The Graysonia, Nashville & Ashdown Railroad was a shortline rail carrier in the state of Arkansas, with rails running from Nashville, Arkansas to Ashdown, Arkansas.[1] It operated from 1922 to 1998.[1][2]
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Arkansas |
| Dates of operation | 1922–1998 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Length | 27 mi (43 km) |
History edit
The trackage can be traced to the Memphis, Paris and Gulf Railroad, incorporated in 1906.[3] That line's original vision was to link Nashville, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee and Paris, Texas.[3] The name changed in 1910 to the Memphis, Dallas and Gulf Railway.[3] The railroad constructed a line from Ashland, Arkansas to Shawmut, Arkansas, about 61 miles.[1] When the railroad went into foreclosure in 1922, the Graysonia, Nashville & Ashdown was incorporated to purchase the entire Ashland-to-Shawmut route.[1] However, 19 miles were abandoned, and the 15-mile segment from Nashville to Murfreesboro ended up with the new Murfreesboro, Nashville, Southwestern Railway, which ran it until the that line too was abandoned in 1952.[1][4][5] That left the Graysonia with about 27 miles from Nashville to Ashdown.[1] (Graysonia, Arkansas, then a lumber mill town and now a ghost town, did not end up on the final route, being northeast of and not between Nashville and Ashdown.)[6][7]
By mid-century, 75% of the Graysonia’s business came from hauling cement and quarry rock.[2] The trackage was relocated in the 1960s to make room for a dam project.[2] In 1998, the line was purchased by the Kansas City Southern.[2]
The trackage was subsequently leased to Watco in 2005, and is currently operated by the Arkansas Southern Railroad.[2][8]
Equipment and buildings edit
In 1926, the line obtained a Baldwin 2-6-0 “Mogul” steam freight engine, originally numbered as #203 but later renumbered as #26.[9] That engine, sold by the line in 1952, is now on static display at the Illinois Railway Museum as the Graysonia Nashville & Ashdown 26.[9]
Other locomotives used at one time or another include #55, an Alco S4 diesel;[10] #74R, also an S4;[11] and, #80, an EMD MP15DC diesel.[12]
The Graysonia train depot in Ashdown, Arkansas appears on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Little River County, Arkansas as the Memphis, Paris and Gulf Railroad Depot.[13]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f "Valuation Docket No. 1125, Graysonia Nashville & Ashdown Railroad Company, pp. 265-276". 1933. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "ARS Arkansas Southern Railroad" (PDF). Kansas City Southern Lines. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Memphis, Dallas and Gulf Railway Company right-of-way agreement, 1909". Arkansas Digital Archives. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ "Murfreesboro, Nashville, Southwestern Railway Company". 1933. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
- ^ "Murfreesboro (Pike County)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
- ^ "Graysonia (Clark County)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ "Ashdown, Arkansas to Graysonia, Arkansas". Google Maps. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ "Arkansas State Rail Plan 2015, p. 2-22" (PDF). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ a b "Graysonia Nashville & Ashdown 26". Illinois Railway Museum. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ "Pictures of GNA 55". RR Picture Archives. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ "Pictures of GNA 74R". RR Picture Archives. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ "Pictures of GNA 80". RR Picture Archives. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Memphis, Paris and Gulf Railroad Depot" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-04. Retrieved September 29, 2021.