Walter M. "Mike" Adams

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  • January 28, 2018 at 4:56 pm #6042
    benjamintickell53
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    Mike Adams was a well recognized rail historian in North Little Rock, as well as a lifetime member of MPHS. Before his death in 2002, he wrote many articles for The Eagle, the Arkansas Railroader, Trains Magazine, the NMRA Bulletin, the NRHS Bulletin and other publications yet to be discovered. Mike also published at least two books, North Little Rock, A Unique City in 1986 and The White River Railway in 1991, both long out of print but still occasionally available from book sellers or Ebay.

    On first appearance, Mike often seemed a little gruff, definitely a no-nonsense veteran railroader. After becoming better acquainted, he was a wealth of railroad information, and those corresponding with him were gifted with lengthy, single-spaced typewritten letters, filled with details as he responded to questions about Missouri Pacific operations. Mike’s articles have stood the test of time, and they are still quite valuable as historical references today. A list of his publication efforts would help guide a new generation of rail historians to his work. I have started a partial list of Mike’s articles published in the Arkansas Railroader, the now defunct monthly newsletter of the Arkansas Railroad Club. Hopefully others can contribute listings from other publications to develop a more complete list.

    Recently, when browsing several tattered and mouse eaten issues of Railroad Stories from 1936, I came across an entry submitted by a 16 year old high school student, Walter Adams of Carthage, Missouri. This was perhaps one of Mike’s first bylines.

    Bill Pollard

    [attachment=1:1uw4anj1]1936-Railroad-Stories_0001w.jpg[/attachment:1uw4anj1]
    [attachment=0:1uw4anj1]Adams, Mike-articles-Arkansas-Railroader.pdf[/attachment:1uw4anj1]
    As of January 2018, most of the Mike Adams Arkansas Railroader articles can be accessed on-line at http://thundertrain.org/road.html. However, the editor of that website, Ken Ziegenbein, passed away in 2015 and continued on-line access is uncertain.

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