 Long abandoned the 32 mile railroad in 1971 and sold five miles to a group of businessmen in the area who worked to preserve it.They, in turn, sold it again in 1980 to the present owner, R. A Grigsby, who focused on emphasizing the history of Reader Railroad and the role it played in the development of south Arkansas.The private tourist railroad owned many refurbished cars, including two oil-burning locomotives built in 1907 and 1913, respectively, and one wood-burning locomotive built in 1907, as well as passenger cars, excursion cars, flatcars, boxcars, a tank car, and two stove-heated cabooses.