Tag: arkansas

Hot Springs, Arkansas

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Arkansas is nicknamed the ‘Natural State’.  If you have driven through the state, you can see why it gets that name.  There are no major cities in the state although the metropolis of Memphis in the U.S. state of Tennessee has suburbs in the eastern part of the state.  Speaking of Memphis, Tennessee, the mighty Mississippi River runs on the eastern border of the state.  As the ‘Natural State’, it is interesting that the state capital is Little Rock.  It is also the state’s largest city.  The state is also known for its hot springs.  One of the places where you will find some of the state’s hot springs is in the city of Hot Springs.

Some of you are saying, “Well, duh!  It is called Hot Springs because there are hot springs there.”

Yes.  That is why it is called Hot Springs.  The city was a city of spas.  That is hot spring spas.  Many of the spa structures remain in a section of the downtown area known as Bathhouse Row, but not all of them have working hot springs.  Yes.  Hot Springs, Arkansas was a place of hot springs, and Hot Springs National Park was established here.  Before they went to the U.S. states of Florida and Arizona, baseball teams did their spring training here.  Yes.  Hot Springs is the birthplace of baseball spring training.  Many famous baseball players to include Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth, Cy Young, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, and Stan Musial, just to name a few.  Many United States Presidents visited here.  Arkansas’ own William Clinton lived here and graduated from high school here.  This was a resort for celebrities, but it was also a haven for gangsters.  One of the most famous gangsters, Al Capone, had a personal room at the Arlington Hotel.  There is so much to Hot Springs, Arkansas.  If you are ever in the central region of Arkansas, it is worth your time to visit.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  I have heard of Hot Springs, Arkansas.  I knew about the springs, but I never knew that it was the birthplace of Spring Training Baseball or a gangster haven.  There is one very big problem.  This city has no railroad history nor does it have anything to do with the railroad.  Therefore, I will not be feeling the hot springs of this place.”

The city of Hot Springs, Arkansas has never been a railroad city.  As you walk and drive around, you see no signs of a railroad ever being here.  Then you come to the Greyhound and Transit Bus Station at the intersection of Broadway Street, Market Street, and Broadway Terrace.  It appears to look like an old train station.  Well, that is because it was an old train station.  This train station was a major contributor to the growth of Hot Springs, Arkansas.  It was built by the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1917.  It was a spur line that connected to the main railroad line in the town of Malvern, Arkansas.

The railroad line began as the Hot Spring Railroad in 1876.  It was a narrow gauge railroad that was built by Joseph Reynolds who built the railroad line so that he could ride the train from his home in Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois to the spas to help cure an illness he has.  The railroad line was converted into a standard gauge railroad and was eventually taken over by the Missouri Pacific Railroad.  Passenger service was discontinued to the town with the last train leaving in 1964, and the original railroad line is now a rail trail.  Some of the old rails remain.  The main railroad line in Malvern remains in service and is the closest Amtrak stop.  The current train station in on the National Register of Historic Places.

The next time you think about Hot Springs, Arkansas, you can think about the hot springs, but it was once a place where the railroad once came to town.

Tiny Town, Hot Springs, Arkansas

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

What is Tiny Town?

Some of you are saying, “Well, it’s a ‘tiny town’.”

Yes.  It is a tiny town.

Some of you are saying, “Yes.  It is a tiny town.  It is not a railroad town.  Therefore, I will not be shrinking myself to visit this place.”

So what is Tiny Town, and why visit Tiny Town?  Located in the city of Hot Springs that is named for its hot springs in the U.S. state of Arkansas, why would you want to take the time to visit Tiny Town?

As you approach Tiny Town, you will want to see more.  Why?

You may have heard of a place called Roadside America in a small town known as Shartlesville in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.  It was a model train village designed by one man who handmade each structure in the village.  Then you had a place called EnterTrainment Junction, another model train village located in the city of Cincinnati in the U.S. state of Ohio.  Sadly, both of these places closed and are places that will not be seen again.

That brings us to Tiny Town in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Like Roadside America and EnterTrainment Junction, Tiny Town is a model railroad village.  Each structure is handmade without using any kits like most model train displays.  The scenes on this display are from twenty two different U.S. states.  You have small towns and carnivals and Indian villages and wild west towns and mountains and valleys.  The Ferris wheels and other items actually move.  There are waterfalls and rivers and lakes using actual water.  Yes, real water goes over the waterfall and real water spring from the fountains.

This may be called Tiny Town, but the story behind it is not tiny nor is the excitement of visiting Tiny Town.  You do not have to be a train lover to enjoy this masterpiece in a city known for its natural masterpieces.

Tiny Town is located at 374 Whittington Avenue in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  It is just a short drive from Arkansas Route 7 and a short drive and walk from the Hot Springs National Park and the downtown area.  Please note that it is only open from March to October.  Everything is on one floor making it completely wheelchair accessible.  They do not have their own parking, but there is plenty of street parking available.  You can get more information about Tiny Town and read more into its history at https://www.tinytowntrains.com/.

It is called Tiny Town.  When you visit, you will see that there is nothing tiny about this place.

The Fort Smith Trolley Museum, Fort Smith, Arkansas

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

When you think about trolleys in the United States of America, you think about the big cities particularly the city of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California, a city that is famous for its trolleys.  Very few people would ever think of smaller cities like the city of Fort Smith in the U.S. state of Arkansas.  When you think of Arkansas, you think of its natural areas and not its urban areas of which there are very few with the state capital of Little Rock and the metropolitan area of Memphis in the U.S. state of Tennessee.  The city of Fort Smith is located in the western part of the state on the Arkansas River and across the river from the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

Some of you are saying, “Well, it is called Fort Smith, but there was never a fort here.  They just named the city Fort Smith.”

Well, you are absolutely wrong.  The city of Fort Smith, Arkansas is named after Fort Smith, and you can visit the fort as it is a National Historic Site that is owned and operated by the National Park Service.  Very few people think that trolleys ever ran here, but it was once a trolley town where trolleys ran on the streets.  That is why you have the Fort Trolley Museum.

What is the Fort Smith Trolley Museum?  It is a small museum that tells the history of trolleys in the city of Fort Smith.  Although there are very few trolleys on display here, there is a restoration shop.  The museum has artifacts to include work tools and old paintings, and, if you are fortunate enough, you can even take a trolley ride on one of the original tracks.

The Fort Smith Trolley Museum is located at 100 South Fourth Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas next to the Fort Smith Historical Park just blocks from U.S. Route 64 and the bridge crossing the Arkansas River.  You can read more about the history of the trolleys and get museum hours which vary throughout the year at https://www.fstm.org/.

The city of Fort Smith, Arkansas may be named for an old fort, but it was once a trolley town.  The Fort Smith Trolley Museum keeps the memory of Fort Smith Trolleys alive for many years to come.