Arkansas Southern Railroad (1892-1905)

Not to be confused with Arkansas Southern Railroad.

Arkansas Southern RailroadOverview

Headquarters| El Dorado, Arkansas
Locale| Arkansas and Louisiana
Dates of operation| 1892-1905-
Technical
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Length| 98 mi (158 km)

The Arkansas Southern Railroad Company was a small carrier with track in Arkansas and Louisiana.[1] It was incorporated in 1892 and merged out of existence in 1905.[2]

## History[edit]

The line was incorporated on August 29, 1892, in Arkansas.[3][4] A mention in an 1898 newspaper says the line extended from El Dorado to Junction City, while making active efforts to extend through to the Gulf of Mexico.[5] Meanwhile, another railroad, the Alexandria, Junction City & Shreveport Railway Company, had been organized and chartered on June 29, 1897 under the laws of Louisiana for the purpose of building a railroad from Junction City, via Ruston, to the town of Winnfield, Louisiana.[6] That company was merged into the Arkansas Southern in March of 1899, with the combined entity continuing as the Arkansas Southern Railroad Company.[6] Stock certificates from 1900 say the line was incorporated in both Arkansas and Louisiana.[7]

The railroad completed the mainline from El Dorado into Winnfield around April of 1901.[6] As shown in a mid-1901 listing in the Official Railway Guide, the line ran south from El Dorado through small settlements in Union County, Arkansas like Cargile, Upland and Cornie before encountering Junction City on the Arkansas/Louisiana border.[1] It continued into Union Parish, Louisiana, going through Lille and Bernice.[1] In Lincoln Parish, the line went through Dubach and Vienna into the junction at Ruston.[1] It continued south into Winn Parrish and towns like Dodson and Tannehill before terminating in Winnfield.[1] The listing indicates an intent to complete the line to the Gulf Coast, and specifically to a location marked as New Sabine City, also referred to as just Sabine City, immediately to the west of Port Arthur in Texas.[1] But, a description of the railroad on its end-of-service date does not indicate the line reached any destination south of Winnfield.[8]

The 1901 listing also shows one branch line, called the Magnolia Branch, which left the mainline at Cornie and ran northwest through Neil and Glidden to Parnell, Arkansas.[1] The stated intent was for the line to continue north through Magnolia, Arkansas, with a projected intersection with the tracks of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway north of Magnolia.[1] However, the description of the extent of the railroad on its end-of-service date does not mention the Magnolia branch.[8]

Besides carrying passengers, the railroad clearly had its eyes on agricultural traffic, particularly timber, in the region.[1] In the 1901 listing, the railroad says, “This line is located near the centre of an exceedingly productive section between the Red and Ouachita Rivers: splendidly watered and exceedingly healthy. Intervening between the cultivated sections exists the most extensive virgin yellow pine forests in the South.”[1] At one point the line built a 5-mile spur to a small lumber mill in Wesson, Arkansas, which it continued to own but allowed the mill to operate.[9] However, the mill later incorporated its own railroad, the El Dorado and Wesson Railway, and built its own line 10 miles to connect with another carrier.[9]

The line as built interchanged with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway at El Dorado, and with the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railway at Ruston for connections to Monroe and Shreveport, Louisiana.[1] The stated intent was for the line’s own branches to someday extend to Monroe and Shreveport, but there is no indication these were built.[8]

On October 31, 1905, the Arkansas Southern Railway was merged with another carrier, the Rock Island, Arkansas and Louisiana Railroad, to which the 98-mile El Dorado-to-Winnfield line was contributed.[8]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Arkansas Southern Railroad". Official Railway Guide, August 1, 1901 (accessed on USGenWebArchives. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
2. ^ "Arkansas Southern Railroad Memorabilia Value Guide". Railroad Collectibles. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
3. ^ Farnsworth, Robert S. (2017). The Grand Western Railroad Game: The History of the Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific Railroads: Volume I: The Empire Years: 1850 Up to the Great War. Dorrance Publishing. p. 236\. ISBN 978-1-4809-2707-0.
4. ^ "Arkansas Southern Railroad v. Murphy, 83 Ark. 562". Arkansas Supreme Court, June 24, 1907 (accessed on Caselaw Access Project). Retrieved August 30, 2021.
5. ^ "Article". The Arkansas Gazette, April 12, 1898. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
6. ^ a b c "James et al. v. Arkansas Southern Ry. Co. et al., 10 La. 145". Supreme Court of Louisiana, March 16, 1903 (accessed on Westlaw). Retrieved August 30, 2021.
7. ^ "Arkansas Southern Railroad Company". Ghosts of Wall Street. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
8. ^ a b c d "Rock Island, Arkansas and Louisiana Railroad". Interstate Commerce Commission Valuation Reports, Volume 24, 1929 (quoted on WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Rock Island, Arkansas and Louisiana Railroad). Retrieved August 30, 2021.
9. ^ a b "Railroads, lumber mills have long history in Union Co". Janice McIntyre, El Dorado News-Times, November 5, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2021.

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Railroads of Arkansas

Common carriers|

* Arkansas Midland Railroad
* Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi Railroad
* Arkansas Southern Railroad
* Bauxite and Northern Railway
* BNSF Railway
* Caddo Valley Railroad
* De Queen and Eastern Railroad
* Dardanelle and Russellville Railroad
* Delta Southern Railroad
* Delta Valley and Southern Railway
* East Camden and Highland Railroad
* El Dorado and Wesson Railway
* Fordyce and Princeton Railroad
* Fort Smith Railroad
* Kansas City Southern Railway
* Kiamichi Railroad
* Louisiana and North West Railroad
* Little Rock Port Authority Railroad
* Little Rock and Western Railway
* Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad
* Ouachita Railroad
* Prescott and Northwestern Railroad
* Union Pacific Railroad
* Warren and Saline River Railroad

Passenger carriers|

* Amtrak

Private carriers|

* Granite Mountain Quarries Railroad

Heritage railroads|

* Arkansas and Missouri Railroad
* Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway
* Fort Smith Trolley Museum

See also: Former carriers in Arkansas * List of United States railroads by political division

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* e

Railroads of Louisiana

Common carriers|

* Acadiana Railway
* Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi Railroad
* BNSF Railway
* Baton Rouge Southern Railroad
* CG Railway
* CSX Transportation
* Delta Southern Railroad
* East Camden and Highland Railroad
* Gloster Southern Railroad
* Illinois Central Railroad
* Kansas City Southern Railway
* Louisiana and Delta Railroad
* Louisiana and North West Railroad
* Louisiana Southern Railroad
* New Orleans and Gulf Coast Railway
* New Orleans Public Belt Railroad
* Norfolk Southern Railway
* Ouachita Railroad
* Timber Rock Railroad
* Union Pacific Railroad

Passenger carriers|

* Amtrak

See also: Former carriers in Louisiana * List of United States railroads by political division
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