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N THE HEART OF ARKANSAS lies the cap- ital city of Little Rock, named for a small rock formation on the south


bank of the Arkansas River. Along with its companion city, North Little Rock, the area is home to some 260,000 residents who might tell you that hunting is the dominant hobby and that Duck Dynas- ty is their favorite TV show. They may be bothered a bit by tourists who crowd them out of their lakes, streams, forests, and national parks, but they certainly don’t have to worry about chasing away visiting railfans. There aren’t many. In assessing current operations, it’s


a mystery as to why Little Rock isn’t a lure to rail enthusiasts. The fringes of the state are well worn as rail photogra- phers have trampled those areas often.


30 SEPTEMBER 2015 • RAILFAN.COM


Plenty of respect has been paid to nearby Rich Mountain, the Alcos of the Arkan- sas & Missouri, the Arkansas Midland, the Missouri & Northern Arkansas and ex-Missouri Pacific lines along the White River, plus other small lines in remote locations. But the grand stage of Class I railroading right in the middle has gar- nered little attention.


Historic Ties The lines date back to 1874 when the


St. Louis & Iron Mountain and Cairo & Fulton joined to become the St. Lou- is, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway. The SL&IM was chartered in 1851 and built south along the eastern side of the Mississippi River from East St. Louis to the southern tip of Illinois. The C&F was


chartered in 1854 and built southwest from Birds Point, Mo., (across the river from Cairo, Ill.), to Fulton, Ark. (north- east of Texarkana). The joining of the two plus the southern connection with the Texas & Pacific and International & Great Northern opened a lane of service between St. Louis and Texas points. Then in 1879, control of the Missouri


Pacific landed in the hands of Jay Gould. Expansion of the railroad followed and that included an opposite diagonal line under the SLIM&S linking St. Charles, La., with Fort Smith, Ark., and points north and west. The two crossed at Little Rock and formed a basic traffic pattern that has lasted for close to 140 years. The fiercest competition the MoPac would see in the state was the building


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