From the junction with the Fort Smith Branch, trailing in from the northeast, where a former Frisco line that once continued southwest, at Poteau (MP 326.4), the line heads south, single track, CTC, maximum speed 45 mph, past MP 330.0, where the maximum speed drops to 40 mph and a detector at MP 331.4, curving just east of due south, past the 7,663 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Howe (MP 333.0 to MP 334.5), where the Rock Island Memphis to Tucumcari line once crossed, and a segment to the west is still operated by the Arkansas-Oklahoma Railroad, the start of Yard Limits, Two Main Tracks, and a 10 mph speed restriction at MP 335.3, a 10 mph speed restriction from MP 336.6 to MP 336.9, where 20 mph resumes, the 16,314 ft. siding at Heavener (MP 335.3, past MP 338.0, to MP 338.4, el. 562 ft.), and the end of Yard Limits at MP 338.4, where a branch heads away east, and single track, CTC, and 40 mph maximum speed resumes.
The line turns southwest, west, curvily south past Hodgens, a detector at MP 347.9, and Stapp, and curvily east, with a 30 mph speed restriction on curves from MP 354.4 to MP 354.7, on the 1.5% grade up Stapp Hill in the Ouachita Mountains, turning just east of due south, past the 6,702 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Page (MP 353.9, past MP 354.7, to MP 355.3), where a shortline once headed southwest, curvily east again, past the border between Oklahoma and Arkansas, Howard, a detector at MP 363.8, on the 1.1% up the west slope of Rich Mountain, the 9,041 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Rich Mountain (MP 366.1, past MP 367.3, to MP 367.9, el. 1,605 ft.), Eagleton, on the 1.3% grade down the east slope of Rich Mountain, and a detector at MP 374.8, where the line turns south, and then southwest, with a 20 mph speed restriction on switches from MP 379.5 to MP 380.8, past the 3,324 ft. siding at Mena (MP 379.8), and then west, past the 2,100 ft. south-facing spur at Olson (MP 382.6).
There is a detector at MP 384.1, and the line turns southwest, past the 6,810 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Potter (MP 385.5, past MP 386.3, to MP 387.0), south, southwest to the 1,750 ft. dual-ended spur at Hatfield (MP 392.2), un the climb of Cove Hill, curvily south, curvily southwest, past a detector at MP 396.4 and Cove, curvily southeast, past the 6,821 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Vandervoort (MP 400.5, past MP 401.8, to MP 402.0), sharply just south of due west, with a 30 mph speed restriction on curves from MP 402.0 to MP 402.3, on the climb up the north side of Wickes Hill, curvily south past a 9,250 ft. dual-ended (wye-connected) spur to Herzog Stone Quarries on the east side at Hatton (MP 405.0, el. 1,174 ft.) and a detector at MP 406.5, and very curvily south-southeast, with a 30 mph speed restriction on curves from MP 407.0 to MP 408.3, on the descent of the south side of Wickes Hill, past the 11,838 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Wickes (MP 408.4, past MP 408.8, to MP 410.7).
The line turns very curvily south, past Grannis and Mineral, with a 30 mph speed restriction on curves between MP 415.7 and MP 428.0, curvily east-southeast, past the 6,608 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Gillham (MP 420.9, past MP 421.3, to MP 422.4), curvily southwest, past a detector at MP 425.0, Kings and Pullman, and south, to the 7,453 ft. siding at DeQueen (siding MP 431.5 to MP 432.8, MP 432.9, el. 420 ft.), where a connector to the De Queen & Eastern heads away southeast and the line turns southwest, past the 500 ft. north-facing DeQueen House Track (MP 433.3), the flat crossing (35 mph on the crossing) with the De Queen & Eastern at D&E Crossing (MP 433.8), the 6,494 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Wade (MP 438.0, past MP 438.2, to MP 439.3), and a detector at MP 440.5, turning south, east to Horatio, just east of due south to Neal Springs, where an erstwhile shortline once headed east, south-southwest and then south past MP 445.0, where the maximum speed rises to 45 mph, and Morris Ferry, where that same erstwhile shortline once headed west and the line turns south-southeast.
