Western Railroad Discussion > Fordyce And Princeton Railroad

Last Thursday I made a visit to the Fordyce and Princeton Railroad in Fordyce, Arkansas. This railroad runs once a week and services Georgia Pacific a few miles down the road. The railroad is owned by G&W and the power is still an untouched FP SW1500 #1504. 1504 was built for the CRIP and later went to the FP. Enjoy!

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Passing the depot and semaphore signal

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Wonderful! Shortlines are my favorites; the last stand of old time railroading. Now all that's need is a F&P caboose. Thanks!

Great shots!  I keep expecting that G&W will "re-shortline" some of these lower-performing lines any day now, but it hasn't happened so far.
 

Nice find, really like the shot passing the depot.
JB

You can sure tell that the F&P is not a Georgia-Pacific owned line anymore. The 1504 is looking pretty crusty compared to what it looked like when G-P owned the place.

Great coverage!
GK

Here's F&P's sole power back on 7/21/77, when it was just a one-mile switching road at the G-P Fordyce mill. They later took over the line to Crossett when the Rock Island quit.

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Great catch and shots of this once-a-week operation!

The F&P holds a dear place in my heart as it was the railroad that I hung around a lot while my father was the VP/GM back in the 80's and 90's while GP still owned them.   He got out and retired just as GWRR was coming into play.   I spent many days in that depot playing with the semaphore signal and watching the GP10's and SW1500's switch cars.   Back then the SSW now UP would back around that wye and drop cars off into the yard.  It was pretty neat seeing tunnel motors and B30-7's idling in front of the depot.  Also good to see 1504 still chugging along on former home CRIP lines.  Anyways, here are a couple neat shots from Fordyce...
1. SSW freight pulls towards the yard to set out at bad order car, I guess?  Only train I ever saw pull in to the yard...typically they backed in and dropped off cars.  And this is an intermodal train so it was definitely not setting out cars for the F&P.  Circa 1985
2.  My sister and I (on left) when I was 4 I believe, watching the FP excursion train come back across the SSW diamond during the Fordyce on the Cotton Belt day.  This occured once a year and the FP would put together a small train to give people rides out about a mile or so and back..
3.  A shot I took in 2009 of 2 CF7's and the 1504 parked in Fordyce.   The mainline from Crossett to Fordyce was upgraded to 45mph welded 110lb rail in it's prime.   Now, it has all gone to $hit.

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A couple more since the F&P is so dear to my heart.  And a great article.  https://hawkinsrails.net/shortlines/fp/fp.htm
1.  One of many 'core' cars that the FP owned.   These would haul the cores of timber cut in the area where the GP Mill in Crossett, AR would cut them down and make 2x4's.
2.  One of the many varieties of chip cars that the FP owned.  These were once owned by SP Railroad.
3.  And this was the FP 100, their ex ICG caboose #199450.  It was painted for their 100th year anniversary back in 1990.  Not really sure where the caboose ended up.  This was not run on many freights from Crossett to Fordyce...it was mainly used for excursion trains.

Sorry for the quality on some pics...as they were taken in the 80's on Poloroid and 35mm...

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I'm a bit surprised at the condition of the SW1500. Back in 1991 I visited the railroad and the SW1500 was a shiny as a new penny. The railroad was speading freshballast near the depot when a SP local came to set out and pick up cars at the small F&P interchange yard... and it was on a Sunday. - Tony J.