Arkansas & Missouri Railroad

“Proudly Serving for over 30 Years!”

The Arkansas & Missouri Railroad is an independent, Class III railroad serving a 150 mile corridor from Fort Smith, AR to Monett, MO. Together with our affiliates, we are committed to continually improving our transportation services for the long-term success of the company and the communities we serve.

The A&M Railroad operates an excursion train that is a major tourist attraction for the state. Riding the train allows one to take in some of the most scenic and rugged parts of the Boston Mountains.  Regular excursions depart from depots in Springdale, Van Buren, and Fort Smith.  Private and corporate charters are available for all occasions, including holiday themed trains.  Fundraising opportunities are available for nonprofit organizations.  Special rates are offered to groups of (20) or more.

Learn more HERE.

Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad in Maine

Celebrating over 150 Years of Railroading!

This year, the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad offers weekend round trip excursions from our Unity Maine venue. Our season starts in February with special event trains, then regular excursions most weekends from Memorial Day through through October.  Finally we end our season with our Christmas specials. Enjoy the beautiful piney woods, rolling fields, and creeks from either our open air observation car or from the comfort of our classic coach.  Travel time is approximately one hour. Learn more at their website HERE!

The Kansas Belle Dinner Train

The goal of the Kansas Belle Dinner Train is a nostalgic trip back into the 1940’s era. You’ll experience beautiful scenery on a 22 mile round trip departing from the Baldwin City Depot while listening to 1940’s music.

The Midland Railway preserves the history on the first railroad line south of the Kansas River, originally constructed in 1867 by the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad.  

Learn more.

Riding the Train at High Point City Lake Park

Who knew that there was such a cool, little train ride down in High Point, NC? Neither did I until we were invited to the American Express company picnic. We were thrilled to find the 24 guage ride that meanders past the lake, around 2 loops and through a tunnel. The park also has a Merry-Go-Round, a huge playground, bathroom facilities and much more. However, the train was the star of the show for us. The colors and steam engine style is very similar to the Burlington City Park Train. Still, it was great fun on a beautiful day.

Update: Received an email from a reader who sent 2 awesome photos of what this train looked like in the 1960’s…

Santa Claus is coming to ride The New Hope Valley Railway!

The New Hope Valley Railway (NHVR) presents its annual Holiday Santa Trains the first two weekends in December departing from its rail yard located in Bonsal, N.C., just 10-minutes south of Apex off of U.S. Highway 1, Exit 89.

Santa and his helper will visit each open-air passenger car pulled by either a diesel or steam locomotive. Children will get a treat and the opportunity to talk with Santa. The train, along with other areas of the railroad, will be decorated for the holidays during the hour-long excursion.“Riding a real train with Santa Claus is a fun and memorable way to celebrate the holidays,” says NHVR President Mike MacLean. “It’s a special time for families as well as our volunteers who help bring smiles to children’s faces.”

Purchase tickets online at www.TriangleTrain.com or at the train yard the day of the ride. Holiday Santa Trains will be operating on Saturday, Dec. 1; Sunday, Dec. 2; Saturday, Dec. 8; and Sunday, Dec. 9.

Diesel train rides will be departing at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. and steam train rides at 12:15 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children, ages 2-12. NHVR recommends arriving at the train yard 30 minutes before the listed departure time.

Learn more by visiting www.TriangleTrain.com or www.facebook.com/TriangleTrain.

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PEANUTS™ Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown and Valentine Sweetheart Train at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (GMSR) is pleased to announce the PEANUTS™ Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown Excursion and Valentine Sweetheart Train. This special event train will depart the historic Bryson City depot on Saturday, February 11th, at 11:00am. The train will travel along the Tuckasegee River to Dillsboro for a 1 ½ layover. Enjoy special Valentine’s activities as well as a relaxing afternoon in the quaint town of Dillsboro.

Passengers will join Charlie Brown, Lucy and Snoopy for old fashioned Valentine’s Day fun based on the popular television episode titled by the same name. Thirteenth in the series, Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown premiered in 1975. Fans follow Charlie Brown’s Valentine’s Day woes as he tries to get noticed by the “little red-haired girl” and receive a briefcase full of Valentines.

Festivities for the Be My Valentine passengers include mingling with Charlie Brown, Lucy and Snoopy costume characters, listening to the narrated story based on the television special, and children can create their own Valentine for that special someone. There will also be plenty of photo opportunities, so do not forget your camera! Standard Coach Class adult tickets are $49, children (2-12) are $29, infants 23 months and under ride complimentary. Upgrade to Crown Class seating and receive a souvenir tumbler with unlimited soda, coffee and tea refill! Adult tickets are $66, children (2-12) are $38 and infants 23 months and under are $10.

Also available are upgrades to the fantastic Family First Class package! Treat the family to a wonderful Valentine’s train trip complete with a delicious meal for all in your party as well as a special GSMR souvenir and refillable tumbler! Adult ticket prices are $92, children (2-12) are $54, infants 23 months and under are $20.

