Cotton Belt 819 1992 DVD

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Originally constructed by the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad in 1943, the 819 was one of twenty L-1 class 4-8-4 "Northerns" once stabled on the Cotton Belt. The 819 was assigned to the line's heaviest freights and proudly served the SSW until being retired in 1955 and placed on display in Pine Bluff's Oakland Park. After spending the next twenty-nine years as a static display piece, members of the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society rescued her in 1984 when they began a three year restoration of the locomotive that was completed in 1986. Between 1986 and 1993 the 819 operated on a total of thirteen excursions out of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. These included five trips to Fordyce, two trips to Little Rock, one trip to the 1990 NRHS convention in St. Louis, and five excursions to Tyler, which also included a late afternoon roundtrip to Athens, Texas in 1993.

Join us as our cameras follow the 819 on her one-and-only excursion during 1992, leading the TYLER STAR southwest to Texarkana, Mt. Pleasant and Tyler Ion October 16th and her return trip to Pine Bluff on October 18th. Running time: 50 minutes.