friscobob
July 10th, 2003, 12:32 AM
From the Trains.com website:
Rich Mountain, Arkansas
Site: Rich Mountain, Arkansas/Oklahoma
Nearest City: Fort Smith, Arkansas (50 miles north)
Location: Arkansas F-1, Oklahoma G-20, H-20 (Rand McNally Atlas)
Directions: From Fort Smith, Ark.: to reach Heavener, Okla., follow U.S. 271 and U.S. 59 south; to reach Mena, Ark., follow U.S. 71 south.
Description: Rich Mountain, a 45-mile crossing of the Ouachita Mountains, is the summit of the most scenic portion of the Kansas City Southern north-south main line between Kansas City and Shreveport, La. This is wooded terrain, with no tunnels or substantial bridges, just curves and grades.
Type of Operation: Freight-only main line, single-track CTC with passing sidings.
Typical Motive Power: KCS and BNSF (on coal trains) road power most common
Peak Operating Hours: No predictable pattern
Approximate Daily Train Frequency: 20 to 25 trains, primarily merchandise, grain, and coal with some intermodal
Radio Frequencies: Road channel 160.305; Heavener Yard 161.055; Road channel north of Heavener 160.350
Nearby Points of Interest: Heavener, Okla., is a KCS crew-change point and has a small yard and engine terminal.(Note: Fuel racks are loated on the main line just north of town- all mainline freights refuel here) In Mena, a restored depot serves as the local visitor center. The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, which uses all Alco diesels, is in Van Buren, Ark., next to Fort Smith. (NOTE: The A&M yard is in Ft. Smith itself, and is the ex-Frisco yard. The line's T6 switchers are based out of here- the Ft. Smith Turn swaps cars at Copp siding, north of Van Buren, and returns to Springdale- this reduces the time spent waiting to cross the UP main and the lift bridge over the Arkansas River)
Remarks: Food and lodging are available in Mena and to lesser extent in Heavener and Poteau, Okla. Mena is in a “dry” county (no alcohol sold). (NOTE: There are a couple of drive-through places on US59, in Heavener, across the street from the depot & yard. Also, at least one decent convenience store is on the same side of the highway.)
Safety Considerations: Hwy. 59 closely follows the tracks from Poteau to Mena. Some side-road access to certain locations. Mainline fueling rack in Heavener is visible from main highway. U.S. 59/71 parallels the KCS main from Mena to DeQueen, Ark.
Contributor’s Name: David Patch
Shreveport (Texas Junction)
Site: Shreveport, Louisiana
Popular Name: Texas Junction
Location: Louisiana B-1 (Rand McNally Atlas)
Directions: 10 miles northwest of downtown Shreveport. From I-220 (a freeway loop around the north side of Shreveport), exit at Louisiana Hwy. 173. The site is 6.5 miles northwest, just off Louisiana 173.
Description: Junction of north-south and east-west Kansas City Southern main lines, in the northwest corner of Louisiana not far from the Texas state line. The junction is at the north end of Deramus Yard, KCS’s principal yard and system locomotive shop.
Type of Operation: Mainline freight action on both lines, mostly manifest, grain, and intermodal, plus several coal trains. Welsh, Texas, coal trains (2 daily) turn west at Texas Junction. All other north-south trains continue to Deramus Yard. East-west trains all enter Deramus Yard.
Typical Motive Power; EMD GP38-2s, GP40-2s, SD40-2s, SD60s, SD70MACS (BNSF); GE AC4400CWs
Pak Operating Hours: Traffic usually heavy in early morning and late afternoon, generally heavier between Thursday and Saturday
Approximate Daily Train Frequency: 40 or more trains, depending on the day of week, export grain movements, and coal train frequency
Radio Frequencies: 160.26, 160.35 (road); 160.89, 160.305 (terminal)
Nearby Pints of Interest: Numerous junctions and crossings in downtown Shreveport. Union Pacific (former southern Pacific) runs one-way on KCS between Spring Street Junctions and Jordan Street Crossover. KCS lines to Vicksburg, Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Beaumont, Texas, radiate east and south, respectively.
Remarks: Gas and food are available in nearby Blanchard. Lodging and other conveniences are available in Shreveport.
Safety Considerations: Park on west shoulder of Louis8iana 173, near the junction.
References: “The Kansas City Southern Story,” August and September 1979 TRAJKINS
Contributor’s Name: Mike Harbour
Texarkana
Site: Texarkana, Texas
Nearest City: Dallas (186 miles southwest); Shreveport, Louisiana (71 miles southeast)
Popular Name: Tower 42
Location: Texas/Eastern EC-12 (Rand McNally Atlas)
Directions: About a mile southwest of downtown Texarkana, which straddles the Arkansas-Texas state line.
Description: Grade-level crossings of single-track Kansas City Southern and double-track Union Pacific ex-Missouri Pacific and ex-St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) main lines.
