Fort Smith Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Fort Smith Railroad is a short-line railroad headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas
.
FSR operates an 18 mile (29 km) line in Arkansas
from Fort Smith (where it interchanges with Kansas City Southern Railway
, Union Pacific Railroad
, and Arkansas and Missouri Railroad
) to Fort Chaffee
.
FSR traffic generally consists of grain, food products, paper
products, scrap and finished steel
, lumber
, peanut
s, alcohol
, military equipment, and charcoal
.
The original line consisting of 47 miles (76 km) to Paris, Arkansas
was built in the 1890s by a Union Pacific predecessor, and was leased to FSR in 1991. The portion between Fort Chaffee and Paris was abandoned in 1995. FSR is a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp
.
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
.
FSR operates an 18 mile (29 km) line in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
from Fort Smith (where it interchanges with Kansas City Southern Railway
Kansas City Southern Railway
The Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...
, Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
, and Arkansas and Missouri Railroad
Arkansas and Missouri Railroad
The Arkansas and Missouri Railroad is a short-line railroad headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas.The A & M, as it is known, operates of line from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Monett, Missouri. The railroad interchanges freight cars with Kansas City Southern Railway at Fort Smith, with Union Pacific...
) to Fort Chaffee
Fort Chaffee
Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center is in the northwest Arkansas region adjacent to the city of Fort Smith, located one mile southeast of Fort Smith Regional Airport. The Arkansas River flows eastward along the northern border of the post. Interstate 40 is five miles to the north on the...
.
FSR traffic generally consists of grain, food products, paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
products, scrap and finished steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
, peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s, alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, military equipment, and charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
.
The original line consisting of 47 miles (76 km) to Paris, Arkansas
Paris, Arkansas
Paris is a city in Logan County, Arkansas, United States, and serves as the county seat for the northern district of Logan County; its southern district counterpart is Booneville. The population was 3,707 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
was built in the 1890s by a Union Pacific predecessor, and was leased to FSR in 1991. The portion between Fort Chaffee and Paris was abandoned in 1995. FSR is a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp
Pioneer Railcorp
Pioneer Railcorp is a holding company for a number of American short-line railroads. Other subsidiaries offer locomotive and freight car leasing to its own railroads and to third parties, and also freight car cleaning. Pioneer also has interests in real estate and newsletter publishing.The...
.