Arthur Sub - Mansfield, AR Branch

[qaprr]

Known as Arthur Sub, Mansfield Branch, originally was the Little Rock & Texas Railway Company. Line extended from Jenson, Arkansas, Mile Pole 429.899 to end of property in Mansfield, Arkansas at Mile Pole 448.327 a distance of 18.428 miles.

The Little Rock & Texas Railway Company was incorporated March 28, 1887, under the laws of the state of Arkansas to construct, own and maintain a railroad from a point on the western boundary of the state of Arkansas near Hackett in a general easterly direction to Little Rock, Arkansas, a distance of about 150 miles. Incorporation was granted March 30, 1887.

All construction work was performed by the SLSF for the accounts of the Little Rock & Texas Railway Company. Construction began January 1, 1887, and 18.428 miles of track was constructed from Jenson, Arkansas to Mansfield, Arkansas and placed in operation by October, 1887. At Mansfield the Little Rock & Texas Railway Company used .6 mile of CRIPRR trackage including facilities.

Syndicating, banking and other financial arrangements were handled by the SLSF and the property was controlled by the SLSF though ownership of the entire outstanding capital stock. From the date of placing the road in operation it was operated by the SLSF. October, 1887, until April 30, 1907, trackage was operated by the SLSF without a formal agreement. On April 30, 1907, an agreement for a 99-year lease was made. As of 1918, there were 18.428 miles of main track (Jenson to Mansfield) and 17.195 miles of yard and industry tracks for a total of 35.623 miles of track.

Following were the major industries served early on.
Banner Coal Spur at MP 431.189, .379 Mile of track
Banner Coal Spur at MP 431.568, 1.791 Miles of track
Central Coal & Coke No. 5 at MP 443.207, 1.825 miles of track
Central Coal & Coke No. 6 at MP 443.207, .379 mile of track
Central Coal & Coke No. 6 at MP 443.873, 1.791 miles of track

[tomd6]

The attached right of way picture was taken at Hackett, AR on the former Frisco Mansfield Branch. Hackett was the site of a large coal car yard that at one time served the numerouus mines along the Branch. The yard is still visible to the south of Oak Street in Hackett.Because Hackett was the car supply point the depot was manned up until 1966. The depot was removed from Hackett and has been restored as a private residence in the Bonaza area.
The Mansfield branch had shrunk to 14.7 miles by the time the Burlington Northern obtained ICC approval to abandon in December 1983. The last customer on the Mansfield branch was an explosives manufacturer located near Midland, AR. that received ammonium nitarte shipments from Louisiana.

[john]

Mansfield was the terminus of the Mansfield Branch and a Frisco interchange with the Rock Island. It was the site of "three Frisco depots". The original "first" depot can be identified on the 1902 map. The second and third depots were on and joint with the Rock Island. The second depot burned during or shortly after the First World War and was replaced with a brick structure which lasted until the end of the Rock.

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=257302.0

The link above connects to a number of old Mansfield photos including three of the 2nd depot. One of them with the Frisco "Slicker" and one with a Rock Island passenger train there. (both - as in the records below - using the same track at the depot)

Some indication of how the interchange was setup in the early days can be found in records of a Rock Island - Frisco collision which took place in 1914 killing two Frisco brakemen. The records are ICC accident report No 52 (page 56) and a 1916 lawsuit, CRI&P v. SCOTT. "This yard is operated under a joint contract, both roads using any and all of the tracks with the yard limits, there beiing regular designated tracks for delivering cars to both lines. However each road has a separate track for entrance to the station, but it appeared to be customary for the Rock Island to use the track assigned to the Frisco while switching in this yard."

Either railroad could probably have prevented the accident if their crews had paying any attention to rules and common sense. It is especially difficult to understand why the Rock Island would run into a train that they already knew was there or why the Frisco was pushing a car on a curved, tree lined, joint track with the brakemen on the front of the locomotive rather than the car where they could have seen the oncoming CRI&P locomotive.

[Coonskin]

John:

Missed this until tonight. Thanks for the link to the Mansfield page as well as your info. I have harvested several pictures for reference when I start creating my virtual version of Mansfield!

[john]

Addition to earlier post: I finally got around to asking my step-father (who is 101 years old, and from Mansfield - they have good water there) about the original Frisco depot. He verified something I had read earlier today... although it was not used as a station after ca.1905 or so the original Frisco depot was not torn down until the 1940's.

He also informed me that, to the best of his memory, the Choctaw (1st Rock Island) depot didn't burn but was just torn down and replaced. He could remember the brick building on the Rock Island under construction, probably at around the date I gave earlier. According to him the Slicker was still using the brick Rock Island structure (they apparently called it their "union depot") in the late 1920's and early 1930's.

The brick "union depot" was torn down in the early 1970's.