McCarren Transportation Museum visits Decatur depot

Photo by Mike Eckels Dick Hovey (top, left), Brenda Rouse (right), and Monty Scott stand next to the Decatur Depot caboose Aug. 13 as they wait for a Kansas City Southern northbound freight train to pass. The group from the J.Rielly McCarren Transportation Museum held its monthly board of directors meeting in the depot.
Photo by Mike Eckels Dick Hovey (top, left), Brenda Rouse (right), and Monty Scott stand next to the Decatur Depot caboose Aug. 13 as they wait for a Kansas City Southern northbound freight train to pass. The group from the J.Rielly McCarren Transportation Museum held its monthly board of directors meeting in the depot.

DECATUR -- The railroad industry was once a vital part in the expansion of the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, with the advent of the automobile, airplane and trucks, railroads began to decline and, by the late 1970s, there was only one company that offered passenger service. Railroads only survived extinction by hauling freight across the country.

There are two facilities in Northwest Arkansas that are dedicated to the preservation of railroad history and the equipment they used. The Decatur Depot Museum located in downtown Decatur and the J. Reilly McCarren Transportation Museum located on Emma Ave. in Springdale house artifacts that tell railroad story.

Both museums are located next to mainline tracks. The Decatur facility sets next to one of the main lines between Kansas City and New Orleans of the Kansas City Southern Railroad. The McCarren museum is located on the mainline of the Arkansas and Missouri Railroad that runs from Monett, Mo., to Fort Smith.

With both facilities, visitors have the opportunity to see trains in action moving freight up and down the tracks.

Officials from the McCarren museum, named after the current Arkansas and Missouri owner, toured the Decatur Depot Aug. 13 and held its monthly board of directors meeting. On hand to greet the guests were Charles Linam, Decatur mayor, and Janelle Cox, operations manager for the Decatur Depot Museum.

Board members Monty Scott, president; Dick Hovey, vice president; Mike Eckels, secretary/treasurer/curator; and Brenda Rouse, director of passenger services for the A&M railroad, were given tours of the depot and caboose before beginning their meeting.

"It is my hope to start a dialogue between the two museums," Eckels, who also volunteers at the Decatur Depot, said.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the McCarren group revisited the caboose and engine. They were also treated to a northbound Kansas City Southern freight passing through Decatur.

"I think we can work with this museum," Rouse said. "We might look at offering tours to this depot from Springdale."

The J. Rielly McCarren Transportation Museum is currently open by appointment. The Decatur Depot Museum is open every other Saturday. Both facilities are looking to expand their hours of operation, and the changes will be announced through local media.

It is vital to remember the men and women and the tools they used to build this nation through the rail transportation system. For more information or to donate railroad artifacts to either museum, contact the Decatur Depot Museum at 752-3912 or the J. Rielly McCarren Transportation Museum at 479-414-8094.

General News on 08/20/2014