Contemporary Ft. Smith Sub Pics...

Well... I truly wish that blk&y and/or orange & white Geeps and F's were in these pics, but alas, 'tis only the nose of a burgundy Alco. However, it IS the former Frisco Ft. Smith Sub... so that's surely worth a look-see at how the "trustee" (the A&M ) of this sacred ground is taking care of the property.

That so... hop on board with me as we take a couple of Winslow Psgr Turns up The Mountain. First up... a few from a trip I ran last year:

Pic/Description

psgr1: Waiting for the Arkansas River drop span to settle into place. Soon we'll be back on our way north to Winslow.

psgr2: Only to stop short at a stop signal at the UP interlocker just a few hundred yards later!

psgr3: "Civilization" well behind us, We're now motoring along at the allowable 35 MPH through fantastic Ozark scenery.

psgr4: A pine tree lined curving cut. Around the curve is the bridge just south of the long-gone town of "Lancaster".

psgr5: And here's the bridge! That's Frog Creek below us.

psgr6: A neat valley scene as we click past "Granny's". As tradition has handed down, I give a little "toot" on the whistle for her. (I'm told she has watched trains past this spot for many a decade.)

psgr7: On the longest tangent on the line, just north of Chester.

psgr8: We're on our way up The Mountain now, and ahead is Bridge 3, the smallest of the three bridges we'll cross on our climb.

psgr9: Bridge 2. The second biggest bridge!

psgr10: Ahead is Bridge 1. It's The Biggie. My first time over this bridge I was in the hotseat of an orange & white GP7 (trailed by a black & yellow and two more orange & white's). The quartet was working a tonnage train up to Winslow on the "Winslow Turn". I recall the Geeps were doing about 8 MPH at that time. Alas, it's an Alco for today.

Welp... all for this post. To be continued!

Andre Ming

 

First trip continued!!

psgr11: We're on Bridge 1 now. The valley floor is about 114' or so below us.

psgr12: As you cross Bridge 1, it really is akin to flying. As you go onto the bridge, the ground simply falls away from you... WAYYYY below. Looking to the east (as we are here), all you see is the sides of mountains. Really neat.

psgr13: Looking down from Bridge 1. Really doesn't do it justice. Just bear in mind those are full grown trees you're looking at!

psgr14: The South Portal of the tunnel. I've heard it called "Winslow Tunnel", and read on SLSF data I have that it was also called "Boston Mtn. Tunnel".

psgr15: Now we enter Winslow! Lordy, I'll never forget that first trip up this stretch of railroad and the fantastic experiences that came along with it!

In 1974, Winslow was a sleepy Ozark town that was virtually untouched by outside culture. The old general store building (out of sight to the left) was a sur'nuf General Store then... complete with hardwood floors and bare incandescent light bulbs hanging from the ceiling! During that maiden trip in '74, after cutting off the tonnage to be left at Winslow, we came back south on the main with the light power and stopped just up ahead about where the curve is. We went over to the General Store and bought supper. It was dusk-thirty by this time. The hardwood floors made their distinctive sound under our work boots as we strolled over to the sandwich counter and selected what our fresh-cut sandwiches. I opted for a thick sliced bologna w/pepper jack cheese, and all the trimmin's. (Red onions, lettuce, tomato and mustard.)

Heading back to the idling power with our supper's in hand... I can't tell you what an atmosphere there was. Imagine if you will:

As I walked across the dirt and scrubble in the crisp evening air, in front of me was a quartet of Frisco Geeps and their wonderful EMD 567 chant. The the smell of diesel smoke was in the air mixed with the pungent aroma of hardwood sap from the fresh cut ties stacked beside the awaiting gondolas on the Back Track. (I love the smell of lumber!) As a backdrop behind the Geeps, there was a mountainside dotted with small dwellings... each with pale glowing windows as the Ozark mountain dwellers were settling in for the evening. Wood smoke rose lazily from most of them.

As we the light power drifted down the mountain in the darkness... I sat on the left hand seat and quietly ate my sandwich as the headlights punched a hole in the darkness. I was absolutely, and forever, hooked on the Frisco, the Ft. Smith Sub, in particular.

Yes, the scene, the smells, the experience... has been forever etched in my mind.

How I miss those times.

Now we hop to a trip just a few weeks ago. It was to be a GORGEOUS day... so I packed along my camera and thought I'd snap a few. Here's what I shot:

psgr16: Held up at the bridge but this coming at us!

psgr17: Rather an odd sight, don't you think?

psgr18: Bridge down... on our way!

psgr19: Coming into one of my favorite old Frisco haunts: Van Buren, Arkansas. Won't do any good to lament the losses... at least there are still TRAINS running through here in this present day. And, trains with distinctive power, no less.

psgr20: Lastly... back into Winslow.

Welp... that's it! Hope you enjoyed!

 

You're welcome, yardmaster! I hope others enjoy it too.

I mentioned my first trip up The Mountain in November of 1974. Well, I do have a couple of (terrible quality) pics I took with my new wife's Argus cheapie camera. They are uploaded as part of this post. Here's what you're looking at:

trip1: We're in Van Buren in November of '74. It's raining, and getting colder by the minute. After switching in Van Buren for better than an hour, the "Winslow Turn" is ready to leave. The Winslow Turn was occassioned by too much tonnage coming out of Ft. Smith, and not enough power to move it. So, they would take what power was available at Ft. Smith, and run as much tonnage as they could up The Mountain, setting it off at Winslow. The power would then return light back down The Mountain unless switching was needed on the way back, which was often the case. Later that night, northward train #730 would leave with all it could haul and get it heaved up and on top of The Mountain. Once on top, they would pick up the tonnage set out by the Winslow Turn, assemble it onto their train... and off they went to finish their run.

trip2: A very fuzzy picture of Bridge 1 taken on The Mountain during The Trip. Throttle 8, sanders on, and a whopping 8-9 MPH. Talk about dramatic!

I went back a few weeks later and simply took a few pics of the area from Ft. Smith to Winslow. Here's a couple of Winslow.

Winslow: This is a composite of the old section of Winslow. The General Store I mentioned in this thread is the largest structure. Note the pile of green cut ties beside the Back Track awaiting some gons to be spotted for loading. Quite a few ties were still be loaded at Winslow during this time.

Winslow2: Coming into Winslow. I first saw this scene aboard that quartet of Geeps I described as we eased into the hole to make the cut. What a grand way to discover Winslow!!

Welp... all for now!