there at least several years. I followed the "main" another 10 miles or so to another little town. I did get some funny looks coming out of the woods along the track. The crossings were asphalted over in that town, also. Looked like they hadn't been used in a long time. 

Over the years, I've seen several cases of a siding with a long string of cars and the track torn up at both ends. 

Unfortunately, now that I am old, but still working for a living, there is no time for such frivolity. 

But, it sure is fun when you get the chance. Gotta get one of those ATVs, though. Just can't walk like I used to.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, 
I am a member of the Wellsville, Addison & Galeton RR Yahoo group and they have organized some "informal" walks/hikes along the old right of way from time to time. I've not been able thus far to attend any of them and they have held two mini conventions as well one this past summer. Again not good timing for me as I'm usually out of state when they are held but the information adn photos posted to the group are wonderful as I follow them virtually from my computer. I scored at an antique book sale years ago and 1950's vintage railroad atlas put out by Rand McNally i believe? Between that and Google and other earth mapping websites I've traced virtually a lot of the old abandoned rail lines. Some well over 100 years old. 
A local trail does in fact travel on old road bed from one of those older narrow gauge railroads but is billed as a river walk since it parralells the Allegany River for at least a mile. Of course I road on it as a kid not knowing that and well before they paved it for public use. 

Chas


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I would like to thank EVERYONE for the great responses. Please pardon me for not responding to the posts individually because I think it would end up interrupting the flow of information from the topic. Additionally it is going to take me awhile to read through and follow up on the many links posted but I do intend to read everything - my wife is also intending to read through the posts.

I'm still working through the great link that Bob Hyman posted.

Regards,

Jerry


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By vsmith on 12 Oct 2009 11:06 AM 
All I have to do is walk a short distance from my place and I'll be on the old ROW for the Pasadena Altadena RR, one of the earliest in SoCal. 

http://www.mraltadena.com/altadena%...ta_rr.html 

I have traced the old ROW as best I can, its still evident in many property lines around here, one section of remnant property is right along the 210 Fwy at Lincoln Blvd offramp. BTW for any of you familiar with the very well known Mexican resturant "Mijares" here in Pasadena, if you ever sat on the west patio under the gazebo, your on the ROW, Theres a reason that patio is angled, the ROW ran right behind the family resturant. Its very evident also across the street behind the Vons market where theres a very obvious diagonal angle in the properties back there. Google Earth makes it easy to follow the remnants. 
Google-Earth is one of the best resources there is for tracing old railroad right-of-ways. I have used it extensively to locate likely R-O-Ws and railroad whistle stops / depots / section houses. Using old railroad maps as references I can often pinpoint exact or at least likely locations. I use this when planning my own historically-based layouts since every detail I can establish is important to me to decide _if_ I am going to use it, _how_ I am going to use it or if I am going to skip it as unimportant to the overall concept. Most recently, I used a combination of Google-Earth and various historic maps to find three specific locations I may choose to use on my newest layout extension.


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## Britstrains (Feb 24, 2008)

I love to do this!!! I have even found an old branch of the PRR that ran right near me!!
Brittany


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

I spent the better part of last Saturday afternoon seeking out traces of the old Tuscarora Railroad grade between Neelyton and Burnt Cabins. Even after 100+ years of never having rails laid on it and "agricultural restructuring" in certain places, there's a good amount left to see--if you know what you're looking at. I've still got to do the photos, and I'll post some of what we found here. Next step is to take the maps that I have, and compare them to Google Earth images to try to fill in some of the gaps. The neat thing is that I learned the TRR graded even further south than Burnt Cabins, all the way down to McConnelsburg, around 20 or so miles further. Even more fodder for developing the mythology of the "recreated" TRR I'm running in the back yard. 

Later, 

K


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry,

This is something I do when I am traveling as well. I also try and track railroad lines when I am traveling by air! Gets kinda hard to see what I am looking at when I'm at 30,000 ft, but still kind of fun! I remember reading about "The Railroad Man" in the old Outdoor Railroader magazine and I think that's what got me at least somewhat interested in tracking old rail lines!

