Arkansas Southern Railroad

Last updated
Arkansas Southern Railroad
Overview
Headquarters Russellville, Arkansas
Reporting mark ARS
Locale Arkansas and Oklahoma
Dates of operation2005–Present
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length63 mi (101 km)

The Arkansas Southern Railroad( reporting mark ARS) is a short-line railroad which started service in October 2005. [1] ARS operates two disconnected lines consisting of Heavener, Oklahoma to Waldron, Arkansas (32 miles), and Ashdown to Nashville, Arkansas (29 miles), plus a switch track at Ashdown, [1] for a total of 63 miles. [2] The lines are leased from Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) to ARS's owner, the Watco Companies (Watco). [3]

Contents

History

The Ashdown to Nashville trackage (now known as the Southern Branch), which also serves Saratoga, Tollette, and Mineral Springs, Arkansas, [3] started in 1907 as the Memphis, Paris & Gulf Railroad, later reorganized as the Graysonia, Nashville & Ashdown Railroad. [4] By mid-century, 75% of its business came from hauling cement and quarry rock. [4] After the line was relocated in the 1960's to make room for a dam project, it was purchased in 1998 by KCS. [4] Watco leased the line in 2005, [3] and ARS began operating it in October of 2005. [4]

The Heavener to Waldron line (now known as the Northern Branch), which also serves Bates, Cauthron, and Hon, Arkansas, [3] was completed in 1901 by the Arkansas Western Railroad (later the Arkansas Western Railway), after the KCS had arrived in Heavener five years earlier. [5] In 1904, the line became a KCS subsidiary. [5] In 1960, a large feed mill was built in Waldron, and by the time Tyson Foods acquired the mill, traffic on the rail line was down to twice-a-week shipments of animal food to that plant. [5] With so little traffic, maintenance was deferred and the line deteriorated. [5] In 1983, state and federal funds went to rehabilitating the line. [5] In 1992, Arkansas Western Railroad was merged into KCS, and in 2005, KCS leased the line to Watco. [5] The plant remains a major customer. [5]

Operations

The ARS has eight employees and four locomotives. [4]

The tonnage today is primarily corn and soy, carbon dioxide, and chemicals such as bauxite and acid. [2] The line also offers car storage. [2] [4]

On the Northern Branch, the railroad interchanges with the KCS at Heavener. [2] On the Southern Branch, it interchanges with the KCS at Ashdown, and the Union Pacific Railroad at Nashville. [2]

In 2020, the leases from the KCS on the lines were extended through November 30, 2034. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BNSF Railway</span> American freight railroad

BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, 33,400 miles (53,800 km) of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide rail connections between the western and eastern United States. BNSF trains traveled over 169 million miles in 2010, more than any other North American railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Southern Railway</span> Former American transport company

The Kansas City Southern Railway Company was an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operates in 10 Midwestern and Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. KCS owns the shortest north-south rail route between Kansas City, Missouri, and several key ports along the Gulf of Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Southern (company)</span> American railroad holding company

Kansas City Southern (KCS) was a transportation holding company with railroad investments in the United States, Mexico, and Panama and operated from 1887 to 2023. The KCS rail network included about 7,299 miles (11,747 km) of track in the U.S. and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin and Southern Railroad</span> Class II regional railroad in Southern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois

The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad is a Class II regional railroad in Southern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois currently operated by Watco. It operates former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) trackage, mostly acquired by the state of Wisconsin in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana and Arkansas Railway</span>

The Louisiana and Arkansas Railway was a railroad that operated in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The railroad's main line extended 332 miles, from Hope, Arkansas to Shreveport and New Orleans. Branch lines served Vidalia, Louisiana, and Dallas, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watco</span> Transportation company in Kansas

Watco Companies, L.L.C. (Watco) Watco is an American transportation and logistics company based in Pittsburg, Kansas. The company’s core services are freight transportation, material handling and storage, logistics, railcar repair and maintenance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama Southern Railroad</span>

The Alabama Southern Railroad is a class III railroad that operates in the southern United States. The ABS is one of several short line railroads owned by Watco. The railroad operates an 85-mile (137 km) line leased from the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). It began operating in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad</span> Class III shortline railroad in Missouri

The Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad, LLC is a Class II Regional Railroad in the U.S. states of Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas. The company is headquartered in Carthage, Missouri. It is not to be confused with the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad which connected Joplin, Missouri, with Helena, Arkansas, from 1906 to 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiamichi Railroad</span>

The Kiamichi Railroad Company is a Class III short-line railroad headquartered in Hugo, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Mexican Railway</span> Railroad that operated as a subsidiary of the Kansas City Southern Railway

