The eastern part of Arkansas is quite flat and rural. It is a land of farms and the main crops are cotton, rice, beans and some corn. This means small towns dotting the landscape between wide open spaces. Arkansas also sits almost right in the middle of the country and that means it is cross by Interestates and railroads. The BNSF comes down from Missouri through the northeast part of the state paralleling the Mississippi River and Interstate 55. It reaches West Mephis and cross the Mississippi into Tennessee where the Union Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Canadian National all have tracks as well.
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| A Northbound BNSF manifest led by a warbonnet roars through Wilson, Arkansas on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. |
Usually when I think of Arkansas its the Union Pacific that comes to mind, so it was a treat to get out on the BNSF mainline north of West Memphis. The traffic is pretty brisk and there are a fair amount of coal trains on the line. For a large part of the way the tracks run right next to U.S. Highway 61, so if you want to go out and look for trains I would recommend this is a place to cruise.
I took this photo in Wilson, Arkansas, which is the site of an abandoned warehouse and the home of the Hampson Archeologial Museumm State Park, which is the location of the Nodena Site, a former Native American village. Wilson is unusual in that it has a large number of Tudor-style buildings, which is unusual for that part of Arkansas and a lot of other places as well. According to Wikipedia, the son of the town's founder went to England on his honeymoon and he and his new wife were ``enthralled with the Tudor style'' and thus the town's unusual character was born. Wilson also has a fair number of large trees lining Highway 61 through town that gives it an elegant air. If you transplanted Wilson to New England it would be filled with high-end restaurants, art galleries and antique shops that would be the destination of thousands of weekend travlers from Boston and New York.
Anyway, if you get a chance, I recommend that town and taking a trip up Highway 61.
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| Close up of the war bonnet. |
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