Recent Digital Photos
by Mike Condren
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50 Years of Railroad Photography |
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Sept. 22, 2010
| On my weekly Wednesday trip to Memphis, I stopped by the UP yard in Van Buren. The Arkansas & Missouri learned its lesson on Sept. 9 and now stages 5 ballast cars under the old viaduct in Van Buren in case of another wash out. |
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| A unit coal train was sitting at the east end of the Van Buren yard preparing to head east. |
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| I headed out Kibler Road to Oak Grove Road and down to the crossing at Shipley. |
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| Upon arrival in Memphis, I just missed a train at Kentucky Street, so I headed for the crossing at Neptune Street at the east end of Boradway, the 6 track wide arrangement on the former alignment of the street with that name. There I found two NS trains, one with NS power and a loaded unit coal train with BNSF power. |
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Sept. 25, 2010
| I decided to return to Tahlequah on Saturday in time to see the Arkansas-Alabama football game on TV. However, I took time to drop by the UP yard in Van Buren. I discovered this train stopped at the east end of the yard. The second unit of the consist made it all worthwhile as it was a Kansas City Southern de Mexico, my first KCSM retro Belle. |
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| This westbound train was waiting to enter the passing siding, but was changing crews first as the passing track does not allow for easy crew changing in the yard. |
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Sept. 29, 2010
| On my next weekly Wednesday trip to Memphis, I stopped by the UP yard in Van Buren as usual. On this trip I found the A&M transfer power sitting just west of Main Street on their lead to the Arkansas River bridge. This day the power is a C425 and slug. |
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| Almost immediately, the eastbound UP KCPB was meeting the A&M power as it entered the passing track. |
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| While I was shooting the ballast cars, the UP north local is seen first passing the former location of the MoPac station, then stopping at the derail, and then pulling past the siding switch where the conductor religned the switch for the passing siding. The train then backed up to pick up the conductor to keep him from having to walk the length of the train. |
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| A better view of the 5 ballast cars sitting under the US64/71 viaduct. |
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| The viewing point I had was on the old US64/71 2 blocks from the apartment house where I was raised, one block beyond the crane in the middle of the street. |
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| Aftere leaving the viaduct area, I discovered the UP switchers working the lead to the Port of Van Buren. |
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| The road power for KCPB set out cars from the head end into the yard. We now see it stopping to reset the derail before pulling past the siding switch where it then sets the switch to the passing siding before returning to its train. |
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| The weather was so nice and I was not in a hurry so I then drove to Ozark down US64 instead of the usual I40. I had never shot the former MoPac station, now a local museum. This museum was of interest as my mother-in-law lived here in the 1930s when her father was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. |
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| On my continuing trip on US64 I hear on the scanner that a meet is being set up for Spadra. I head there and set up east of the former Tyson feed mill. This location is about 6 miles from my former home in Clarksville. |  |
| After a few minutes I hear a horn blowing for the crossing at the Corp of Engineers Spadra Park on the other side of Spadra Creek. The train soon appears with a NS unit on the point. |
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| This replacement switch was sitting at Spadra. Note the lettering cast on the side of the rail, "Nippon 2007". JAPANESE steel! |
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| I then got on I40 and headed to Russellville and the Philip 66 PDQ Mart where I buy my gasoline on both legs of my trips to and from Tahlequah and Memphis. After I fill my tank, I head across the street to the Subway where I get my usual lunch to go and head for the headquarters of the Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad in North Dardanelle, AR. |
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| On the way I shoot the "high speed" mainline and one of their characteristic crossbucks. I walk into the office of the D&R and find Tim Robbins at his desk. He calls his dad on his cell phone and he joins us. We have an hour of good railroad talk before I resume my journey. |  |
| I again head east on US64. As I am passing through Blackwell, I spot the lit headlight on the DPU going away at track speed. I continue, passing the DPU and most of its train while the track and highway are close. I then head for the station at Morrilton. I shot my first slides at this location in 1961, MP GP7 #4321. |
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Oct. 2, 2010
| On my next trip to Tahlequah, I made the usual trip by the UP yard in Van Buren. I returned on Saturday as that afternoon was the Class Reunion for the Van Buren High School Class of 1960. When I arrived at the refueling station near Main Street there were two trains, the road power of one and the DPU of another. The road train was a westbound which then left town with 2-units on the point and 2-units as DPU. |
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Oct. 6, 2010
| Sometimes pieces of railroad history remain for years, almost invisible, except for the trained eye. This former Frisco sign on a pole made from a steam locomotive flue is along Greg Street just west of the station in Fayetteville, AR. There once was a vacant lot owned by the Frisco at this location. Today it is a parking lot where you pay to park. I know of this history of this location as I lived across the street from this location during the spring of 1963. |  |
| This view of the Frisco Station area was taken from the West Lafayette Street viaduct over the tracks and shows the Freight Station area and the area where the Ozark & Cherokee Central trains ties up. While taking this picture and the shot of the builder's plate for the viaduct, I hear the horn of a A&M train. It turns out to be the returning "Fall Colors" special. Matt and I give chase but traffic prevents us catching the train before the Springdale station. |  |
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| In Springdale, I catch the A&M passenger train pulling into the station. |
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| Then the conductor lines the switch for the engine to escape from its train and head to the engine terminal. |  |
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| Matt and I then headed for Tahlequah out US412 to Siloam Springs, AR and then down US59 through Watts, OK where we found the "dodger" switching with one of the former Canadian GP40-2s. |
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This page was designed and is maintained by Mike Condren.
If you have materials
that you would like to contribute, contact me at mcondren@cbu.edu