Type of Operation: Mainline freight action on both lines, including unit and intermodal trains, plus daily Amtrak Texas Eagle. Texarkana is where the lines involved in Union Pacific’s directional running on the St. Louis-Texas routes cross. Eastbound (or northbound) trains primarily use the former Missouri Pacific between Big Sandy, Texas (112 miles southwest), and southeastern Missouri, via Little Rock, while westbounds primarily use the former Cotton Belt t via Pine Bluff, Ark.
Typical Motive Power: KCS: EMD GP38-2s, GP40-2s, SD40-2s, SD 60s; GE AC 4400 CWs. UP: GE C44Acs, C41-8Ws, B30-7s, EMD SD9043Acs, SD60Ms, SD40-2s, GP38-2s.
Peak Operating Hours: Spread throughout the day
Approximate Daily Trains Frequency: KCS: 20; UP:35
Radio Frequencies: KCS: 160.26/160.35 (road); UP: 160.515 (road, 161.550 (road)
Nearby Points of Interest: Texarkana Union Station, whose old head building is on the state line, hosts Amtrak’s Texas Eagle twice daily. Amtrak’s waiting room is in the east end of the facility, which is east of Tower 42. The westbound Eagle uses the former SSW west of Texarkana to Big Sandy; the eastbound uses the former MP from Big Sandy via Marshall. East of Texarkana, both Eagles use the ex-MP via Malvern. The Texarkana platform is a good place to watch UP’s yard switchers south of the station, as well as mainline freights.
(NOTE: The west end of the depot (the Texas side) hosts the Bowie County Jail- I would highly advise going near this side, for obvious reasons. The east side, which is in Arkansas, is safe)
Remarks: Gas, food, and lodging are all available in Texarkana, with concentration north of downtown at I-30 and U.S. 59-71.
Safety Considerations: There is no public property to watch trains at the KCS-SSW crossing, but there is a gravel parking lot a the corner of Phenie and Lelia St. A few trees bordering the edge of a lumber yard at the diamond’s southwest corner offer shade; in addition, the other crossing of the KCS with UP's ex-MP line is visible from here.(NOTE:Lock your vehicle- vagrants have been known to camp nearby, as this is/was a "hobo jungle" . Also, if you're lucky, you'll see the Texas North Eastern run on its ex-MP branch from New Boston into the yard- it branches of the MP main at the west end of the yard)
Contributor's Name: Mike Harbour
I added my own notes to two of these places mainly because I've shot at both of them. Gotta claim ignorance about Texas Jct, since I've never been there.
[ 09. July 2003, 18:35: Message edited by: friscobob ]
Rich Mountain, Arkansas
Site: Rich Mountain, Arkansas/Oklahoma
Nearest City: Fort Smith, Arkansas (50 miles north)
Location: Arkansas F-1, Oklahoma G-20, H-20 (Rand McNally Atlas)
Directions: From Fort Smith, Ark.: to reach Heavener, Okla., follow U.S. 271 and U.S. 59 south; to reach Mena, Ark., follow U.S. 71 south.
Description: Rich Mountain, a 45-mile crossing of the Ouachita Mountains, is the summit of the most scenic portion of the Kansas City Southern north-south main line between Kansas City and Shreveport, La. This is wooded terrain, with no tunnels or substantial bridges, just curves and grades.
Type of Operation: Freight-only main line, single-track CTC with passing sidings.
Typical Motive Power: KCS and BNSF (on coal trains) road power most common
Peak Operating Hours: No predictable pattern
Approximate Daily Train Frequency: 20 to 25 trains, primarily merchandise, grain, and coal with some intermodal
Radio Frequencies: Road channel 160.305; Heavener Yard 161.055; Road channel north of Heavener 160.350
Nearby Points of Interest: Heavener, Okla., is a KCS crew-change point and has a small yard and engine terminal.(Note: Fuel racks are loated on the main line just north of town- all mainline freights refuel here) In Mena, a restored depot serves as the local visitor center. The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, which uses all Alco diesels, is in Van Buren, Ark., next to Fort Smith. (NOTE: The A&M yard is in Ft. Smith itself, and is the ex-Frisco yard. The line's T6 switchers are based out of here- the Ft. Smith Turn swaps cars at Copp siding, north of Van Buren, and returns to Springdale- this reduces the time spent waiting to cross the UP main and the lift bridge over the Arkansas River)
Remarks: Food and lodging are available in Mena and to lesser extent in Heavener and Poteau, Okla. Mena is in a “dry” county (no alcohol sold). (NOTE: There are a couple of drive-through places on US59, in Heavener, across the street from the depot & yard. Also, at least one decent convenience store is on the same side of the highway.)
Safety Considerations: Hwy. 59 closely follows the tracks from Poteau to Mena. Some side-road access to certain locations. Mainline fueling rack in Heavener is visible from main highway. U.S. 59/71 parallels the KCS main from Mena to DeQueen, Ark.
