Delta Valley and Southern Railway
The Delta Valley and Southern Railway is a short-line railroad headquartered in Wilson, Arkansas.
DVS operates a two-mile line in Arkansas near Wilson with one switch engine.
History
Originally constructed in the 1850's as a narrow gauge line to haul timber, this St. Louis-San Francisco Railway branch line ran from Evadale Junction in Mississippi County to Deckerville in Poinsett County. The line was converted to standard gauge in 1898. By 1920, the Frisco was running multiple trains over the line from Deckerville to Osceola, Arkansas.The line was abandoned by the Frisco Railway in June of 1934. It was soon after incorporated as the Delta Valley and Southern Railway in August 1934 by C.L. Deaton, C.W. Ferguson, L.P. Nicholson, and J.D. Newell. By 1950, it was being advertised as a freight railroad with daily freight services from Wilson. All but from Delpro to Evadale Junction was abandoned in 1947.
The railway company became a subsidiary of Lee Wilson & Company when the latter incorporated in 1958.
, the railroad operated from its engine house at the present end of the line to a connection with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe south of Wilson. The line served one cotton processing plant owned by the R.E.L. Wilson company.
In 1970, the president of the company was R.E.L. Wilson 3rd, grandson of local plantation owner Robert E. Lee Wilson. In 2002, the president and director of the company was Michael Wilson.
Motive power was a GE 45-tonner side-rod locomotive, purchased new in May 1954, GE s/n 32129. The locomotive, DV&S 50, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The locomotive was housed in a single stall engine house built right over the main line of this short railroad, at the end of the line. However, that locomotive was sold in 2009.
By 2026, the line is now operated as a short line of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. Its office is located in the company town of Wilson, Arkansas.