Monday, July 1, 2019
Located in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railway is a working museum located at the site of the town's fully restored railroad depot which was built in 1913 and appears to be appropriately furnished inside, though it was closed on the day I visited.
This museum is home to a collection of vintage train cars and other relics including steam locomotives, compressors, pumps and engines. During the summer, you can book a ride on one of the cars pulled by a more modern diesel locomotive. There's also an old locomotive turn-table which they evidently still operate from time to time, despite its rather unstable appearance. One of the more prominent trains on site include the old No. 201, a 2-6-0 (Mogul) built in 1906 by the American Locomotive Company in Patterson New Jersey as a coal burner and was later converted to oil. It is one of only three known surviving locomotives to have worked on the Panama Canal. Attached to this machine is an old caged circus car, complete with an animal doghouse style enclosure inside. There's also an interesting 1951 Chevrolet converted to use as a track inspector's car, among other things.
I didn't bother to bring my camera on this stop so these photos were shot on my crappy old phone. The town itself is pretty cool; it's full of old buildings scattered around the unique and porous geography.
