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Archiver > AR-RAILROADS > 2007-05 > 1179784727


From: Len Doughty <>
Subject: Re: [AR-RAILROADS] AR-RAILROADS Digest, Vol 1, Issue 1
Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 14:58:47 -0700 (PDT)


Sam,

I am no railroad expert, but I do have an interest. My great granfather was a fireman on the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad. He was killed in his early 20's in a collision involving 2 trains in Little Rock about 1902.

I havn't traced the cities you mention, but I'm wondering if you know your great grandfather travelled by train? It appears that the Little Rock & Memphis Railroad was the first railroad in Arkansas, "a company which held the distinction of operating over the first railroad trackage in Arkansas." That information comes from this site: http://www.trainweb.org/choctawterminal/history.htm

The ". . . Little Rock and Memphis Railroad. . . had been organized by a special Act of the Arkansas Assembly on January 11, 1853. . ." "That line had been surveyed in 1854 and four years later the line had been completed from Memphis to Madison, Arkansas, 45 miles west. The next 40 miles to DeVall's Bluff, including a big bridge across the White River, was not completed until 1871. Later that year, through rail service was put into operation between Memphis and Little Rock."
http://faculty.simpson.edu/RITS/www/histories/RIHistory.html

"So, in 1898, the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf bought the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad and then completed the Little Rock-Indian Territory boundary line trackage 151 miles long, including a bridge across the Arkansas River." (See link in last paragraph.) I believe this part of the line went to western Oklahoma through Oklahoma City and made connections to Texas, but not during the time frame you are looking for.

Hope this will help you. There may have been other railroads I'm not aware of, but it seems like Little Rock would have been the central hub for them.

If you don't have evidence he travelled by train, another possibility would be to look at waterways (riverboats) as an alternative to horse or covered wagon.

Len Doughty


----- Original Message ----
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Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2007 2:00:20 AM
Subject: AR-RAILROADS Digest, Vol 1, Issue 1


Today's Topics:

1. Memphis to TX 1860 ()


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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 12:11:14 EDT
From:
Subject: [AR-RAILROADS] Memphis to TX 1860
To:
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My Great-grandfather, William James Orme, traveled from TN to TX in May,
1860. His last letter was from Bolivar, Ark. What railroad route would he have
taken? Would he have visited his kin in Crawford, Co., Ark?
Any help appreciated. Sam Orme



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End of AR-RAILROADS Digest, Vol 1, Issue 1
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