My great grandfather and his brother worked building railroad outbuildings somewhere between Chicot and Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1873. In a journal he kept, he mentions "being startled one day by an approaching train, 'The Clifford' on the Southern road." Would anyone know if the "Southern RR" was operating then on this stretch between Chicot and Pine Bluff? Would anyone know if "The Clifford" was a passenger train, freight or just the name of a locomotive. P.S. You have a great website.

-- Ross Nelson (rnelson@interchange.ubc.ca), June 28, 2000

Answers

Yes! The "Southern" did operate between Chicot and Pine Bluff, Arkansas, BUT, it was the St.Louis, Iron Mountain & SOUTHERN RR, a major predecessor of the Missouri Pacific RR. I suspect the "Clifford" was a nickname for a specific train on the Iron Mountain, probably called this after the engineer or conductor who regularly had that run.

-- Tom Underwood (tlunder@attglobal.net), June 30, 2000.