The Arkansas Midland Railroad (“Midland”), chartered in 1853, together with associated companies created a rail line eventually running from Helena, Arkansas to Clarendon, Arkansas, with a branch running from Glenwood to Woodsville, Arkansas. The route ended up as branches of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway (“Iron Mountain”) in 1910.
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Helena |
| Locale | Arkansas |
| Dates of operation | 1853–1910 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Previous gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) and 3 ft (914 mm) |
| Length | 77 miles (124 km) |
History
editThe beginnings
editThe Midland was formed in 1853 by citizens of Helena, and was intended as a fairly straight ”air-line railroad” running from Helena west to Little Rock, Arkansas, about 115 miles.[1][2] Helena, on the Mississippi, was a prosperous river port, and Little Rock was the state capitol.[3][4] Prior to the Civil War, the line was graded from Helena to a point variously described as twelve miles short of Little Rock, or fifteen miles west of the White River; however, no trackage was built.[1]
Arkansas Central Railway
editFollowing the chaos of the Civil War and its immediate aftermath, the Arkansas Central Railway was formed in 1871 specifically to obtain the graded right-of-way of the Midland.[1] The railroad projected adding a branch from Duncan to Clarendon, the latter being a prosperous river port on the White River and a future connection point for the Texas and St. Louis Railway (“T&SL”).[2][5] The railroad also intended to add a branch from some point on its line to Pine Bluff.[1] The company actually built from Helena through Marvell, Pine City and Holly Grove to Duncan, as well as the “branch” from Duncan to Clarendon, essentially creating a 48-mile long mainline from Helena to Clarendon starting service in 1872.[1][2][6][7] Being constructed during the narrow-gauge railway movement in the U.S., the line was originally projected as a 3-foot gauge railroad, and toward that goal a 3-foot gauge locomotive was purchased.[1] However, management subsequently decided to build a 3 foot, 6 inch gauge line instead, which required different locomotives but still made the Arkansas Central the first narrow-gauge railway in Arkansas.[2] In 1877, amid financial difficulties, the Arkansas Central Railway was sold through an intermediate buyer back to the Midland, which company was still in existence.[1][7]
Gauge changes
editThe Midland converted its 3 foot, 6 inch gauge line to 3-foot gauge in 1883 in order to achieve gauge compatibility with the T&SL at Clarendon.[1] When the T&SL converted to standard-gauge in 1886, the Midland followed in 1887.[1]
Brinkley, Helena and Indian Bay Railway
editSeparately, the Brinkley, Helena and Indian Bay Railway was a 3-foot gauge line built in 1889 from a spur off the Midland trackage at Pine City to the town of Brinkley, Arkansas, which also had a connection to the T&SL as well as to the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad and what became the shortline White and Black River Valley Railway.[1][8][9][10] The line was 24 miles in length, plus a 5-mile spur from Glenwood to Woodsville.[1] In 1891 the Midland bought that company.[2] But it did not convert the line to its own standard-gauge until September 1900, and it continued to run the line as a separate railroad until 1909.[2][8]
The Iron Mountain
editIn 1901, control of the Midland was acquired by interests associated with railway "robber baron" Jay Gould, but the railway continued to be operated separately.[1] However, from early 1910, the trackage began being operated simply as two separate branches of the Iron Mountain.[1]
Subsequent abandonments
editThe portion of the old mainline to Clarendon from Holly Grove was eliminated in 1957.[1] In 1960, the entire Pine City-to-Brinkley branch was abandoned.[1] The mainline was shortened further in 1976 when the portion to Holly Grove from Marvell was dropped.[1] In 1979, the remainder of the original system was abandoned.[1]
Railroads with similar names
editThis Arkansas Midland Railroad discussed above should not be confused with the Arkansas Midland Railroad created in 1992 and currently in operation.[11] The Arkansas Central Railroad discussed above should not be confused with the Arkansas Central Railroad formed about 1899, which ran from a point near Fort Smith to Paris in Arkansas and was owned by the Missouri Pacific Railroad.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Hilton, George W. (1990). American Narrow Gauge Railroads. Stanford University Press. pp. 75–80, 313–314. ISBN 0-8047-2369-9.
- ^ a b c d e f "Narrow Gauge Railroads". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ "Helena-West Helena". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ "Little Rock (Pulaski County)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ "Clarendon (Monroe County)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ "Holly Grove (Monroe County)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ a b "Marvell (Phillips County)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ a b "Brinkley, Helena and Indian Bay Railroad Memorabilia Value Guide". RailroadCollectibles.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
- ^ "Brinkley (Monroe County)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ^ "White and Black River Valley Railway". Interstate Commerce Commission, January–March 1929, pp. 848-851; 1062-1066. 1929. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ "Arkansas Short Line Railroads". American-Rails.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
- ^ "Valuation Docket No. 1006, Missouri Pacific Railroad Company et al". Interstate Commerce Commission, March 22, 1933, pp. 249, 659-667. Retrieved June 17, 2024.