August 5, 1914

The demise of the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad, which started with ambitious aims but never was financially successful, was hastened when a Missouri and North Arkansas motor car collided with a Kansas City Southern train south of Joplin, Missouri, killing forty-two people. The two railroads split the responsibility for compensating the families involved. The struggling railroad, which connected Kansas City, Missouri, with Helena (Phillips County), had many problems over the next decade, with a 1921–1922 strike significantly contributing to its demise.