UP GP-38-2 #2256, Norfork, AR, June 28, 1990, photo by Chuck Zeiler

UP GP-38-2 #2256, Norfork, Arkansas, June 28, 1990, photo by Chuck Zeiler

I got the following information from the book, "The White River Railway", by Walter (Mike) Adams, Library of Congress Card # 91-91855, copyright 1991.

In 1879, railroad magnate Jay Gould of the Union Pacific Railroad acquired stock control of the Missouri Pacific, becoming the MPs president. He quickly purchased stock in the St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern, and by 1881 purchased the StLIM&S outright. His objective now was to unite the two properties, so he had a survey drawn up for a connection paralleling the White River in Arkansas. Also on Goulds mind was the immense amount of freight carried on close to 100 barges per day on the White River, as well as zinc mines located along the proposed route. Upon Jay Goulds death in 1892, his eldest son, George J., took over, and the construction of the connecting railroad was organized as the White River Railway.

By 1902, the material for this bridge had been floated up the White River by steamboat, although the exact site of the bridge had not yet been determined, and the railhead was still close to 35 miles to the south. The survey crews were looking at two possible routes through this area, one through Yellville (which had offered the railroad a $35,000 bonus, right-of-way through the county, a depot in Yellville, and the necessary land for sidings), and an alternate route through Mountain Home (which offered the railroad $40,000, free right-of-way, and a $10,000 depot to be built of Baxter County marble and the roof plated with Baxter County zinc). Yellville countered with $20,000 cash, 15 acres of land in Yellville, six acres of land for each depot built in the (Marion) county, and a $5,000 stone depot in Yellville. In the end, the railroad was routed along the White River, south of Mountain Home, and north of Yellville, crossing the White River at Cotter. Cotter (named for William Cotter, General Manager of the White River Railway) ultimately became a crew change point, a roundhouse was built, and a second story was added to the Cotter depot for a dispatchers office. The company set up to promote and build Cotter was the Red Bud Realty Company, so perhaps there is more to this story.

This particular bridge was originally surveyed to cross the North Fork (thus the town name of Norfork) of the White River at 397 feet above sea level, but orders came from St. Louis to raise it to 408 feet. Construction of the bridge was completed in June, 1903. Even at that, this bridge would occasionally be under water during spring floods, until a dam was built about 10 miles upstream in the 1940s. At the time of this photograph, the bridge was 88 years old. It has seen the trains of the StLIM&S, the MP, the UP, and now the M&NA. Today it is over 100 years old and still sees a few trains daily. The White River is not seen here but runs between the trees and the bluffs in the background.