Later,

Mark


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By markoles on 16 Oct 2009 12:05 PM 
Jerry,

This is something I do when I am traveling as well. I also try and track railroad lines when I am traveling by air! Gets kinda hard to see what I am looking at when I'm at 30,000 ft, but still kind of fun! 



Hi Mark,

I tried it a few times back when I flew for the Arkansas Forestry Commission as a contract pilot looking for forest fires. Even though I could fly low and slow I was never successful at locating any old railroad lines. At the time it was just a way of amusing myself without any practical knowledge of how to do it plus when flying low and slow it only takes a moments distraction to fold, spindle and mutilate the aircraft so I could only focus momentarily outside of the cockpit.

Realistically it is probably easier to identify railroad grades when viewed on the ground from the side rather than from above and most of the former railroads I have found have been in wooded areas (which is probably why the grades have survived).

Some of the older topographic maps (and possibly aviation sectional charts) may still show where old railroads were - especially if there are any remaining tracks.

Jerry


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## Michael Tollett (Jan 3, 2008)

Hey there Jerry,

Sounds like a rather cool new hobby interest...have you come across some interesting lines in your research?

Michael


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

Aaaah, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who enjoys this "sickness!" I've been tracking defunct RR grades in southern Nevada & southern California for more than 15 years...I have a TON of print photos I need to get scanned, and recently I've been revisiting some of the same sites to get better digital photos.
Some of my finds can be followed in my posts at another site (under my alter-ego username "SilverState55"):
- Arden Plaster Railway 2009 (Las Vegas, NV): http://forums.ghosttowns.com/showthread.php?t=17414
- Arden Plaster Railway 1999 (Las Vegas, NV; scanned from original negatives): http://forums.ghosttowns.com/showthread.php?t=17648
- Brief exploration of the former Pioche Pacific RR grade at Jackrabbit, NV (towards the bottom of the thread): http://forums.ghosttowns.com/showthread.php?t=17596

Oh boy! Now I can really get cracking on having those print negatives scanned...I have some for the Tonopah & Tidewater RR grade exploration in 1995, and various 1990s dated explorations of the former Las Vegas & Tonopah RR grade, among others.

My wife & I are planning a trip soon back to Pioche to walk the original Pioche Pacific RR (the first independent railroad in Nevada!) grade from Pioche northwards to Jackrabbit; it's overgrown with sagebrush & creosote, but still walkable. LOTS of artifacts left! Same with the former UP grade from Prince/Caselton to Caliente.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Michael Tollett on 17 Oct 2009 06:10 PM 
Hey there Jerry,

Sounds like a rather cool new hobby interest...have you come across some interesting lines in your research?

Michael


Hi Michael,

So far we have only spent one day at it. We decided to try to trace the old Missouri and Arkansas Railroad going northwest from Searcy toward Springdale. 

We found a section of roadbed by Heber Springs (it appears the railroad was below the level of what is now Greers Ferry Lake) and then we found an old steel railroad bridge in Shirley extending on the old M&A roadbed which we followed (drove on) for several miles until we reached a washout we could not cross.

Its good to hear from you,

Jerry


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## jgallaway81 (Jan 5, 2009)

As a life-long railfan, and recently a class 1 railroader, I have always had an interest in teh history of railroads. Back home in NY I started the hobby by being interested in the history of the Arcade & Attica RR as it stretched from an interchange with the Erie in Attica south to an interchange with several roads in Cuba, NY.

After moving to Harrisburg and starting my career with Norfolk Southern, I began to talk a real interest in rail history because of the multitudes of abandoned roads & branches that crossed the lines I ran over between Harrisburg PA and Croxton, NJ.


Once I moved to Altoona, I really got intense on my exploration of abandoned railroad artifacts after my first trip through the tunnels at Galitzin. I now have pictures of abandoned grades throughout the clearfield cluster, as well as other abandoned lines.


