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From Yahoo Mopac group, May 2014
Gordon
Wonderful photos! And glad you recorded the consist.
I worked several months in Van Buren/Ft. Smith around the winter 1975. Recall one evening seeing the Jenks Blue 1976 working in a consist to be painted in the red/white/blue for the bi-centennial at NLRK. Apparently when they were switching in Russellville the engineer misjudged where his train was and backed into the train too fast and ‘bent the frame’. The engine showed back up at Van Buren with oil all over the middle of the walkway the next day.
I was told later they pulled another GP-18 out of service to get the bi-centennial colors and the real 1976 was quietly retired. Looking forward to anymore of your ‘unfiled’ negatives.
Charlie Duckworth
These are great pictures, and Wagoner is a rarely photographed location. Trains 125 and 126 were truly all-stops locals by this time, a far cry from the Rainbow Special of 40 years earlier. A schedule from the January 1960 Official Guide is attached, showing the many stops as well as meal stops in each direction.
MoPac attempted to revive passenger business on this route by promoting round trips for a dollar more than one-way fare, and a grill coach was also restored from December 15, 1957 until January 31, 1959 to upgrade the service. The identity of the grill cars has always been a bit of a mystery.
Gordon Mott mentions that train 126 turned in Kansas City to become 125. Its possible that 125 turned at Little Rock to become 126. A photo taken at Conway on the last northbound trip has locomotive 8012, and an 8mm home movie of this last trip shows a four-car consist similar to the one Gordon photographed southbound a day earlier.
Bill Pollard
