Arkansas & Missouri Railroad
An Amazing Experience

Last weekend, I had the wonderful and distinctive pleasure to enjoy what was, for me, a unique Ozarks experience. Friday morning, I took the train from Springdale to Van Buren, Arkansas, then after a three-hour layover in downtown Van Buren, took the train back to Springdale. Other trips are available out of Springdale, Van Buren, Fort Smith and Fayetteville, but I can only tell you about the Springdale to Van Buren round trip from personal experience.

It was a beautiful 134 mile round trip with lots of scenery and there were plenty of bits and pieces of history from the conductor, including tidbits of info that I don't think you'd find in local history books. The journey includes passage through the 1702-foot Winslow Tunnel (the uppermost point in the tunnel happens to be the highest railroad crest between the Appalachians and the Rockies) and three long trestles that are all over 100 feet above the forest floor (the views from the trestle are unbelievably beautiful views especially to the east, but be sure you sit on the west side for one direction of your trip because there are advantages to both sides). 

The first class car was not available on the day I took my trip, so I can only compare the Coach and the Upgrade Coach options. Coach is a $45 round trip fare, and basically just includes the journey and the history (they call it the commentary). The Upgrade Coach fare is $10 more ($55 round trip) and also includes a souvenir picture, refreshments, and I might add that the Upgrade passenger car is more comfortable than the Coach car (it's air conditioned). I'd highly recommend spending the extra $10 even if the car wasn't air-conditioned. Later this summer (2005), they promise to have a First Class Parlor Car available for a $65 round trip fare. I hope to report on a First Class trip at a later date.

Even though the eastern view is definitely the prettier view on average, I recommend that you sit on the western side one direction also. I sat on the right side of the train for both legs of the trip which meant that I was on the west side going down and on the east side coming back, so in my opinion, it doesn't matter which side you sit on, as long as you sit on the same side (right or left) on the way back, so you can get the opposite view. The only thing that detracted from the view on the east side of the train was the "littering." I kind of hated to see all the old railroad ties just sitting next to the tracks. I hope that eventually, they go down the tracks to retrieve the old ties. Going down, I couldn't help but think that the forest view to the west must be very close to what the view was back before the railroads and highways permeated our country (the forest actually comes right down to the tracks, so it's easy to imagine it without the tracks present). I could almost imagine hiking through the Boston Mountains in olden days based on the views that I was seeing from the train.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this trip. If your travels this summer will bring you anywhere near Northwest or Western Arkansas, be sure to plan a day to allow you the full enjoyment of this unique experience traveling through the Boston Mountains, part of our beautiful Ozarks. 

(Review posted by the review editor for www.GodLovesEveryone.org. Contact: John-at-GodLovesEveryone.org.)

If you will be enjoying this trip in the future,
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