Faulkner County Railroad Exhibit chug-a-chugs through history

Al Rueck says that the railroad tracks are laid out "so a 5-year-old can run around the table and 80-year-old can say, 'I remember that.'"

The Faulkner County Railroad Exihibit at the Faulkner County Museum is both fun and educational.

Starting in a miniature Mayflower, three model trains set up on loops and two set up on a point-to-point, run through what the county looked like post-WWII to the 1950s.

"This way we can run steam and diesel engines," Rueck adds.

Based on research done by Richard Buller, Rueck, Tommy Little and Ken Burney, the workers hope that the exhibit will interest people in the history of this area.

Much of the history of both Mayflower and Conway, in particular, is tied to the construction and functionality of the railroad. Rueck said that the maintenance of the trains themselves could create an economy. As trains became more common in the area the trains needed a helper engine, which would require an engineer, then firemen. Eventually, that would lead to someone opening a general store to serve the railroad.

"Eventually, you get a town Conway," added Rueck.

Similarly, Mayflower got its name and beginning from the railroad. Rueck said that the railroad came to the Mayflower area before the Civil War. The train crew needed a field office where railroad workers and engineers could send telegraphs, so they set up a telegraph office inside a railroad car about 30 miles outside of Little Rock. The car was called Mayflower and "eventually the car left and the name stayed," Ruek said.

Back around WWII in Conway there used to be a one-car doodlebug near the Catholic church that used a turntable, a device used at some railroad facilities to turn locomotives or other rolling stock around, or onto one of several radially arranged rail tracks (a rotary transfer table).

In the '20s the railroad transported passengers back and forth from Conway to Little Rock and from Little Rock to Conway twice a day. Rueck added that a "milk train" ran through the county. He recalled hearing about a man who sat up a wooden platform near the track so that milk cans could be snatched off as the train passed. Exemplary details such as these show how the area's economic growth, and eventual social wealth is attributed directly to the railroad.

The exhibit starts on the left side of the table with Mayflower then the tracks curve around to the left. Rueck explains that the actual railroad runs straight north, but the exhibit curves to the right leading into Conway, situated at the center front of the exhibit. Therefore, the front of the table, after a right hand turn is Conway and one of the first areas the model trains pass is the Ward Bus Company, now the IC Corporation. Richard Buller, one of the artisans of the railroad exhibit and an employee of IC Corporation is constructing this part of the model. He explains that he's building a model of the Ward Company building and that he ordered the buses on Ebay. To his surprise the miniature buses he found on the internet had the same specifications as buses made by the Ward Bus Company.

The buildings representing those in Faulkner County are mostly constructed out of kits.

Both Rueck and Buller say that they do a lot of "kit bashing" meaning that they fuse different kits to get a specific building type or look.

The look of the exhibit through to the north part of Faulkner County resembles photo research done by the workers. At this time they are researching a locomotive servicing area near the tunnel and constructing it to resemble the way it looked around the early '50s.

After the tunnel located north of Conway, the crew is creating "freelances," Buller said.

The "freelance" displays are modeled after a coal mining and industrial area. Buller explained that both displays, once finished, will look like modern day areas.

In addition to building the modern displays and fine tuning the exhibit and train schedules, the museum is working to make the exhibit ADA accessible.

"We don't have anyone smart enough to do it." Rueck said in describing the problem with ADA certification. Up a narrow twisted staircase, the Faulkner County Railroad exhibit leaves but a narrow walk around with no room from those using walkers or wheelchairs. Workers hope to record the exhibit and they currently have one camera hooked up to a train so that spectators can experience the exhibit from the inside.

Rueck also explained that they always need volunteers to help make exhibits and run the trains.

Those wishing to see the exhibit can visit the museum Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.