Arkansas
and Missouri Railroad - (en)
Arkansas and Missouri Railroad (AAR reporting marks AM) is a short-line
railroad headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas.
A&M operates 139.5 miles of line from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Monett,
Missouri. A&M interchanges with Kansas City Southern Railway at Fort
Smith, with Union Pacific Railroad at Van Buren, Arkansas and with BNSF
Railway at Monett, MO. A branch line connects Bentonville, Arkansas, with
the main line at Rogers, Arkansas. A&M also leases 3.2 miles of track
(locally known as "the Bottoms") from Union Pacific at Van
Buren, and provides haulage services for Union Pacific between Van Buren
and the Fort Smith Railroad in Fort Smith. The Fort Smith Railroad is
owned by Pioneer Railcorp of Peoria, IL.
Operations are based out of the headquarters location in Springdale as
well as Fort Smith. A&M's customers are predominantly located in those
two geographic areas. A&M substantially upgraded its rail line between
2002 and 2005 and features continuous welded rail across its entire main
line. The line handles 286,000 lb. railcars and is double stack-cleared
throughout. 
Most traffic is handled in scheduled A&M freight trains
although shuttle trains of corn make regular appearances in the Springdale
area with run-through locomotives from Union Pacific. Freight services
operate seven days per week.
A&M traffic generally consists of grain and feed supplements, paper
products, sand, plastic, food products, steel, scrap,lumber, aluminum, and
mineral products. AM also operates seasonal excursion trains between
Springdale, Van Buren, and Winslow, Arkansas. Excursion trains generally
operate Friday and Saturday April - November, featuring a tunnel and
several major trestles as they pass through the Boston Mountains. 
Trains
operate Sundays between Springdale and Fort Smith, Arkansas in the summer.
Additional trains operate in the October - November fall foliage season
and special trains operate at other times of the year. More details can be
found at www.arkansasmissouri-rr.com.
The line was built between 1880 and 1882 by the St. Louis - San Francisco
("Frisco") Railroad, a predecessor of Burlington Northern Santa
Fe, and was leased to AM in 1986.The A & M completed purchase of the
property in early 2001. The lease of "the Bottoms" (former
Missouri Pacific trackage) occurred in 2000. A&M serves numerous
warehouse and transload facilities, as well as port facilities on the
Arkansas River in Fort Smith and Van Buren.
The A&M also uses an all Alco/MLW locomotive fleet. This fleet
consists of a mix of C-420s, T-6s, an RS-32, two C-424s, three MLW M-420's
and one MLW/Bombardier HR-412. The company also retains an ALCO RS-1.
