Ozarks Rambles: Riding the last train to Calico Rock

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The White River Scenic Railroad officially stopped operations Nov. 30. The historic train route, featuring scenic rail excursions from Flippin to Calico Rock, Ark., had been battling financial barriers that proved too difficult for its trio of local founders to overcome.|ret||ret||tab|

The railroad faced an overwhelming obstacle in the form of the state of Arkansas' requirement that the railroad maintain a passenger liability policy in the amount of $50 million. Other factors included an increase in the price of diesel locomotive fuel and the reduction in area tourist visits caused by higher automobile fuel costs.|ret||ret||tab|

Sean Reed is one of three owners of the fabled White River Scenic Railroad line with his partners Peter Peitz and Benny Magness. Sean served as the chief engineer and guide for the ride, while his wife Kendra rode in the locomotive as informal hostess.|ret||ret||tab|

The weather was cool but sunny for our-next-to-last-day ride aboard the eclectic array of classic rail cars. The tiny railroad was hugely popular with its passengers. Since its start in 1997, the railroad carried more than 100,000 passengers.|ret||ret||tab|

The White River Scenic Railroad offered round-trip fares from its ticket offices in the restored historic train depot in Flippin. Another popular attraction of the railroad station is Sodie's Fountain & Grill, an authentic soda fountain providing complete breakfasts, excellent lunches and early dinners. The restaurant and the in-house pharmacy and gift shop will continue to operate.|ret||ret||tab|

Sodie's offers scrumptious hand-dipped milkshakes, malts and fresh-jerked fountain drinks, home-made pies, huge salads and sandwich meals, including "the most authentic Reuben sandwich in northwest Arkansas."|ret||ret||tab|

Sean and Kendra Reed, the conductor and the train personnel all reside in local towns. Coetia Swearingen, manager of on-board services, lives in Norfolk, Ark.; Christine Simmons, a.k.a. "Miss Kitty," the hostess of our vintage 1916 Pullman Club Car, is a proud Cotter native. |ret||ret||tab|

Area historian Jean Smelser played the dulcimer while providing whimsical local anecdotes in our first-class coach.|ret||ret||tab|

Passengers viewed panoramic river bluff vistas, giant blue herons, bald eagles, the notorious White River Land Company and the amazing 1,400-foot-long Cotter tunnel, blasted through solid rock.|ret||ret||tab|

The halfway point was the restored hilltop town of Calico Rock, perched high above the Buffalo River. Its many attractions merit a return visit. The locomotive that pulled the train on the outbound route was switched to the rear to push us back to Flippin.|ret||ret||tab|

Fellow journalist Jim Day and I were invited to ride the locomotive for the first part of our near-dark return. There was an absolute rush of adrenaline as the train blasted through the Cotter tunnel.|ret||ret||tab|

Hurtling out into thin air, not a hint of the train trestle visible below, we sailed forever over the invisible White River Bridge and into astonished memory.|ret||ret||tab|

|bold_on|(Kenny Knauer is a participant with the parks, greenways and open spaces committee of Vision 20/20, and a long-time member and volunteer on the steering committee of Founder's Park.)|bold_on||ret||ret||tab|

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