USRA Light Mikado
Encyclopedia
USRA standard
The USRA standard locomotives and railroad cars were designed by the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalised rail system of the United States during World War I. 1,856 steam locomotives and over 100,000 railroad cars were built to these designs during the USRA's tenure...
class of steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration
United States Railroad Administration
The United States Railroad Administration was the name of the nationalized railroad system of the United States between 1917 and 1920. It was possibly the largest American experiment with nationalization, and was undertaken against a background of war emergency.- Background :On April 6, 1917, the...
, the nationalized railroad system in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. This was the standard light freight locomotive of the USRA types, and was of 2-8-2
2-8-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
wheel arrangement
Wheel arrangement
In rail transport, a wheel arrangement is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed beneath a locomotive.. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and connections, with the adopted notations varying by country...
in the Whyte notation
Whyte notation
The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century encouraged by an editorial in American Engineer and Railroad Journal...
, or 1′D1′ in UIC classification
UIC classification
The UIC classification of locomotive axle arrangements describes the wheel arrangement of locomotives, multiple units and trams. It is set out in the International Union of Railways "Leaflet 650 - Standard designation of axle arrangement on locomotives and multiple-unit sets". It is used in much...
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Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
, was completed in July 1918 and given #4500. The locomotives were considered well designed and modern, and were popular and successful. Large numbers remained in service until replaced by diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s.
With later copies, over 50 railroads used the type, including the following:
| Railroad | Quantity | Class | Road numbers | Notes |
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| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which... |
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| Chicago and Alton Railroad | |
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to Alton Railroad 4385–4394, class Q-8 |
| Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two World Wars before being purchased by the Missouri Pacific... |
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| Chicago Great Western Railway Chicago Great Western Railway The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad... |
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| Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad (“Monon”) | |
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| Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:... |
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| Grand Trunk Railway Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate... |
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to Canadian National Railway Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad".... 3700–3714, class S-3-a |
| Grand Trunk Western Railroad Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad is an important subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway , constituting the majority of CN's Chicago Division .... |
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to Canadian National Railway Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad".... 3715–3739, class S-3-a |
| Lehigh and Hudson River Railway Lehigh and Hudson River Railway The Lehigh and Hudson River Railway was the smallest of the six railroads that were merged into Conrail in 1976. It was a bridge line running northeast-southwest across northwestern New Jersey, connecting the line to the Poughkeepsie Bridge at Maybrook, New York with Easton, Pennsylvania, where it... |
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| 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... |
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| Maine Central Railroad Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S... |
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| Missouri Pacific Railroad Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific... |
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| Monongahela Railway Monongahela Railway The Monongahela Railway was a coal-hauling short line railroad in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the United States. It was jointly controlled originally by the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central subsidiary Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, with NYC... |
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| Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company operating in the southern United States in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia... |
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| New York Central Railroad New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States... |
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Renumberd 1800–1894, less 11 to PM |
| New York Central subsidiary Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, also known as the Big Four Railroad and commonly abbreviated CCC&StL, was a railroad company in the Midwestern United States.... |
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Renumbered 1700–1724 |
| New York Central subsidiary Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is a Class III railroad in the United States. The line comprises of track—30 miles of single mainline track, of double-main track and of additional yard and side track—starting northwest of Chicago in Franklin Park, Illinois, traveling southeast... |
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10 to SLSF, others to PM |
| New York Central subsidiary Lake Erie and Western Railroad Lake Erie and Western Railroad The Lake Erie and Western Railroad was a railroad that operated in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.-The beginning:The Seney Syndicate linked several short railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to form the Lake Erie and Western Railroad in 1879 and 1880... |
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to Nickel Plate Road 586–600 |
| New York Central subsidiary Michigan Central Railroad Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada... |
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Renumbered 1770–1789 |
| New York Central subsidiary Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad | |
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Renumbered 1732–1736 |
| New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (“Nickel Plate Road”) | |
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| Pennsylvania Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.... |
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Refused; 10 to MP, 23 to SLSF |
| Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad at its height provided passenger and freight railroad services between Cincinnati, Ohio and the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, USA... |
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| Pere Marquette Railway Pere Marquette Railway The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. The railroad had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Buffalo; Toledo; and Chicago.The company was... |
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Acquired secondhand from IHB (14), NYC (11) and WAB (5). To C&O 2350–2379 |
| Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway The Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway was a railroad in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia areas. Originally built as the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, a Pittsburgh extension of George J. Gould's Wabash Railroad, the venture entered receivership in 1908 and the line... |
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| Rutland Railway | |
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| Seaboard Air Line Railroad Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad whose corporate existence extended from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line... |
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| St. Louis – San Francisco Railway | |
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| Southern Railway | |
