Station Number 64
No depot at Pender
Date of Service: 1882
Part of the construction of the original Eureka Springs Railway.
Pender was at the bottom of the 2.6 percent grade up to Seligman, the heaviest grade on the entire M&NA system. A section house for track laborers was located here and can be seen in the background. There was also a water tank for a time to allow locomotives to ensure they had enough water to make steam for the grade. Trains sometimes had difficulty making the hill because of poor locomotive performance, overloading, or slick rail conditions, so a siding was located here to allow trains to be cut in two, with the locomotive then making two trips up the hill with the reduced tonnage. This was called “doubling the hill” and was not looked upon as an efficient operating practice. A stock of ties and rail was located here for the additional track maintenance needed on the heavy grade. The siding was in place until the end of Arkansas & Ozarks service from Harrison.
Track was abandoned with the closure of the Arkansas & Ozarks Railway and removed in 1962.