My prized find is an abandoned factor near a nealy abandoned line (hasn't seen a train in atleast three years). While exploring the factory remains, I found a portion of what I think is th eplant's stationary boiler as well as two of teh overhead belt-drive machinry axles.


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## Pete Chimney (Jan 12, 2008)

Jerry

I too have found the experience of following abandoned rails a rewarding experience. 

A word of caution for those that hike along these rights-of-way. Railroad bridge decking, either of wood or steel construction, may be in poor shape and could easily give way below the weight of a person. I know of a few people who were hurt when the deck of the bridge they were walking on broke under them. Tunnels can also pose a hazard, especially with wooden sheathing or cribbing inside.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Pete Chimney on 03 Dec 2009 11:32 AM 
A word of caution for those that hike along these rights-of-way. Railroad bridge decking, either of wood or steel construction, may be in poor shape and could easily give way below the weight of a person. I know of a few people who were hurt when the deck of the bridge they were walking on broke under them. Tunnels can also pose a hazard, especially with wooden sheathing or cribbing inside.



Hi Pete,

That is some good advice.




I might add to this topic that I am finding that reading books about Arkansas railroads is really fascinating. There is something special about railroads in the area where we live - even if we did not live here (and were not even born) when the railroads ran.

My current favorite book is "The North Arkansas Line" (Missouri and North Arkansas).

It has everything:

1. building the State of Arkansas (explains how so many towns/cities came to be).
2. construction challenges 
3. strikes
4. war (WW-I)
5. ghost train
6. lynching
7. running folks out of town
8. Moguls, Mikados, Consolidations, Shays
9. logging
10. head on collisions
11. runaway trains
12. floods
13. trestles collapsing
14. depression times

well - you get the picture

It turns out that there had been a head on collision between two trains right on the 2 mile stretch of rail northwest of Shirley, Arkansas where we had followed the former rail line.

Not being native to Arkansas I did not go to school here but I would find it hard to believe that the schools teach the sort of real Arkansas history that the book does. That is a real shame.

If anyone knows of any other books written about Arkansas railroads (I have the Dardanelle & Russellville and Short Lines of Arkansas) I would like to know about them.

Jerry


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## Henson (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, besides the Shortlines Railroads of Arkansas I have Railroad Stations and Trains through Arkansas and the Southwest and the soft back book Railroads of Northwest Arkansas. If you would like to borrow them I will sent them down for you to read. 

Henson


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Henson on 03 Dec 2009 03:36 PM 
Jerry, besides the Shortlines Railroads of Arkansas I have Railroad Stations and Trains through Arkansas and the Southwest and the soft back book Railroads of Northwest Arkansas. If you would like to borrow them I will sent them down for you to read. 

Henson 

Hi Henson,

If you will be going to the show in Bentonville in February (I am guessing that the show willl be held there again this year) I can pick up the books from you there if that is OK with you.

I plan to buy the Arkansas Railroad Station book (I thought I already had it) but the other ones would be appreciated. If you have not read the Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad book it is a great one and I'll be happy to loan it to you.

Normally I don't buy many books but these books about railroading in Arkansas are different - I plan to use them to look for the remnants of what is in them.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Visiting abandoned right of ways is something my dad and I like to do.

We've visited much of the old D&RGW abandoned line between Durango CO, and Chama NM, as well as the line from Durango - Farmington, NM. 


We've tried to photograph most of the surviving old bridges that are accessible. One page on our website includes photos of some of these abandoned bridges. Here's a link:


D&RGW Bridges


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## Henson (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Henson,

If you will be going to the show in Bentonville in February (I am guessing that the show will be held there again this year) I can pick up the books from you there if that is OK with you.

I plan to buy the Arkansas Railroad Station book (I thought I already had it) but the other ones would be appreciated. If you have not read the Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad book it is a great one and I'll be happy to loan it to you.

Normally I don't buy many books but these books about railroading in Arkansas are different - I plan to use them to look for the remnants of what is in them.

