Caddo and Choctaw Railroad
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Rosboro, Arkansas, US |
| Locale | Arkansas |
| Dates of operation | 1907–1924 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 14.018 miles (22.560 km) |
The Caddo and Choctaw Railroad (C&CRR) was a shortline rail carrier in Arkansas between 1907 and 1924. It primarily served the timber industry.
History
[edit]The C&CRR was incorporated April 19, 1907, in Arkansas, for the stated purpose of constructing, owning, operating, and maintaining a railroad from Rosboro in Pike County to a point near Langley, Arkansas, also in Pike County, about 23 miles.[1] One source indicates the ultimate goal was to extend to Ft. Smith.[2] However, the route as built between 1908 and 1911 extended only from Rosboro, where it interchanged with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, to a point known as Cooper Junction—near the present Daisy, Arkansas—[3] where it connected with the private trackage of its majority stakeholder, the Caddo River Lumber Company.[1] The line's revenue was mostly made from tonnage incident to the lumber industry,[1] but it did also carry passengers and other freight.[2][4] Its single-track, standard gauge mainline was 13.056 miles long, which with 0.962 miles of yard tracks and sidings made the entire railroad 14.018 miles in length.[1]
The C&CRR was sold in September 1911 to the Memphis, Dallas and Gulf Railroad, and was operated by that company until April 1913 when the purchaser failed to comply with the sale agreement. At that point the railway reverted to being an independent carrier.[1] A snapshot of the company's condition as of June 30, 1916 shows it with two locomotives and 44 train freight cars.[1] A 1919 builder's photo shows one of its engines, a Baldwin 2-6-2 Prairie-type steam locomotive, in C&CRR livery.[5]
The railroad stopped operations in 1924.[3][6] The trackage was subsequently abandoned.[7]
Legacy
[edit]C&CRR #11, a 2-6-2 built for the road by Baldwin, was sold to the Reader Railroad in Arkansas in 1941, and has had multiple other owners over time, ending up on static display in Riney-B Park near Nicholasville, Kentucky where it still resides.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Caddo and Choctaw Railroad Company". Interstate Commerce Commission, February–March 1926, pp.89-98. 1926. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ a b "Caddo River Lumber Company". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ a b "Caddo & Choctaw 2-6-2 "Prairie" Locomotives in the USA". SteamLocomotive.com. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ "Caddo River Lumber". Sutton Lumber Company. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ "Caddo and Choctaw Railroad – Steam Locomotive [Negative]". Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ "Caddo and Choctaw Railroad Memorabilia Value Guide". Railroad Collectibles. 25 February 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ "Arkansas". Rand McNally 1948 Railroad Atlas of the United States (accessed on RockyCrater.org). Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ "Old Train at Riney B Park off 27 near Nicholasville, KY v2, May 18, 2022". YouTube. 18 May 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.