Saturday, March 8, 2008, the day after a record snowfall for so late in the winter season across much of Arkansas. Several places in west and north Arkansas had 15-18 inches of snow. Brinkley had 6 inches and a lot was still on the ground today. It was sunny and 39 degrees (20 degress below the normal for the date). Of interest today was a colorful combination of a blue Conrail 6742 and a BNSF-Santa Fe Warbonnet 660. Also a sharp-looking CN unit, No. 2720. I included a few shots of snow around the Brinkley depot, plus some snow scenes of the Hazen, Arkansas renovated Rock Island depot. Trains today: UP 3555, 9539, 4642 *** Conrail 6742 *** Santa Fe-BNSF Warbonnet 660 *** CN 2720.



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LEFT-10:17 a.m. a train approaches. RIGT-UP 3555 heading an intermodal.


RIGHT-Brinkley Union Depot.


LEFT-Former Missouri Pacific depot from Monroe, Arkansas across the snowfield. RIGHT-Standing on the abandoned Rock Island right-of-way looking east. The line UP uses now, running left to right, is former Cotton Belt.




RIGHT-UP 9539, 12:39 p.m.


UP 4642 coming from the Marion, Arkansas intermodal facility on the Memphis sub.




LEFT-Colorful red, white and blue. RIGHT-Another colorful red, white and blue scene! Conrail 6742 with a Santa Fe-BNSF Warbonnet No. 660. I wish I would have waited a quarter second longer for the shot.  Time: 3:04 p.m.


LEFT-BNSF-SF Warbonnet 660. RIGHT-Ashley, Drew & Northern boxcar HS 30555.


LEFT-CN 2720, 3:46 p.m. RIGHT-More red and blue....


LEFT-Wisconsin Central gon WC 54196. RIGHT-On my way to Brinkley, I go through Hazen, Arkansas on US 70 and see this restored Hazen Rock Island depot.  To the right of this scene, the old roadbed has become a walking path with benches.


LEFT-UP 25501 caboose was donated in the 1980s. RIGHT-The original track through Hazen. If you could see them, the ties are in great shape still. Of course, no train ran on this track in 25 years. You can almost imagine a distant train headlight. When they removed the track between Little Rock and Brinkley on the Rock Island in the mid 1980s, they left this block of original track, signals and crossing signals in Hazen, as the city of Hazen requested.


Most of the Rock Island depots were saved and remodeled on this secion of the Rock's Sunbelt Line in Arknasas. There's also depots at Carlisle, Lonoke and of course Brinkley. They were replacing the roof on the Lonoke depot last December.