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The Original Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad

The Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad was disassembled in 2017 but is being rebuilt, similar in scope, to a much larger size. Following is a description of the layout as it existed from 1995-2017.

About the W&PRR

The Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad is the official model railroad of Cowcatcher Magazine. Set in the hills of Northwest Arkansas in the mid-1980s during the Union Pacific merger era, the free-lanced N-scale subsidiary short line railroad has been a work in progress since 1984. The scope of the railroad is small but its strategic location southeast of Fort Smith offers plenty of opportunity from its Class I parent as well as the Kansas City Southern.

A mix of second-generation locomotives from UP, Missouri Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas and Western Pacific move freight from interchanges in Pine Ridge, Whitehurst, Little Rock and Monroe. Locals run between Pine Ridge and Elaine, hauling coal, paper, cement, grain, lumber, petroleum, plastics and other goods.

UP trains from Kansas City, Dallas and Ft. Smith interchange with the W&PRR at Pine Ridge. KCS, with service from Fort Smith to Texarkana, interchanges with UP and the W&PRR in Pine Ridge.

The Monroe Northern, W&PRR’s sister short line in Monroe, provides a big connection for the cement industry. Cars bound for Fort Smith, Kansas City and Pine Bluff, Ark., are interchanged with UP and Burlington Northern in the Monroe Industrial District.

The layout has three levels compacted into a 9′ x 16′ footprint and runs on DC. Trains are controlled by MRC walk-around throttles.

Union Pacific's Midwest Star, powered by SD40 and SD40-2 locomotives, slowly crosses the trestle at Shelby Bluffs on the approach to Pine Ridge.
Union Pacific’s Midwest Star, powered by SD40 and SD40-2 locomotives, slowly crosses the trestle at Shelby Bluffs on the approach to Pine Ridge.
The Elaine switcher creeps along the line at Rock Ridge.
The Elaine switcher creeps along the line at Rock Ridge.
The W&PRR local pulls out of the freight station at Pine Ridge with three cars headed for interchange with the Union Pacific.
The W&PRR local pulls out of the freight station at Pine Ridge with three cars headed for interchange with the Union Pacific.
The switcher at Elaine works Rock Ridge Coal.
The switcher at Elaine works Rock Ridge Coal.
Petroleum is big business in Elaine.
Petroleum is big business in Elaine.
The engineer of W&PRR Train No. 1 returns to work after taking a break at Pine Ridge Junction.
The engineer of W&PRR Train No. 1 returns to work after taking a break at Pine Ridge Junction.

The New W&PRR

Updating an old layout in a big way

Time off from model railroading is sometimes good for the soul. In the two-plus years that the Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad has been laid up there has been plenty of opportunity to reflect about what makes an effective operating N-scale model railroad.

In the July/August 2019 edition of the Cowcatcher, plans were revealed to correct mistakes made on the previous iteration of the free-lanced railroad focused on the Union Pacific somewhere in Arkansas in the mid-1980s during the transition era.

To put it bluntly, the old layout was outdated and cramped. The operations plan was forced on a track plan that was initially built for continuous running. Operators had no elbow room and visitors could only stand in one place to observe 30 years of work. All they could do was polite nod like Chevy Chase did over the Grand Canyon.

While there was plenty to look at and many cars to move, the experience wasn’t comfortable.

MORE HERE

Back to Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Main Page

  • Current Issue: May/June 2023

     

     

    INSIDE THIS ISSUE

  • Rock Solid

    In the past four years, Mike Armstrong’s HO Rock Island Lines has received much attention in the model railroad press and is one of 30 or more layouts that will be on tour at the NMRA National Convention, Aug. 20-26 in Grapevine, TX. Growing up in Nevada, IA, in the 1960s, Armstrong learned to appreciate the six major roads that ran through the state and others that juked around the Central U.S. While the Rock Island Lines covers the Mid-Continent Route from Inver Grove Yard in St. Paul, MN, to Armourdale Yard in Kansas City. several Midwestern railroads make frequent cameo appearances. Like it was when he grew up in the 1960s, Armstrong is in the middle of all the action.

     

  • Patience. Tenacity. Skill

    When a bright 14-year-old wowed model railroaders decades his senior with custom O-gauge switches in his Illinois basement in the 1970s, it heralded the second coming of three-rail. Since then, Ross Custom Switches has cemented itself into model train history with the country’s largest offering of O-gauge items. The company makes track and switches for both the discerning modeler who strives for a prototypical look and the guy who just likes toy trains

     

     

  • Cowboy and Cactus Country

    Southern Pacific’s NEW Golden Gate touted Arizona’s “cowboy and cactus country” for a ride from El Paso, TX, to Los Angeles in the golden era of passenger trains.

     

  • PLUS…

    GVT Rail has big plans for its new ALCO PA “Nickel Plate Road No. 190.” The railroad company recently purchased the restored locomotive from a top rail preservationist. …

     

    April’s Rocky Mountain Train Show accomplished its mission in April of increasing attendance and adding more exhibitors. …

     

    Project Layout: The N-scale Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad solves a switching puzzle for a cement distributor in Pine Ridge with help from its Class I parent. …

     

     

    THESE STORIES AND MORE, PLUS A FULL CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS AND THE BUSINESS PULSE OF THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY!

     

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  • Back Issues

    Miss the January/February 2023 issue or other Cowcatcher editions? Be sure to check out our Back Issues page for any issues you may have missed. We have expanded descriptions for issues published beginning in 2007. Click here to order.

     

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  • Product News & Review

    InterMountain HO ADM Corn Syrup Car

     

    The Cowcatcher reviews InterMountain Railway Co.’s newly released HO-scale Trinity Industries 19,600-gallon corn syrup car. The tank car is one of several in the company’s second release.

     

    More product reviews!

     

    See product news!

     

  • Railroad in Focus

    Cowcatcher Magazine routinely features short lines and regional railroads that roam the Midwest and Southwest. Features include color photographs and maps, but an overview of operations and latest business trends.

     



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    UPDATED! Visit the new N-scale Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad, the official model railroad of the Cowcatcher Magazine, and track progress. All aboard!
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