by jringreatwhitenorth
can anyone tell me if the tiny shortlines helena & southwestern and chicago-chemung are still in operation? i know about 9 years ago the helena & southwestern was sold and became a private carrier
Tho I was born & raised in Arkansas, the Helena Southwestern Railroad is one that I never managed to visit. I believe it was built & owned by the Chicago Mill & Lumber Co., which had a plant in Helena or West Helena.
The rest of this is the result of a Google search. Railroad Retirement Board records show that CM&L sold the HSW to American Box Co. on 1/27/84.
RRB says the HSW was "last in business in 1986" and on 12/31/86 the HSW ceased to be an employer under the standards of the RRB. I'd take that to mean it ceased being a common carrier. When I did a search on American Box Co., it came up empty, so they probably merged with someone or went out of business. The Arkansas Midland Railroad now operates trackage around Helena, connecting with the UP at Lexa, Ark. If you contact them, someone there probably knows if they operate over the old HSW or if the trackage is an industrial switching operation. I'd be interested to know what you find out.
http://www.arkmidrr.com