GBW #306 meets the end of the line in Antoine AK, and three Alco Centuries ponder an uncertain future.
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Click on any of the small photos to see a full-sized image. #306
 The other end of #306 in 1999.  Dismantling #306 in December 2000.  The end of the line. #319-#321
 #319, December 2000. |
When the Green Bay & Western was purchased by the Wisconsin Central and merged into its Fox Valley and Western subsidiary in 1993, its fleet of Alcos were deemed excess and sold off. Four of the locos wound up on the Caddo, Antoine & Little Missouri Railroad Company in Arkansas.
History of the Caddo, Antoine & Little Missouri Railroad
The Caddo, Antoine & Little Missouri Railroad was a Union Pacific (ex- Missouri Pacific) branch line which was sold to the Arkansas Midland Railroad in February 1992. The line extended 53 miles from the Union Pacific interchange at Gurdon, Arkansas north to Bird's Mill, Arkansas. The principal shipper on the line is International Paper Company at the south end of the line, with additional lumber and building materials shippers at Bird's Mill on the far north end of the line. A storm in December 1993 caused washouts and landslides on the branch, leading the Arkansas Midland to discontinue service to all but the track serving International Paper at the far south end of the branch.
The Caddo, Antoine & Little Missouri Railroad was organized by the shippers on abandoned end of the branch to restore service. The Interstate commerce Commission authorized the C.A.L.M to enter into an agreement with the Arkansas Midland for trackage rights over the last 3 miles still in operation to allow the railroad to directly interchange with the Union Pacific. The C.A.L.M. started operation in early April 1994, with four ex- GBW locomotives. It ended operation on August 10, 1996, mainly over a dispute with the Arkansas Midland on the amount of compensation for the trackage rights to the Union Pacific interchange. The ex-GBW locomotives fell into disrepair. Operation on the branch line briefly restarted as the Caddo Valley Railroad, but when the main customer and owner of the line closed, the Caddo Valley shut down.
RS-20 #306
This loco was scrapped in December, 2000. Most parts including the cab and radiator end went to Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, TN for use in their Central of Georgia RS-3 restoration. The short nose, long hood, and other small pieces are stored in White Hall, Arkansas.
C-424 #319, 320, 321
These photos show the locos as they appeared in 2001.
A first-hand reports says that rodents are chewing the wires up and other critters are living inside. They cannot be transported in their present condition because of wheel problems. One unit actually had a bead welded on the back of the wheel in place of a broken flange. All have cut-out cylinders due to blown power assemblies. Each will probably take around $15,000 just to make roadworthy.
These photos were taken by Ed Bowers in the summer of 1999 and December 2000. Click on any of the small photos on the right to see a full-sized image.
...good news!
Alco Century 424s #319, #320, and #321 were purchased by the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad in September 2001. They were delivered to the railroad in September 2002 and are being rehabilitated for operation.
Go here for a complete list of other Green Bay Route locos which saw service on other railroads.
Notice: These images are owned by Ed Bowers and may not be reproduced without permission.