Thanks,

Jerry
That will be fine Jerry, just remind me to bring them. Great NWA Model Train Show- Saturday, February 27, 2010 at the Clarion Hotel & Convention Center in Bentonville, Arkansas at SE Walton Blvd. (same place as last few years)


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

MLS once again surprised me.

After posting my comments about the Missouri & North Arkansas Railroad I was contacted by "Old Timer" here on MLS. 

It turns out that Old Timer's dad was the last Station Agent for the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad in Shirley, Arkansas.

Yesterday Marilyn and I spent a very enjoyable afternoon in Shirley with Billy and he shared many memories of the Missouri and North Arkansas plus he and his family still own some of the old roadbed which extends east of Shirley. We walked the old roadbed together and Billy told us of the various sidings etc. that used to be there plus the businesses that used to be in Shirley that had been supported by the railroad.

Model railroading is great but it is made much more interesting when it can be related to the actual operations of a real railroad.

We very much appreciate the time and information Billy shared with us.

Jerry


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Jerry and all - THIS site has THE most extensive collection of fallen flag narrow gauge stuff I've ever seen. 

http://www.brian894x4.com/OregonCoastScenicRR.html 

Especially, if, like us, you've been there and seen many of them at first paw. 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Guys 

Below is a link to a site that is mostly about mining, but has lots of pics and links of trains, tunnels and abandon right of ways. 

Also, while the site is geared mostly towards Pa and Ohio, there are posts relating to states out west and even Alaska 



http://www.ironminers.com/


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I appreciate the extra links.

Unfortunately we seem to be reaching a point in time when there are very few people with first hand memories of our railroad histories. As a nation we seem to be happy to forget our past.

As I look at what even today remains of the cuts and fills that multitudes of workers once did with little more than hand tools it is hard to imagine how they accomplished so much with so little. One book I am currently reading states that 60 - 60% of the towns created by the railroads died when the railroads went bankrupt. Beyond that I would be inclined to believe that 60 - 70% of our existing towns and cities would not exist today where they are if it had not been for the railroads giving them life.

Admittedly I have never been much of a historian of railroads or anything else that did not involve airplanes, cannons and tanks but in different ways the building of countries is every bit as worth while reading as was the reading about the destruction of them.

I guess there is more profit in movies involving destruction than there is about construction.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Henson on 03 Dec 2009 07:10 PM 


Hi Henson,

If you will be going to the show in Bentonville in February (I am guessing that the show will be held there again this year) I can pick up the books from you there if that is OK with you.

I plan to buy the Arkansas Railroad Station book (I thought I already had it) but the other ones would be appreciated. If you have not read the Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad book it is a great one and I'll be happy to loan it to you.

Normally I don't buy many books but these books about railroading in Arkansas are different - I plan to use them to look for the remnants of what is in them.

Thanks,

Jerry
That will be fine Jerry, just remind me to bring them. Great NWA Model Train Show- Saturday, February 27, 2010 at the Clarion Hotel & Convention Center in Bentonville, Arkansas at SE Walton Blvd. (same place as last few years)






Hi Henson,

I have arranged to buy the book "Railroad Stations and Trains through Arkansas and the Southwest" through the Arkansas Railroad Club so I will not need to borrow it from you.

I would like to borrow your soft back book "Railroads of Northwest Arkansas."

Also let me know if you would like to borrow the book "The Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad." If so I can bring it with me. 

See you soon,

Jerry


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## Henson (Jan 2, 2008)

Almost missed this post Jerry, but was going to e-mail you this week. I will bring the book Sat. I don't guess I will borrow your book at this time but thanks. 

Looking forward to seeing you again. 

Henson


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Henson on 22 Feb 2010 09:57 AM 
Almost missed this post Jerry, but was going to e-mail you this week. I will bring the book Sat. I don't guess I will borrow your book at this time but thanks. 

Looking forward to seeing you again. 

