Nomad of Mid-America
Ouach and Learn
The grind to conquer the Ouachitas is formidable. For much of the prior 35ish miles since departure from Heavener, this GJVMXI 18 grain train has been down to a crawl, straining to maintain double-digit speeds as the two high-horsepower belles at the front and additional two unmanned shovers at the rear pour every last ounce of adhesion they can muster onto the railhead to force one-shy-of-a-hundred hoppers of Illinois corn product across the folded Ouachita Mountains splitting across the state line dividing Oklahoma and Arkansas. With the climb to the stateline already in the books, KCS 4115 now has its full attention centered on topping the final miles up to the summit at Rich Mountain, where it will quickly transition to heavy dynamics to make a safe decent down the Arkansas side of the slope into Mena. The lengthy crest is legendary on Kansas City Southern, the most arduous obstacle on its heart-and-soul, north-to-south mainline artery connecting Kansas City and Shreveport. With the well-publicized STB decision regarding merger with northern ally Canadian Pacific on the near horizon, changes are most certainly afoot in the piney woods of the Ouachitas, but Rich Mountain and its drama will endure regardless of whether it's belles or beavers scaling its steep inclines.
Ouach and Learn
The grind to conquer the Ouachitas is formidable. For much of the prior 35ish miles since departure from Heavener, this GJVMXI 18 grain train has been down to a crawl, straining to maintain double-digit speeds as the two high-horsepower belles at the front and additional two unmanned shovers at the rear pour every last ounce of adhesion they can muster onto the railhead to force one-shy-of-a-hundred hoppers of Illinois corn product across the folded Ouachita Mountains splitting across the state line dividing Oklahoma and Arkansas. With the climb to the stateline already in the books, KCS 4115 now has its full attention centered on topping the final miles up to the summit at Rich Mountain, where it will quickly transition to heavy dynamics to make a safe decent down the Arkansas side of the slope into Mena. The lengthy crest is legendary on Kansas City Southern, the most arduous obstacle on its heart-and-soul, north-to-south mainline artery connecting Kansas City and Shreveport. With the well-publicized STB decision regarding merger with northern ally Canadian Pacific on the near horizon, changes are most certainly afoot in the piney woods of the Ouachitas, but Rich Mountain and its drama will endure regardless of whether it's belles or beavers scaling its steep inclines.