Cotton Belt 819 1993 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.

Her October 15-16-17, 1993 excursion to Tyler and Athens was historic in that not only was it her longest trip into Texas, it would sadly be her last run to date. Join us now as we feature the 819's one-and-only excursion in 1993.