Eureka Springs & North Arkansas on 9/9/10

by Mike Condren

I met up with J. David Ingles and Rick Mouser at the Eureka Springs & North Arkansas to ride.

Equipment displays outside the station in Eureka Springs.

The Eureka Springs station was last used by the Arkansas & Ozarks Railroad before it was abandoned in 1960. After that Ozarka Spring Water used it as their headquarters. They still own the property, leasing it to the excursion company.

Here we see the collection of railroad and non-railroad equipment which is located behind the station.

No. 226, a 2-8-2 (Mikado), built 1927, Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, PA; coal-burner converted to oil; 180 psi (1,200 kPa) (superheated); 200,000 lb (91,000 kg) with tender. Has always been a "display" engine at the ES&NA; never restored to operating condition. This locomotive once served the logging woods of southeastern Oklahoma on the Dierks Forrest railroad operation out of Broken Bow, OK..

No. 201, a 2-6-0 (Mogul), built 1906, American Locomotive Company, Patterson, NJ; coal-burner converted to oil; 185 psi (1,280 kPa); 21,000 lb (9,500 kg) tractive effort. It is one of two known surviving locomotives that worked on the Panama Canal; originally built to 5-foot gauge. Retired early in the 21st century because a boiler re-build was mandated by the state boiler inspector. No. 201 was built by Alco-Cooke in January 1906, #39094, as Isthmian Canal Commission 203. It was sold to Equitable Equipment Co and sold as W. T. Carter 201 in 1922. It was transferred as Moscow Camden & St.Augustine 201 in March 1929 and donated to Grisby Foundation in 1970. It was leased as Scott & Bearskin Lake 201 and later sold to ES&NA as 201 in 1981.

No. 1, a 2-6-0 (Mogul), built 1906, Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, PA; serial #29588; wood-burner; 75,000 lb (34,000 kg); 200 psi (1,400 kPa); 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) tractive effort. Retired in the late 1990s because of the expense of burning 1-1/2 to 2 cords of wood each workday. An expensive boiler re-build was also mandated by the state boiler inspector. No. 1 was built by Baldwin in November 1906, #29588, as Lufkin Land & Lumber Co 1. It became Shreveport Houston & Gulf RR 1 and transferred as Carter-Kelley Lumber Co 1 in 1913 It was sold as Carter 1 in 1936 and donated to Grigsby Foundation in 1970, It was leased as Scott & Bearskin RR 1 and later sold to Eureka Springs & North Arkansas as 1 in 1981.

No. 4742, originally C&EI #98, an EMD SW1 first-generation diesel switcher, built 1942, Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, LaGrange, IL; serial #1379; diesel; 34,000 lb tractive effort. The only remaining functional locomotive on-site; now handles both passenger excursion and luncheon/dinner trains.

A unique fountain at the station.

Two Kelly-green coaches - No.1, The Eurekan; and No. 2 are dining cars and along with this box car compose the dinner train.

This water tower was part of the Scott & Bearskin Lake Railroad at Scott, AR before it was moved to Eureka Springs.

This 75' turntable is claimed to be the Frisco turntable from Ft. Smith, AR.

The Eureka Springs & North Arkansas runs its locomotives long hood forward on its trains. It turns the engine on the turntable at the yard and at the Junction wye at the other end of the railroad.

The ride on the ES&NA is about 3 miles to the wye at Junction on the former mainline of the Missouri & Arkansas.

Our car attendant did an excellent job narrating during the trip.

Here we see J David Ingles and Rick Moser. Is that a digital camera that JDI is holding?