Recent Digital Photos
by Mike Condren

55 Years of Railroad Photography 1960-2015

Mike's Main Railroad Web Site

April 7, 2015

On a trip to Ft Smith, I passed over this train on the US 64 overpass between Vian and Sallisaw, OK and waited for it on the west side of Sallsaw.

While waiting at the Frisco Station in Ft Smith, AR, I hear a train approaching. It turns out to be an A&M train returning to Van Buren with interchange cars from the Ft Smith RR to the UP.

I drove over to the Ft Smith Trolley Museum and got this image of the recently repainted Frisco 4003.

Later I heard this A&M leased KCS GP40 approaching the Ft Smith Frisco station. The engineer was my long time friend Andre Ming.

April 16, 2015

I found these ALCos in the engine terminal in Springdale, AR before the meeting of the Boston Mountain Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.

April 28, 2015

I drove to Van Buren to ride the UP "Public Safety Train". Before the train arrived, I went into the Yard Office and found this print of my MP photo on the blue wall in one of the rooms. The slide that Bedford used to make this print was in an envelope with Louis A Marre printed on it. Thus they put his name at the bootom of the print. My name asphotographer was printed on the back of the slide.

This SD40-2 was parked in the engine service area of the yard.

The "Public Safety Train" is finally seen heading for the yard office and the switcher is working in the yard.

I rode in the dome of this car to Alix and return.

Coach "Texas Eagle" and business car "Cheyenne" made up the rest of the train.

This is the approximate location of the MP 24 stall roundhouse.

View of some of the passengers in the dome.

This view out the front of the dome shows rain drops still on the window as we pass the South 28th Street crossing where I have photographed many trains over the years.

These are the signals at the east end of the Van Buren yard as we cross South 28th Street.

This approach signal was flashing as we approached Alma from the west, indicating that we would take the siding at "Dyer" siding.

As we approach downtown Alma, we see mechanized track equipment behind where the station once stood.

This caboose is dispalyed outside the shed once used to load produce into waiting refrigeration cars.

When we got to the "Dyer" passing track, we found this "take siding" signal.

This intermediate signal is between Mulberry and Popping siding, west of Ozark, AR.

The tracks then started running along the north shore of the Arkansas River.

This bluff is along the north side of the Arkansas River just west of Popping siding.

This signal is at the west end of the Popping siding

This is the signal for the siding at the east end of the Popping siding.

I next caught my first views of the AR23 bridge over the Arkansas River at Ozark, AR.

We are about to pass through the cut in the rock bluffs just west of Ozark on the Arkansas River bank.

The AR-23 bridge is then seen again.

The signal seen in the distance is at the east end of Ozark.

The Ozark - Jetta Taylor Lock and Dam is seen from near Ozark.

My parents and I once camped in this Corp of Engineers Aux Ark Park on the south shore of the Arkansas River.

We are at the east end of our trip, looking west at the west end of the Alix passing track waiting to head back to Van Buren.

We are passing the Ozark - Jetta Taylor Lock and Dam again.

This view of the AR-23 highway bridge shows all of the bridge from the bluffs at Ozark to the south shore of the Arkansas River.

These views show the bluff on the north side of the river.

These bluffs are on the south side of the Arkansas River.

Looking south down Fayetteville St in Alma, AR.

This is the overpass for Sunny Side Road where I have shot many a photo of mainly east bound trains.

When we got off the train in Van Buren, they handed us each a bag like the one this young man is carrying.

I got this shot of the business car "Cheyenne" .

This was the locomotive on the west end of our train.

May 4, 2015

These trimmer units headed out the Avard Sub in their switching move.

The UP train to Muskogee is seen exiting the Cherokee Yard in west Tulsa.

I noticed that the train did not continue across the Arkansas River but headed around the track which connected to the UP, former MV track, to Jenks, OK. The second unit is a slug. The last unit appears to be a former WP unit based on the extra space for gyro lights.

Back at the 17th Street "Hot Spot", I found this eastbound leaving the yard. The second unit was one of the new ES44C4s

These switch kits were in gondolas on a departure yard track in Cherokee Yard.

I was invited to speak to a group of retired railroaders at the Tulsa meeting of NARVE on May 4, 2015.

After the meeting, I caught this southbound freight at the junction of I-44/I-244 in west Tulsa.

After I picked up Jan at the Presbytery office, we headed out the Broken Arrow Expressway, we discovered the UP train in the ROW in the middle of the freeway and caught the head in off the Sheridan Rd exit.

We caught this northbound on the former KATY in Wagoner heading to the former MP.

May 9, 2015
National Train Day in Ft Smith, AR

National Train Day celebration in Ft Smith, AR was held in the former Frisco station along the A&M line thru town.

This window is located in the attrium area inside the Frisco station. This area and the window were created when the upper floor was the Frisco Restaurant.

The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad provided free rides on this passenger which ran from the station to the Arkansas River bridge. Here we see the train arriving.

A&M engineer Andre Ming has been a friend since the mid-1970s. He was the engineer for the A&M excursions for National Train Day on May 9, 2015.

This page was designed and is maintained by Mike Condren.
Earlier issues of Recent Trains are available through the indexes.
If you would like to receive the next issue of Recent Trains,
request that your email address be put on the distribution list
by emailing me at mcondren@cbu.edu.