There is a 10,787 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Winthrop (MP 447.5, past MP 449.3, to MP 449.7), a gradual curve east-southeast, past Allene, a detector at MP 459.5, and a 2,250 ft. north-facing spur at Gifford Hill (MP 460.9), a turn south at the 7,390 ft. siding at Wilton (MP 463.0), where a branch once trailed in from the east, past Rankin, a turn southeast, past the flat crossing (20 mph on the crossing) with southeast quadrant connector from a KCS branch east, with the Kiamichi Railroad at KRR Crossing (MP 467.6), a 20 mph speed restriction from MP 467.6 to MP 470.2, the 10,714 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Ashdown (siding MP 468.0 to MP 470.1, MP 470.2), the yard accessed through a wye on the west side at Georgia Pacific Paper (MP 470.3), a Control Point at Ogden (MP 473.3), a detector at MP 474.5, a turn to the south, a dragging equipment detector at MP 476.5, a 25 mph speed restriction on the bridge over the Red River at MP 478, Index, the border between Arkansas and Texas, and a dragging equipment detector at MP 479.2.
Just on the Texas side of the border, running parallel to the east, the line passes Whatley, the bridge over 40th Street, the 10,538 ft. siding on the west side at Texarkana/Trigg Street (MP 484.8 to MP 486.9, el. 390 ft.), where Trigg Street Yard lies west of the siding, curving south-southeast and then south again at the south end of the ayrd, past the flat crossing (20 mph on the crossing) with northeast-quadrant connector with the Texas Northeastern Railroad at TNER Crossing (MP 487.4), two connectors dpearting on the west side, and the two flat crossings (20 mph on the crossings) with the former Cotton Belt at SSW Crossings/CB Tower (MP 487.5), turning just west of due south, with the former MoPac to the east, past the 1,510 ft. dual-ended Stock Pen Track (MP 488.1), where there is a 20 mph speed restriction on the main track, and then south again, with a branch of the former Cotton Belt to the west, past the acute-angled flat crossing (20 mph on the crossing) with the trackage of the Kerr-McGee Creosote Plant at Kerr-McGee Crossing (MP 489.4) and the acute-angled flat crossing (20 mph on the crossing) with the former MoPac at UP Crossing (MP 489.4).
The line turns just east of due south, with the former MoPac running parallel just to the west, past the 550 ft. north-facing spur at Baroid Sales Company (MP 490.4), a detector at MP 490.9, the 6,607 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Jury (MP 492.2, past MP 492.8, to MP 493.5), Draper, where the former MoPac turns away southwest, and a dragging equipment detector at MP 496.5, turning south-southwest, past a dragging equipment detector at MP 498.5 and the dual-ended (wye-connected) yard at South Texarkana (MP 499.3), which also connects west to the former MoPac, south, past Cass and a detector at MP 506.5 to the 1,250 ft. north-facing spur at Bloomburg (MP 507.2), where the erstwhile Texas, Arkansas & Louisiana Railway once crossed, south-southeast across the Arkansas border to Lynn, south to Ravanna, south-southwest, across the Arkansas-Louisiana border, past the 7,811 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Sandra (MP 516.4, past MP 516.8, to MP 517.2), to Rodessa, and curvily south past Myrtis.
There is a detector at MP 523.3, a 20 mph speed restriction on the street crossings between MP 526.2 and MP 527.6, a 300 ft. north-facing spur at Vivien (MP 527.0), the dual-ended yard at Superior Tie (MP 530.2), the 12,641 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Shoreline (MP 529.8, past MP 531.8, to MP 532.3), on the east shore of Cuddo Lake, a detector at MP 534.8, the 500 ft. south-facing spur at Oil City (MP 536.0), a bridge over Cuddo lake, Morringsport, the 350 ft. south-facing spur at Southwestern Gas (MP 538.4), a turn south-southeast, a detector at MP 544.0, Arklatex, the south-facing yard at Brian (MP 544.9), the 6,620 ft. siding (20 mph on the switches) at Blanchard (MP 547.5, past MP 548.3, to MP 548.5), the north wye switch at Blanchard (MP 548.4) for a connection to the line west, and the junction with the KCS line from Dallas at Texas Junction (MP 549.0).
The line turns southeast, now Two Main Tracks, Automatic Block Signals, Yard Limits, speed limit 20 mph, past Deramus Yard at Shreveport (MP 553.3), with Cross Lake on the south side, turning south-southeast, and then just south of due east past the yard at Harriet Street (MP 556.3), and then east, under the bridge carrying the connector from the former Texas & Pacific Hollywood Yard, to the wye at MP 557.1, where the KCS Meridian line turns away north and the Beaumont line turns south to South Wye (MP 558.3, where the east leg of the wye with the Meridian Line trails in from the north (on the east side).