Courtesy of NWABikers.com:
"Keeping with the general lazy schedule of most of the few trains still crawling their way through the middle of the U.S., the Blues Train was at least 30 minutes late.
And finding the boarding platform clearly took some insider knowledge: Walk down Powerhouse Street past the construction site of the new Underwood apartment building, and find the small concrete pad behind the Powerhouse Grill and Bar. Or, get to the train like Michelle Pivonka, of Chicago, did. She hiked up the rocky tracks.
“People just didn’t quite know which way to go, it was pretty confusing,” she said, finally settled on one of the original plush velvet bench seats in the 1927 car of the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad train as the engine made its way to the Randal Tyson Track Center. This old train is also a popular joyride for passengers wanting to go south to places like Van Buren and Fort Smith.
Cole Willems and Charlie Lewis, two Fayetteville 3-year-olds, were extra excited to be on board. It was their first train trip, said the boys’ parents, as the kids squirmed in their seat while the adults snapped pictures.
“We were excited about this because to take him to Fort Smith might have been a little long,” said Chuck Lewis, Charlie’s dad.
This is the first year for the train shuttles. And already, passengers are thinking of improvements.
“It would be even cooler if there was a blues band on board,” offered Pivonka"
And finding the boarding platform clearly took some insider knowledge: Walk down Powerhouse Street past the construction site of the new Underwood apartment building, and find the small concrete pad behind the Powerhouse Grill and Bar. Or, get to the train like Michelle Pivonka, of Chicago, did. She hiked up the rocky tracks.
“People just didn’t quite know which way to go, it was pretty confusing,” she said, finally settled on one of the original plush velvet bench seats in the 1927 car of the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad train as the engine made its way to the Randal Tyson Track Center. This old train is also a popular joyride for passengers wanting to go south to places like Van Buren and Fort Smith.
Cole Willems and Charlie Lewis, two Fayetteville 3-year-olds, were extra excited to be on board. It was their first train trip, said the boys’ parents, as the kids squirmed in their seat while the adults snapped pictures.
“We were excited about this because to take him to Fort Smith might have been a little long,” said Chuck Lewis, Charlie’s dad.
This is the first year for the train shuttles. And already, passengers are thinking of improvements.
“It would be even cooler if there was a blues band on board,” offered Pivonka"
Chuck and I took Charlie to BBB 2008. This year they had the Arkansas-Missouri train help the visitors commute back and forth from Dickson Street to the Track Center. We saw a great oppourtunity for Charlie since he is obsessed with trains so much to be able to ride his very first "real" train ride. HE LOVED IT!! He was grinning from ear to ear. He asked me where the Hot Chocolate was. If you ever watched "Polar Express" you know what I am talking about. He didn't want it to end. He was able to go on this ride with his best buddy, Cole. You would have thought they had died and gone to heaven.
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