The Louisiana Midland Railway, was a Class III railroad

Class III railroad

A Class III railroad, as defined by the Surface Transportation Board, is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of less than $20 million . The term only applies to United States railroads, but is sometimes applied to other countries...

 operating in the US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state of Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. The branch of the Louisiana & Arkansas Railway that would become the Louisiana Midland fell under different names those names and time line are as followed:


1. Louisiana & Arkansas Railway (L&A) 1903 to 1946 owned by William Buchanan

2. Louisiana Midland Railway (LM) 1946 to 1967 owned by H.H. Holloway, Sr.

3. Illinois Central & Gulf (ICG) 1967 to 1974 owned by ICG

4. Louisiana Midland Railroad (LOAM) 1974 to 1987 owned by Craig Burroughs

History

The First Louisiana Midland (LM) was formed on January 1, 1946 by H.H. Holloway,Sr. Mr. Holloway owned a gravel pit at Rhinehart, LA on the Louisiana & Arkansas Railway's (L&A) main line. When the L&A made plans to dispose of the branch Mr. Holloway knowing without the railroad his gravel pit operations would ultimately fail.
The LM would consist of 76.7-mile branch line from Packton, Louisiana to Vidalia, Louisiana

Vidalia, Louisiana

Vidalia is a city in and the parish seat of Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,543 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Vidalia is located at and has an elevation of ....

 from the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway

Louisiana and Arkansas Railway

The Louisiana and Arkansas Railway was a railroad that operated in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The railroad's main line extended 332 miles, from Hope, Arkansas to Shreveport and New Orleans...

. Passenger service was discontinued in 1953. On April 28, 1967, the Illinois Central Railroad

Illinois Central Railroad

The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

 absorbed the Louisiana Midland as part of its absorption of the Mississippi Central Railroad

Mississippi Central Railroad

Mississippi Central Railroad may refer to:*Mississippi Central Railroad , a line from Oxford, Mississippi to Grand Junction, Tennessee owned by Pioneer Railcorp...

. On April 28, 1974, the Louisiana Midland resumed independent operations, being controlled by Craig Burroughs' Joliet, Illinois

Joliet, Illinois

Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...

-based Trans-Action Associates, Inc. The Louisiana Midland operated first with three ALCO RS-1

ALCO RS-1

The ALCO RS-1 was a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by Alco-GE between 1941 and 1953 and the American Locomotive Company from 1953 to 1960. This model has the distinction of having the longest production run of any diesel locomotive for the North American market.The carbody configuration of...

 locomotives and later with three ALCO RS-3

ALCO RS-3

The ALCO RS-3 is a 1,600 hp , B-B road switcher railroad locomotive. It was manufactured by American Locomotive Company and Montreal Locomotive Works from May 1950 to August 1956, and 1,418 were produced — 1,265 for American railroads, 98 for Canadian railroads, 48 for Brazilian and 7...

 locomotives.
In the 1980s, through freight service was discontinued between Packton and Ferriday, Louisiana

Ferriday, Louisiana

Ferriday is a town in Concordia Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population, which is three-fourths African American, was 3,723 at the 2000 census....

 because of poor track conditions and lack of demand, reducing the Louisiana Midland's operations to switching service at Packton and Ferriday. Traffic at the time included pulpwood, wood products and general commodities.

Operations ceased in July 1985. On July 1, 1986, the property was sold at a sheriff's sale.

Current

The bridge over Little River at Georgetown, Louisiana

Georgetown, Louisiana

Georgetown is a village in Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 301 at the 2000 census.-History:...

still exists while most of the others are gone.