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4765–4775 to subsidiary Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway The Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway is a railroad that runs from Cincinnati, Ohio, south to Chattanooga, Tennessee, forming part of the Norfolk Southern Railway system. The rail line that it operates, the Cincinnati Southern Railway, is owned by the City of Cincinnati and is... 6285–6294 in 1920 |
| Texas and Pacific Railway Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California.... |
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Refused; to Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific |
| Union Pacific Railroad Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman.... |
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Renumbered 2480–2499 in 1920 |
| Union Pacific subsidiary Oregon Short Line Railroad Oregon Short Line Railroad The Oregon Short Line Railroad was a railroad in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Montana and Oregon. The line was as organized the Oregon Short Line Railway in 1881 as a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railway. Union Pacific intended the line to be the shortest route from Wyoming to Oregon... |
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| Wabash Railroad Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit,... |
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5 to PM, replaced by 5 from WP |
| Western Pacific Railroad Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California... |
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to Wabash in 1920 | |
| Totals | 625 |
Copies:
| Railroad | Quantity | Class | Road numbers | Notes |
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| Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad The Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad was a railroad that existed between 1907 and 1982, running from Mogadore west to Delphos, Ohio, United States. It began as the Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railway, a short line connecting Mogadore to Akron... |
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| Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1900 and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad... |
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| Canadian National Railway Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad".... (Grand Trunk) |
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| Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P... |
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| Chicago and Alton Railroad | |
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to Alton Railroad 4395–4399, class Q-8a |
| Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway The Illinois and Midland Railroad is a railroad in the U.S. state of Illinois, serving Peoria, Springfield and Taylorville. Until 1996, when Genesee & Wyoming Inc. bought it, the company was named the Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway... |
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| Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad The Detroit and Toledo Shore Line Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan.The Pleasant Bay Railway was incorporated in Michigan in March 1898 and purchased the Toledo and Ottawa Beach Railway, an Ohio company incorporated in January 1898, in... |
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| Florida East Coast Railway Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida; in the past, it has been a Class I railroad.Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a project of Standard Oil principal Henry Morrison... |
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| Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway The Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway was formed on July 31, 1919 from the assets of the bankrupt Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. The KO&G largely consisted of a single line from Baxter Springs, Kansas, to Denison, Texas, prior to its purchase by Missouri Pacific's Texas and Pacific Railway... |
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| 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... |
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| Midland Valley Railroad Midland Valley Railroad The Midland Valley Railroad was incorporated in 1903 for the purpose of building a line from Hoye, Arkansas, through Muskogee and Tulsa, Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas. The railroad took its name from Midland, Arkansas, a coal mining town in western Arkansas which was served by the railroad... |
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| Missouri Pacific subsidiary International-Great Northern Railroad International-Great Northern Railroad The International – Great Northern Railroad was a railroad that operated in the U.S. state of Texas. It was created on September 30, 1873, when International Railroad and Houston and Great Northern Railroad merged.... |
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| Mobile and Ohio Railroad Mobile and Ohio Railroad The Mobile and Ohio Railroad was a railroad in the Southern U.S. The M&O was chartered in January and February 1848 by the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It was planned to span the distance between the seaport of Mobile, Alabama and the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois... |
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| Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México, was Mexico's state owned railroad company from 1938 to 1998, and prior to 1938 a major railroad controlled by the government that linked Mexico City to the major cities of Nuevo Laredo and Ciudad Juárez on the U.S. border... |
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| Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company operating in the southern United States in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia... |
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| New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (“Nickel Plate Road”) | |
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| Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway The Oklahoma City – Ada – Atoka Railway was formed from trackage from Oklahoma City to Atoka via Shawnee and Ada, Oklahoma, that was not included in the 1923 reorganization of the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad.... |
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| Pere Marquette Railway Pere Marquette Railway The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. The railroad had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Buffalo; Toledo; and Chicago.The company was... |
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to C&O 1060–1069 |
| Seaboard Air Line Railroad Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad whose corporate existence extended from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line... |
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| Southern Railway subsidiary Alabama Great Southern Railroad Alabama Great Southern Railroad The Alabama Great Southern Railroad is a railroad in the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It is an operating subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation , running southwest from Chattanooga to New Orleans through Birmingham and Meridian... |
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| Texas and Pacific Railway Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California.... |
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| West Point Route (Atlanta and West Point Rail Road Atlanta and West Point Rail Road The Atlanta and West Point Rail Road was a railroad in the U.S. state of Georgia, forming the east portion of the Atlanta-Selma West Point Route. The company was chartered in 1847 as the Atlanta and LaGrange Rail Road and renamed in 1857; construction was begun in 1849-50 and completed in May 1854... ) |
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| West Point Route (Georgia Railroad) | |
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| West Point Route (Western Railway of Alabama Western Railway of Alabama The Western Railway of Alabama was created as the Western Railroad of Alabama by the owners of the Montgomery and West Point Railroad in 1860. It was built to further the M&WP's development West from Montgomery, Alabama to Selma, Alabama. When the line was finally constructed in 1870, the M&WP... ) |
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| Total | 641 |