Passenger train stuck for hours in Gurdon after hitting storm-blown tree -

By JOEL PHELPS | The Arkadelphian

This Amtrak passenger train sustained damages to the conductors’ windshields when it struck a tree between Arkadelphia and Gurdon during strong storms that swept through parts of southern Arkansas on Sunday, June 18. | *Submitted photo*

This post has been updated to include comments from Amtrak.

Passengers aboard a Texas-bound Amtrak had all day Sunday to check out a small Arkansas town when the train struck a tree.

The tree collision happened during heavy storms that swept through parts of South Arkansas early Sunday morning, sometime shortly after the train left the Arkadelphia station, where the Texas Eagle makes daily 4 a.m. departures.

No one was injured in the collision, but the train sustained damage, including a couple of smashed windows on front of the train. For the next several hours passengers would wait on the train as it sat idle in Gurdon.

The southbound Texas Eagle originates in Chicago and includes stops in major cities, including St. Louis and Dallas, on its way to San Antonio. This stop would be a 12-hour layover in the sleepy Clark County hamlet of Gurdon (pop: 1,840). Passengers looking outside the train windows could see the town’s old train depot, whose platform didn’t meet basic standards to allow passengers to step off the train and therefore kept their activities limited to the confines of the locomotive’s interior. The next station where the train makes daily stops is located in Hope.

About 12 hours into the stall, passengers reportedly grew “very restless,” according to one Arkansas Railfan who reported about the event on Facebook. The Texas Eagle engine was pulling four cars carrying 130 passengers, according to Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari, who added that passengers were treated to meals and that the train’s onboard systems for comfort were operational during the stop.

**The Texas Eagle Train 21 sits idle near train depot in Gurdon. Passengers were instructed to stay on board until a Union Pacific engine would tow it to Dallas.** | *Submitted photo*

A Union Pacific engine eventually arrived to tow the disabled Texas Eagle to Dallas. At 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Amtrak reported that its southbound Texas Eagle 21 would be running 15 hours behind schedule. A passenger aboard the train posted on social media that it arrived in Dallas at about 6:30 a.m. Monday.

“We appreciate the support of Union Pacific for linking so we could continue on,” said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.