Can anyone tell me anything about the Yuma Valley Railway and Reader Railroad? I heard they have been shut down for a while and i wa sjust curious if there might be any chances the two tourist lines will ever resume operations.
The Reader has been shut down for many years. There was FRA involvement in its shutdown and it is unlikely to return under the current operations and ownership without outside participation. Its steamers have been used in several movies since then.
THe Reader when it was still functioning ( middle 1970's) moved quite a few cars of Liquid asphalt and loads of asphalt based products out ( in barrels and buckets, as well as bulk products. IIRC there was a pretty serious fire that put an end to the Berry Petroleum Co operations, not really sure of more of the details. [I hauled containers in there from Memphis and Birmingham]. The railroad changed owners from a corporate owner to a private individual, and operated as a tourist line for some time. BUt like many things, I suspect that the money from the tourist line was pretty thin, and I remember that it seemed the conditions of the railroad's equipment got pretty shaggy, as did the ROW, The owners seemed to be salvaging out quite a bit of the railroad, in the Late '70's. Last things I remember hearing about it was they were renting out the last remaining equipment as movie props.
No recent news, but did find a series of videos about the Reader and show its deteriorating conditions: conditions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TJH9xg7UZc&feature=related #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2t5hrE7LTU&feature=related #2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gngCVsSL8Sw&feature=related #3
Googling READER RAILROAD brings up several web sites; none of them seem to contain recent updating or information as to current happening there. That part of S Central Arkansaw is in the area of the Ouachita Mountains ( prounciation(?); Wash i taw) [Sort of south of Hot Springs down towards Camden, and back towards El Dorado and Pine Bluff], roughly. At one time lots of logging in those woods; ( Mixed Hardwoods and Pines) and many raillines and their branches through the first half of the 20th centrury.
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