A Train Ride Through the Ozarks

I recently had the opportunity to ride the Arkansas Missouri Railroad from Springdale to Van Buren during our ‘peak’ foliage week in the Ozarks.

  I was tagging along with my co-worker and Fayetteville’s group tour manager Julie and loved every minute of it.

The restored passenger cars are artifacts in themselves, some almost one hundred years old.

 source

Unfortunately it was raining that day so my pictures don’t do justice to the beautiful range of colors, but I did snap a few worth sharing.

Blurry and rainy artsy foliage photos

We left from the Springdale Frisco train depot and started our journey south. Before we knew it, the train was being robbed by two masked horsemen. The horror!

Don’t worry, we survived and had a lovely trip to the metropolis of Van Buren– Non-locals, I apologize. That’s an Arkansas joke. Let’s just say Van Buren is not exactly urban.

On the trip back from Van Buren, we rode in a 1914 ( I think?) two story, dome car.

Oh yeah. And this definitely happened.

         Here’s a picture of Julie taking a picture of the train about to head into a tunnel.

Did that just blow your mind?

Julie and I with her Razorback mascot Rookie Red.

Albeit a little wet, it was a lovely day on the train. If you’re in the Northwest Arkansas area, I definitely recommend taking a train trip into the past on the Arkansas Missouri Railroad.