Henson 

Hi Henson,

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Hmmm......we may have to get you a "sacred fanny pack" stuffed with fig newtons! (I'm sure I have a CD of Sounds of Steam the Unexpurgated Edition Vol. 1 or some such thing somewhere that I could loan you!) After that, all you would need is to grab a 64 oz Big Gulp and reliable transportation (I recommend a white Pontiac Trans Sport that resembles a dust buster. The model has served others well on similar adventures...) Seriously though, I have done a couple of these "adventures" and it is incredibly fun!! Tell no one but don't be surprised if you get the uncontrollable urge to begin rocking back and forth moaning and then breaking into the "secret railroad dance" gesticulating wildly and whooping insanely while anybody near you reels in stunned disbelief! (Hey, I have it on good authority that stranger things _have_ happened!)


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By tacfoley on 18 Jan 2010 02:34 PM 
Jerry and all - THIS site has THE most extensive collection of fallen flag narrow gauge stuff I've ever seen. 

http://www.brian894x4.com/OregonCoastScenicRR.html 

Especially, if, like us, you've been there and seen many of them at first paw. 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org 


Hi Cousin,

I would really enjoy seeing a logging railroad first hand with Heislers, Climaxes and or Shays actually running (as opposed to sitting quietly in a museum).

Unfortunately there is little if anything in the way of operating steam railroads of any kind within a day or two drive (1,000 miles) of Little Rock. Even the ECLSTS, which would involve a trip near many such railroads, is run in the winter when everything is shut down on the steam tourist railroads.

Regards,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Steve Stockham on 22 Feb 2010 02:22 PM 
Hmmm......we may have to get you a "sacred fanny pack" stuffed with fig newtons! (I'm sure I have a CD of Sounds of Steam the Unexpurgated Edition Vol. 1 or some such thing somewhere that I could loan you!) After that, all you would need is to grab a 64 oz Big Gulp and reliable transportation (I recommend a white Pontiac Trans Sport that resembles a dust buster. The model has served others well on similar adventures...) Seriously though, I have done a couple of these "adventures" and it is incredibly fun!! Tell no one but don't be surprised if you get the uncontrollable urge to begin rocking back and forth moaning and then breaking into the "secret railroad dance" gesticulating wildly and whooping insanely while anybody near you reels in stunned disbelief! (Hey, I have it on good authority that stranger things _have_ happened!)










Hi Steve,

I am finding that it is almost as hard to find someone who worked for and or retired from any railroad as it is to find someone who has a large scale railroad. Time and time again I discover after someone passed away that they worked for the railroad (any railroad).

This weekend we ran across an estate sale on our way home and Marilyn talked me into going to it. When we got there I found out that the deceased had retired from MoPac. I would have loved discussing his railroad experiences with him yet I never knew about him until he was gone.

A close friend I have known for over 30 years told me about many of his ancestors who had worked for railroads. This was the first I knew about it even though we have spent MANY hours on many different weird adventures.

It seems that even on MLS we have to pry the details from those who worked for the railroads. They seem unaware that what may have been boring to them is of extreme interest to us.

I admit to having had little interest in railroad history in my past but for me knowledge about historical railroading multiplies the pleasure from running replicas of those trains.

Regards,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Marilyn and I were back tracing the old Missouri and North Arkansas line yesterday.

We were fortunate to have located someone who had been involved with publishing "The Oak Leaves" and he generously found, copied and mailed to us old topo maps that had a lot of the old roadbed marked on them.

As we worked at this I remembered to bring my old Garmin aviation GPS with me along with a newer Garmin auto GPS. We used the road GPS to get us from town to town via the roads and the aviation GPS to get us back in line with the railroad roadbed. Better auto GPSs may have good off road capabilities but not the one we were using.

This worked out quite well in that the charts led us to bits of the old roadbed and since it ran straight as an arrow I was able to set way-points on the GPS when we were on the roadbed and then by matching the bearing of the roadbed when we were on it to where we were not visibly on the roadbed we were able to keep ourselves in line with the roadbed even when it had been plowed under by the farmers.

