Arkansas missouri railroad

[fordarama]

We Just returned from our trip to springdale Arkansas,
Our main goal was to ride the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad ,
The trip was fun, The views for the most part are really pretty,
Alot of trees, and creeks, rivers, hills, and valleys.
The trip we took was the springdale to van buren tour.
It starts at 8:00 Am and you get back around 5:00 P.M
You get a three hour layover in van buren to shop and enjoy lunch.
There are soem really good antique shops right in front of the station on main street, as well as a wonderful used book store, which I had to pry my mom out of.
We had lunch at a wonderful cafe across from the station called cottage cafe.
Home made pies, and home cookin.
My hubby and I and our kids just got burgers and fries, But they were yummy and the prices were under $6.00 and the pies were $2.50 a slice.
My dad got pie only.. and mom a burger as well.
We got back just in time to watch the razorback game..
It is the first time I have been in that area, I have passed thru Fort smith , but never have gone up to springdale and the area.
My only gripe with the trip was the hotel,
We were going in August, but changed it because of the heat, So I had to switch hotels,
The one I had booked before was triple per room , per night in september,
So I booked two rooms at the extended stay hotel in sprindale,
The place looks nice from the outside, but was smelly, and the carpets were dirty.
The manager said that it was because they get construction workers that get them really dirty, and that with an extended stay hotel there is more wear and tear.
We shared a room with our two sons, 14, and 22.. Never , ever , again.....
Too many people in too small a beds,
The rooms were doubles, The beds were to small and too hard........
The only thing I liked was the kitchens in the rooms,,
And the rooms were clean, they just kinda stunk
The manager was a nice guy, but for 70 + per room per night,
The rooms were just blah.......
Boy, did I miss Bransons good hotel prices...........
All in All a pretty fun weekend, I think it is worth trying once.........

[fordarama]

view inside train,

[fordarama]

[fordarama]

This is the old bank building in van buren...

[fordarama]

And my son's and My Daddy......

[StarsRUs]

Thanks for the post on this trip fordarama!! I thouroughly enjoyed reading about it. And I loved seeing some of your pix too.

This is a trip my DH and I have talked about doing since we both love trains and I have some distance family there.

My family on my dad's side are from the Ft. Smith/Van Buren area. Allot of family history from back in the mid to late 1800's. I still have some relatives there. We've been there many times, mostly on business. We just love the old downtown area.

I have some 'infamous' relatives from that area. The most famous being Judge Issac Parker..(the hanging judge). And a US Marshall named Sterling Price McLaughlin. Both were assigned out of Ft. Smith.

Sorry that your hotel in Springdale turned out to be a bummer. But I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the trip dispite it.

Thanks again for such a nice post.

[lucyann]

Yup!! That's my town! I noticed Friday as I was driving back to school to take DD's clarinet to her, (only the 2nd time she's forgot in 4 yrs.) the train has a new or recently refurbished red caboose on the end. Quite charming.
Sorry to hear about your hotel experience. That stinks.
Now if you'll watch the Matthew Broderick movie Biloxi Blues, you'll recognize some of the downtown scenes that were filmed in Van Buren. Plus, at the end of the movie it shows the railroad bridge going over the AR River from Van Buren to Fort Smith. My children were quite amazed to see our town in the movies. Plus, there were also scenes from The Blue and the Gray shot in Van Buren. I remember several tons of dirt being put on Main Street to make the dirt road.
Where the road comes down Hwy. 59 beside the depot and heads into Main Street, there used to be other stores where the public area with restrooms is located. Several years ago a truck careened out of control down the hill and slammed into a parked car with occupants. After that Hwy. 59 South was banned from truck traffic.
Did you make it down to the King Opera House? And, was it open for looking?

[fordarama]

We saw the outside of the opera house, But it didn't look open...
My son wanted to see it.........
Van buren was a nice town,
I don't think springdale is near as quaint.........

[fordarama]

I bet the area is awesome in fall, with all the colors..........
It didn't take long to get there, It takes us quite a bit longet to get to branson.
They need a good hwy to Branson like the one to springdale........

[CHRISTISAM2001]

Thanks for posting about your trip...and I really enjoyed the pics!! Glad yall had a great time.

[kbradleyar]

I have been wanting to go this but never got around to it. I need to one day soon.

[Critter]

Thanks for the pictures! What a nice looking family! Glad you all had a good time. Too bad the hotel was smelly. A lot of times I take febreeze on trips with me.

[JoLaLaLa]

This looks like such a cool trip! We don't live far from Springdale or Van Buren, so that would be a neat thing to visit someday.

Originally Posted by StarsRUs

I have some 'infamous' relatives from that area. The most famous being Judge Issac Parker..(the hanging judge).

Wow, that's a pretty neat/odd connection. That's someone I have actually heard of, because we used to show cattle at the Hangin' Judge jackpot livestock show there in Ft. Smith. Pretty funny to have connection to historic figures like that. In fact, I think somewhere down my line, my family is related to the Jameses (as in Frank & Jesse, the famous oldtime criminals). lol Gotta love history

[scrapingChick]

How much was the train ride? Sounds like fun!

[fordarama]

I got my vouchers from a radio station, so we went for half price...
Here is a link to the web site
http://www.arkansasmissouri-rr.com/timetable.aspx
We went coach as well.........You can buy snacks for a $1.00
Here is a link where to get tickets 2 for 1 for the train.
http://www.radiotalon.com/Branson+Tickets/default.aspx