If you’re looking to enjoy a special Valentine’s date with you and your sweetie join us in the Adult First Class for a romantic afternoon! Choose from one of our four delicious lunches served by a private car attendant. Receive a special gift amenity and souvenir tumbler with unlimited soda, coffee and tea refill. In addition enjoy a specialty dessert and long stemmed rose.  Tickets for adults are $92. Advance tickets are recommended, as seating is limited.

For more information and reservations please call 800-872-4681 or WWW.GSMR.COM.

©2012 PEANUTS Worldwide LLC

Admission to the Smoky Mountain Trains Museum is included with ticket purchase. Without tickets, admission to the museum is $9 for adults and $5 for children.

 

Last chance to ride Tweetsie’s “Ghost Train”!

The Ghost Train rolls out for the last time this weekend for the 2011 season!

For more info, visit: http://tweetsie.com/special-events/ghost-train/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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N.C. Transportation Museum: Rail Days, 2011

The N.C. Transportation Museum’s 2011 Family Rail Days Festival, scheduled June 11 and 12, will celebrate the golden age of railroading and offer something for every member of the family.

Featuring historic locomotives and rail cars displayed alongside modern rail equipment, the event will give visitors a chance to enjoy train rides, great music, model train layouts.

For more info, visit: http://nctrans.org/Events/Rail-Days.aspx

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Reynolda House Museum of American Art Opens Trains that Passed in the Night The Photographs of O. Winston Link

The Reynolda House Museum of American Art presents Trains that Passed in the Night: The Photographs of O. Winston Link on view February 19—June 19, 2011.

O. Winston Link’s haunting black-and-white photographs from the 1950s depict the end of the era of steam railroading in the United States and the rural landscapes of Virginia and North Carolina that these last trains passed through. Link’s evocative nocturnal images are at once highly staged technical feats, nostalgic representations of a disappearing way of life, and beautifully strange works of art produced during the era of film noir.

Link, a commercial photographer in New York City, made more than twenty trips to Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina between 1955 and 1960 to photograph the Norfolk & Western Railway. His photographs convey an eerie sense of absence, representing the vanishing “species” of the steam locomotive. But the images, which often include railroad workers or local residents, are also imbued with a deep humanity, a reminder of the complicated relationship between man and machine.

Link’s achievements have received international recognition and his photographs can be found in the nation’s premier museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 2004, the O. Winston Link Museum opened in Roanoke, Virginia.

Trains that Passed in the Night is drawn from the collection of Link’s former assistant and agent Thomas Garver and is circulated by the Center for Railroad Photography & Art. The exhibition is comprised of fifty black-and-white gelatin silver photographs printed and signed during O. Winston Link’s lifetime. Reynolda’s installation of the exhibition will include text by experts on photography, railroad history, film, and contemporary art, and a multi-media section featuring train films and sounds.

For more, visit: http://museumpublicity.com/2011/02/20/reynolda-house-museum-of-american-art-opens-trains-that-passed-in-the-night-the-photographs-of-o-winston-link/

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New book tells history of ‘Railroad that Couldn’t Be Built’

Source: The McDowell News

By Mike Conley

In the 1870s, the state of North Carolina set out to build a railroad across the steep mountains between Old Fort and Ridgecrest. The job would be done with convict labor, dangerous nitroglycerin and incredible determination. Many thought the railroad could not be built.

But the railroad would be built, even if many lives were lost along the way. Today, long Norfolk Southern freight trains travel up and down on what was constructed more than 130 years ago.

Marion Mayor Steve Little has long been fascinated by the story of the construction of the Western North Carolina Railroad, now considered an engineering marvel. He wrote his college thesis about it and for years has given talks to civic groups and schools.

Now, Little, who is also a Marion lawyer, has written a new book about the construction of the rail line. It is titled “Tunnels, Nitro and Convicts: Building the Railroad that Couldn’t Be Built.” It is published by Author House in Indiana.

“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time,” said Little. “This has been a goal of mine for years.”

As a student at Wake Forest University, Little wrote his history major thesis about the building of this railroad in the 1870s. It was a very detailed work, which included a lot of technical information. Little did a great deal of research unearthing the story about the railroad. And in May 1976, the young Little, who was still a law school student, gave a speech about it at the rededication ceremony for Andrews Geyser.

“That was a real honor,” he said adding he was not even a McDowell resident at that time.

Since then, Little has often spoke about its construction for various audiences, including the Railroad Day celebration in Old Fort. When he gives those talks, he condenses the story down and makes it more understandable for younger folks.

This new book is a written version of his talk. It is dedicated to the memory of the late historian Warren Hobbs, who was also Little’s brother-in-law.

“I thought I would write down the story I tell,” he said. “Everything in there is true.”

The book is also illustrated with color photos taken by Little of the rail line between Old Fort and Ridgecrest and the seven tunnels that were carved out of solid rock, using mostly convict labor. It also features vintage photos from the 1870s.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

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