KCS KCS south of Kansas City

Rick, welcome to Trainboard!

I can answer part of your question, as I've chased & shot the KCS from Spiro, OK south through Heavener and over Rich Mountain, AR to Mena.

Spiro is 15 miles or so west-southwest of Ft. Smith, AR on US 271. The highway crosses the KCS main in Spiro. From there, go west to the US 59 junction, and turn south- you'll meet up with it again north of Panama, OK. US 59 parallels the line all the way to De Queen, AR, but we'll focus on Spiro-Mena for now. There is a bypass around Poteau now, so you'll go a little ways west & then south to rejoin the original alignment. A few miles south, and over a small grade and the Poteau River crossing, you'll come up to the old US59 right-of-way, which stays close to the tracks. Turn left here, and follow this road to just south of Howe, OK (WARNING!!!- You MUST stop at the SH83 intersection-cross traffic does NOT stop!!!)
Just south of Howe, you'll rejoin US59, which you can take south for a half-mile before once again taking another left onto the old road. The newer highway eventually rejoins the line at Heavener, while the old road stays close to the line, and comes up to the fuel stop, which all freights make regardless of direction. At the fuel stop (and after taking pics if there are trains present, lol) go back onto the new highway & head on into Heavener. The KCS yard is roght along the highway, and this city also serves as a crew change point. The daily Ft. Smith Dodger originates & terminates here, as well as locals both north & south. Also, you will find helper sets (they have been SD60s, and at one time the new SD70MACe engines were run out of here for testing purposes).

Of course, the standard caution of staying off railroad property without express permission works here as well.

You can stop at the local drive-in and load up on hamburgers, and of course there are several "stop n rob"- type stores to get gas & cold drinks.

From Heavener, take US 59 south- this will take you through Baron, past the turnoff at Page (turn left here- Page has a siding, and is an excellent place to shoot KCS action). From here, the road & railroad will turn to the east & make the climb up the Rich Mountain grade (Rich Mountain is that large, vertical chunk of real estate to the right of you, and hosts the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge at its summit, built originally back in the late 19th century and rebuilt in the 1970s- great place to stay, too).

The summit of Rich Mountain is on the Arkansas side, and from there both road & rail descend towards Mena. At around Acorn the tracks will shoot scross 59 to be over on your right, and you'll meet up with them again at Mena. ALso in Mena is the old KCS depot.

What I've described to you is, to me, the most scenic spot on the entire KCS system, and also the most challenging for man & machine.

You'll shoot all sorts of motive power, and KCS has quite a variety of EMD diesels, from GP38-2s to GP40-2s to SD40T-2s and SD45T-2s, SD40-2s, SD50-2s, SD60-2s, SD45s, and SD70Ms in TFM lettering with KCS colors. Also the 50 or so AC4400Ws are scattered around the system. On coal trains, expect to see UP and BNSF AC-type motive power.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to email me off-list (my email addy is in my profile).

See ya at trackside!!

 

One other source- join the group kcsnotes in Yahoo! Groups. Most of the guys on there are pretty knowledgeable about KCS, and can point out other areas to chase & shoot trains.