When we got to Cotton Plant there had not been any visible roadbed but the GPS Topo Map actually had bits of the old roadbed on it and it led us straight to where we actually found an old building with an obvious railroad loading dock and Marilyn even found a bit of rails and ties coming out from under the road.

I had dispensed with the idea of using aviation maps since the railroad has been gone for half a century but now i have started using them because even without the roadbed showing it is easy to use an aviation map to draw a straight line in a known bearing from where we have physically confirmed that there was a roadbed.

Even in spite of this when we got home and got the book out (which we had forgotten to take) we found we had missed some roadbed that we should have found.

I guess that will be on the next trip. Part of the search will require the flat-bottom boat because the rivers and sloughs prevented us from getting close to where the railroad crossed them. Hopefully since it is fairly inaccessible a lot of the old roadbed may have been left alone. Hopefully we will find more evidence (bits of pilings, trestle, concrete etc.) if we can get there by river.

It was a fun way to spend the day.

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I finally got my Garmin Mapsource program loaded onto this computer. My GPSs are so old (10 years) that they are no longer supported but they did have a free software upgrade to get it to work on this computer with Vista.

Everything turned out in reverse from what I expected. On the flat central and eastern Arkansas where I did not expect the topo maps to be of any help the GPS topo maps had just enough data (lines) that I could fill in where the roadbed used to be even though it is long gone. Rather than roadbed what the topo maps show are trails but since they are in the right place and perfectly straight or with long curves there is no doubt it is the old roadbed.

As I moved northwest where I expected more help there were few indications of roadbed but in many cases by drawing a line from where the old stations were it became obvious that highways had been built on top of the old roadbed.

There remain a lot of places in the northwest that I cannot figure out where the roadbed was. The only hope for that will be very old topo maps or railroad maps. 
It is a shame that virtually nothing remains of that old railroad that probably had a lot to do with the towns that are here now. We never saw a single marker of any type other than the town of Shirley has a park sign that mentions the railroad and they still have the steel bridge.


Jerry


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## Jerrys RR (Jun 28, 2010)

Today I made an interesting discovery. I was working on programming my old Garmin GPSMAP296 (Aviation model with topographic mapping) to trace what I could find of the old Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad when I happened to notice a link to Google Earth within Garmin's MapSource program. 

I tried the link and I was surprised to find that the route I was mapping with Garmin was superimposed on the Google Earth map. 










When I noticed that I had missed part of the old rail-bed I changed the waypoints on MapSource and reloaded Google Earth where I discovered my corrections now had my recreation of the railroad line showing the correct location.

There are two great things about this:

1. Via Google Earth I have a birds eye view that clearly defines parts of the old rail-bed that I never noticed either by eyesight or by the topo maps I have been using.

2. Via Google Earth I have access to parts of the rail-bed that are on private property with no public access.

Sometimes we just get lucky.

Jerry


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

last weekend to enjoy the amazing Colorado weather and gold and orange red aspen 
i walked the east approach of Kenosha pass on the old dsp and p ROW- 

found a spike and a lump of rather soft and light coal! 

not exactly the same-but fun and an easy walk


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## Jerrys RR (Jun 28, 2010)

Lately I've been taking a time out from model trains and have been back tracing the old Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad. When I got to where it crossed the White River I could not find anything remaining other than a few timbers at the west side of a bayou leading to the White River and we found nothing on the east side of the river. 

That gave me the idea of getting the old flat-bottom boat out and checking things from a river viewpoint where I did find evidence of a long ago trestle.










As I looked further I discovered a strange looking railroad type of structure










http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/jerrymccolgan/Railroads/100_0421.jpg

I cannot figure out what the building was or what its purpose was but there are clearly railroad rails between concrete posts. 

At the edge of the river there were huge twisted strand cables on both sides of the land point that may have been used to stabilize a bridge or something and it occurred to me that the above structure may have formed some sort of anchor for those cables.

The land is posted and I was not dressed for climbing so I did not get any closer.

Does anyone recognize the type of structure and know what it was for?

Thanks,

Jerry


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