Got this from the Railspot list on Yahoo!Groups- it's originally from the Railroad list. Hope you like! Arkansas & Missouri Railroad is booming SPRINGDALE (AP) -- Northwest Arkansas has more than Interstate 540 serving as an efficient transportation connection between Fort Smith and southwest Missouri. As the region has prospered mightily in the past decade, so has the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad. The railroad runs between Fort Smith and Monett, Mo., on 140 miles of track formerly operated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Officials of the Arkansas & Missouri, based at Springdale, said carload shipments jumped 119 percent between 1999 and the close of 2002. The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, owned by J. Anthony Hannold and other stockholders, doesn't release information on its earnings and revenues. But the company's freight hauling has increased dramatically with the region's growth, its managers say. "Northwest Arkansas growth has been (a boon) for us and lots of companies in the area," said Mark Bonnell, Arkansas & Missouri's vice president of marketing. Company officials say they think the growth will allow the company to reach Class 2 status -- railroads with revenues of more than $20 million a year -- within the next few years. Class 1 status, with annual revenues greater than $250 million, is held by only seven large railroads, including such giants as Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and Kansas City Southern. Analysts say railroad freight rates are typically 25 percent to 40 percent lower than those for over-the-road truckload shipments. "Generally speaking, short-line railroads get feed, fuel and fertilizer at cheaper rates to farmers and poultry growers," said Travis Justice, senior economist with the Arkansas Farm Bureau. Such freight -- farm commodities, sand used in construction and grain for Northwest Arkansas poultry industry -- helped shipments on the Arkansas & Missouri grow from 21,000 in 1999 to more than 46,000 in 2002. Last year alone, the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, which has switching tracks in Springdale and Fort Smith, hauled more than 6,000 carloads of sand from Van Buren, across the Arkansas River from Fort Smith, to northwest Arkansas. Much of the sand was used in the region's housing and construction boom. The opportunities for short-line operators like the Arkansas & Missouri expanded in a major way as Class 1 operators sold tracks serving regional markets to focus on the longhaul, high-volume and high-speed market. The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad interchanges freight with Burlington Northern Santa Fe at Monett, Union Pacific at Van Buren and Kansas City Southern in Fort Smith. The company also has expanded its revenue base through a partnership with Ozark Transmodal Inc., an affiliate, which loads lumber, brick and other commodities in a truck-rail combination. http://www.baxterbulletin.com/news/stories/20031110/localnews/614650.html
Bob- Out of curiousity, I thought of finding a map for the A&M. Went to the web site. Couldn't locate any. Do you know of a system map? Also, I noticed on their official web site, they don't use A&M. Instead of an ampersand, they use a hyphen: A-M. Have they indeed changed the name somewhat? Boxcab E50 [ 10. November 2003, 22:42: Message edited by: BoxcabE50 ]
Arkansas & Missouri RR website This should have all the info you're looking for. A&M route map A more direct link to the route map. [ 10. November 2003, 21:54: Message edited by: friscobob ]
Bob- Thanks. I'm trying to figure out how I missed that map when I searched their site. Strange. Boxcab E50
