Birmingham Southern Railroad
Encyclopedia
Birmingham Southern Railroad is a subsidiary of Transtar, operator of several short-line railroad companies. The BS operates on 84 miles of track, providing switching services in the Birmingham, Alabama
area.
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad
and the Southern Railway
jointly purchased and operated the Birmingham Southern shortly after the Birmingham Southern's organization. The Birmingham Southern was later sold to the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company
, which in 1906 became a part of the United States Steel Corporation and remained a U.S.S. Corp. subsidiary until 1988. The railroad expanded its lines in the western industrial section of Jefferson County by 1910. In 1966, the Birmingham Southern acquired the 18-mile Federal Barge Lines (also known as the Barge Line Railroad) that ran from Ensley to Port Birmingham, giving the Birmingham Southern access to Mobile, AL via the barge lines of the Warrior River
. The Barge Line Railroad track was formerly owned by the Southern Railway
.
In 1988 the Birmingham Southern was sold to Transtar, Inc., the transportation subsidiary of United States Steel. In 1989, United States Steel sold Transtar and Transtar became a privately held company specializing in the operation of short line railroads and barge lines that primarily serve United States Steel and its predecessors.
On May 17, 2007, Birmingham Southern Railroad was awarded a Gold E. H. Harriman Award in the S&T Group for the railroad's 2006 safety record.
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
area.
History
The Birmingham Southern Railroad Company was organized on March 3, 1899. The line was originally built between 1878 from Birmingham to Pratt City, AL to haul coal to the steel mills in Birmingham. The line was extended to Ensley, AL in 1887.The Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
and the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (US)
The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
jointly purchased and operated the Birmingham Southern shortly after the Birmingham Southern's organization. The Birmingham Southern was later sold to the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company
The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company , also known as TCI and the Tennessee Company, was a major American steel manufacturer with interests in coal and iron ore mining and railroad operations. Originally based entirely within Tennessee, it relocated most of its business to Alabama in the...
, which in 1906 became a part of the United States Steel Corporation and remained a U.S.S. Corp. subsidiary until 1988. The railroad expanded its lines in the western industrial section of Jefferson County by 1910. In 1966, the Birmingham Southern acquired the 18-mile Federal Barge Lines (also known as the Barge Line Railroad) that ran from Ensley to Port Birmingham, giving the Birmingham Southern access to Mobile, AL via the barge lines of the Warrior River
Black Warrior River
The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles to the Tombigbee River, of which the Black Warrior is the primary tributary...
. The Barge Line Railroad track was formerly owned by the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (US)
The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
.
In 1988 the Birmingham Southern was sold to Transtar, Inc., the transportation subsidiary of United States Steel. In 1989, United States Steel sold Transtar and Transtar became a privately held company specializing in the operation of short line railroads and barge lines that primarily serve United States Steel and its predecessors.
On May 17, 2007, Birmingham Southern Railroad was awarded a Gold E. H. Harriman Award in the S&T Group for the railroad's 2006 safety record.
Abandoned Track
Some of the Birmingham Southern's track has been abandoned as described below:- Track from Docena (near Oakwood) to Village Creek Junction (near Pratt City), about 2 – 3 miles.
- Track of the former Tennessee Coal & Iron Company from Bayview to Edgewater Junction (with a short spur to the Edgewater Mine), to just northwest of Exum.
- Track of the former Woodward Iron Company from Mulga Shaft - Mulga - Woodward #2 Coal Mine - Woodward #1 Coal Mine - Kopper (Woodward) Coke Plant at Woodward-Collins. (This trackage crossed what is now Allison-Bonnett Memorial Drive in Dolomite, through its intersection with Pleasant Grove Road. The track now ends just short of that intersection; the remaining trackage is not used since the demolition of the coke plant.)
- Track from Dolonah Junction to Maury and Dolonah Quarry.
- Spurs in West Bessemer area.
- Track of the former Tennessee Coal & Iron Company from Muscoda (Mines #4, #5, #6) - Sloss (Mines #1 and #2) - Fossil (Mines #6 - 10) - Alice - Wenonah (Fossil) - Songo (Mines #1 - 2) - Ishkooda (Mines #11 - 15) - Spring Gap - Clinton Mine - Steinman. Also track from the Birmingham Southern's Flintridge Yard, south to Wenonah. This line is known as the "High Line," and roadway bridges are still in place along the line, notably over Bessemer Super Highway in Midfield. The line remains intact over Interstate 20Interstate 20Interstate 20 is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles from near Kent, Texas, at Interstate 10 to Florence, South Carolina, at Interstate 95...
/Interstate 59Interstate 59Interstate 59 is an Interstate Highway in the southern United States. Its southern terminus is near Slidell, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, at an intersection with Interstate 10 and Interstate 12, its northern terminus is at Wildwood, Georgia, at an intersection with Interstate 24.The road's...
, connecting Flintridge Yard with the U.S. Steel plant.) - Track from Birmingham Southern's former downtown Birmingham Station to a location southwest of the present day BNSF East Thomas Yard.
- Track from East Highlands - Stockton Junction.
- Track from Stockton Junction - Ridgefield - Laketon - Bakers Siding - Tipton - Thompson - Powder Mill and Stockton.
- Track from Stockton Junction - Pratt City.
- Track from Pratt City - Shafton.
- Track from Pratt City - Village Creek Junction - United States Steel Ensley Works - Wylam.