Contributor’s Name: David Patch
Shreveport (Texas Junction)
Site: Shreveport, Louisiana
Popular Name: Texas Junction
Location: Louisiana B-1 (Rand McNally Atlas)
Directions: 10 miles northwest of downtown Shreveport. From I-220 (a freeway loop around the north side of Shreveport), exit at Louisiana Hwy. 173. The site is 6.5 miles northwest, just off Louisiana 173.
Description: Junction of north-south and east-west Kansas City Southern main lines, in the northwest corner of Louisiana not far from the Texas state line. The junction is at the north end of Deramus Yard, KCS’s principal yard and system locomotive shop.
Type of Operation: Mainline freight action on both lines, mostly manifest, grain, and intermodal, plus several coal trains. Welsh, Texas, coal trains (2 daily) turn west at Texas Junction. All other north-south trains continue to Deramus Yard. East-west trains all enter Deramus Yard.
Typical Motive Power; EMD GP38-2s, GP40-2s, SD40-2s, SD60s, SD70MACS (BNSF); GE AC4400CWs
Pak Operating Hours: Traffic usually heavy in early morning and late afternoon, generally heavier between Thursday and Saturday
Approximate Daily Train Frequency: 40 or more trains, depending on the day of week, export grain movements, and coal train frequency
Radio Frequencies: 160.26, 160.35 (road); 160.89, 160.305 (terminal)
Nearby Pints of Interest: Numerous junctions and crossings in downtown Shreveport. Union Pacific (former southern Pacific) runs one-way on KCS between Spring Street Junctions and Jordan Street Crossover. KCS lines to Vicksburg, Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Beaumont, Texas, radiate east and south, respectively.
Remarks: Gas and food are available in nearby Blanchard. Lodging and other conveniences are available in Shreveport.
Safety Considerations: Park on west shoulder of Louis8iana 173, near the junction.
References: “The Kansas City Southern Story,” August and September 1979 TRAJKINS
Contributor’s Name: Mike Harbour
Texarkana
Site: Texarkana, Texas
Nearest City: Dallas (186 miles southwest); Shreveport, Louisiana (71 miles southeast)
Popular Name: Tower 42
Location: Texas/Eastern EC-12 (Rand McNally Atlas)
Directions: About a mile southwest of downtown Texarkana, which straddles the Arkansas-Texas state line.
Description: Grade-level crossings of single-track Kansas City Southern and double-track Union Pacific ex-Missouri Pacific and ex-St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) main lines.
Type of Operation: Mainline freight action on both lines, including unit and intermodal trains, plus daily Amtrak Texas Eagle. Texarkana is where the lines involved in Union Pacific’s directional running on the St. Louis-Texas routes cross. Eastbound (or northbound) trains primarily use the former Missouri Pacific between Big Sandy, Texas (112 miles southwest), and southeastern Missouri, via Little Rock, while westbounds primarily use the former Cotton Belt t via Pine Bluff, Ark.
Typical Motive Power: KCS: EMD GP38-2s, GP40-2s, SD40-2s, SD 60s; GE AC 4400 CWs. UP: GE C44Acs, C41-8Ws, B30-7s, EMD SD9043Acs, SD60Ms, SD40-2s, GP38-2s.
Peak Operating Hours: Spread throughout the day
Approximate Daily Trains Frequency: KCS: 20; UP:35
Radio Frequencies: KCS: 160.26/160.35 (road); UP: 160.515 (road, 161.550 (road)
Nearby Points of Interest: Texarkana Union Station, whose old head building is on the state line, hosts Amtrak’s Texas Eagle twice daily. Amtrak’s waiting room is in the east end of the facility, which is east of Tower 42. The westbound Eagle uses the former SSW west of Texarkana to Big Sandy; the eastbound uses the former MP from Big Sandy via Marshall. East of Texarkana, both Eagles use the ex-MP via Malvern. The Texarkana platform is a good place to watch UP’s yard switchers south of the station, as well as mainline freights.
(NOTE: The west end of the depot (the Texas side) hosts the Bowie County Jail- I would highly advise going near this side, for obvious reasons. The east side, which is in Arkansas, is safe)
Remarks: Gas, food, and lodging are all available in Texarkana, with concentration north of downtown at I-30 and U.S. 59-71.
Safety Considerations: There is no public property to watch trains at the KCS-SSW crossing, but there is a gravel parking lot a the corner of Phenie and Lelia St. A few trees bordering the edge of a lumber yard at the diamond’s southwest corner offer shade; in addition, the other crossing of the KCS with UP's ex-MP line is visible from here.(NOTE:Lock your vehicle- vagrants have been known to camp nearby, as this is/was a "hobo jungle" . Also, if you're lucky, you'll see the Texas North Eastern run on its ex-MP branch from New Boston into the yard- it branches of the MP main at the west end of the yard)
Contributor's Name: Mike Harbour
I added my own notes to two of these places mainly because I've shot at both of them. Gotta claim ignorance about Texas Jct, since I've never been there.
[ 09. July 2003, 18:35: Message edited by: friscobob ]