The Texas Mexican Railway was a short line railroad in the U.S. state of Texas operating between Corpus Christi and the Texas Mexican Railway International Bridge in Laredo, Texas. It is often referred to as the Tex Mex, or Tex Mex Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkansas–Oklahoma Railroad</span> Class III American rail carrier

The Arkansas–Oklahoma Railroad is a Class III carrier headquartered in Wilburton, OK that operates two segments of the former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRIP) Choctaw Route that originally ran between Memphis Tennessee and Tucumcari, New Mexico. AOK started operations on March 3, 1996 on 73 miles of track then owned by the U.S. state of Oklahoma between Howe and McAlester by assuming the existing lease of the Missouri Pacific, then wholly owned by the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). This lease included a purchase option which AOK exercised in April 2016. The line interchanges with the Kansas City Southern Railway at Howe, and with the UP at McAlester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murphy Branch</span>

The Murphy Branch is a branch line operated by the Western North Carolina Railroad, later the Richmond and Danville, Southern Railway, the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and today the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad. The branch runs between Asheville, North Carolina in the east and Murphy in the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad</span> Railway line in the United States

South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad is a short line railroad which operates 730.34 miles (1,175.37 km) of rail lines in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri that used to belong to Missouri Pacific, Frisco and Santa Fe lines. SKOL is a unit of Watco.

The Vicksburg Southern Railroad is a Shortline railroad in and near Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States, owned by Watco. It connects with the Kansas City Southern Railway's Meridian Speedway in Vicksburg, and stretches north to Redwood and south to Cedars. The line was once part of a main line between Memphis and New Orleans, completed by the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway, a predecessor of the Illinois Central Railroad, in about 1884. The Illinois Central Gulf Railroad sold the remaining portions near Vicksburg, along with the present Meridian Speedway, to the MidSouth Rail Corporation in 1986, and in 1993 the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) gained control of MidSouth, subsequently absorbing it. The newly created Vicksburg Southern leased the lines from KCS in January 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaw River Railroad</span>

The Kaw River Railroad is a Kansas City, Missouri railroad, established in June 2004. Twelve miles of original track served the Kansas City Southern Railroad customers in Kansas City and Union Station. The original KAW was a Kansas City Southern Railway Company property and was the first shortline Watco began operating for KCS, serving customers in the Greater Kansas City area and handling interchanges among the BNSF, KCS, and Union Pacific.

WFEC Railroad Company-- reporting mark: WFEC-- is a Class III industrial rail line running 14.98 miles from Western Farmers Electric Cooperative's Hugo Power Plant at Fort Towson, Oklahoma, near Hugo, to an interchange with the Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Railroad (TOE) at Valliant, Oklahoma. It is owned by Western Farmers, and was built in 1997.

The Louisiana Southern Railroad (LAS) is a shortline railroad operating in the state of Louisiana. It began operations on September 25, 2005 on two unconnected lines leased from the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS). The northern branch runs south from Springhill, Louisiana through Sarepta and Cotton Valley to Minden, Louisiana, with one set of tracks continuing south to Sibley, Louisiana, and another set running west through Princeton to Shreveport, Louisiana. The south branch runs generally south-southeast from Gibsland, Louisiana through towns like Bienville, Hodge, and Winnfield, to end at Pineville, Louisiana. The total trackage is currently 195.4 miles.

The Timber Rock Railroad (TIBR) is a shortline rail carrier operating in the states of Texas and Louisiana. Its single line runs from Kirbyville, Texas to DeRidder, Louisiana, about 41.5 miles. It is owned by the Watco Companies.

The Graysonia, Nashville & Ashdown Railroad was a shortline rail carrier in the state of Arkansas, with rails running from Nashville, Arkansas to Ashdown, Arkansas. It operated from 1922 to 1998.

The Arkansas Western Railway operated a 32-mile rail line between Heavener, Oklahoma and Waldron, Arkansas. It bought the assets of its predecessor in 1904, and the company was merged out of existence in 1992.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Arkansas Southern Railroad, L.L.C.— Lease Exemption With Interchange Commitment—The Kansas City Southern Railway Company" (PDF). Surface Transportation Board, February 22, 2021, as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 86, No. 37, pp. 11820-11821. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Arkansas Southern Railroad (ARS)". Watco. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Arkansas State Rail Plan 2015, p. 2-22" (PDF). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ARS Arkansas Southern Railroad" (PDF). Kansas City Southern Lines. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Arkansas Western Railroad". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved August 30, 2021.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.