The Bauxite and Northern Railway is a

Class III railroad In the United States, railroad carriers are designated as Class I, II, or III, according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$5 ...

operating in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. BXN operates over of track in

Bauxite, Arkansas Bauxite is a city in Saline County, Arkansas, United States. Located within Central Arkansas, the city is named for bauxite, the source ore for aluminum, which was found in abundant quantities in the area and became a source of aluminium refining. ...

. Traffic consists of largely of alumina, and the railroad hauls 4,059 carloads per year. In 2005, the railroad was purchased by

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

RailAmerica RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, was a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada. In 2007, RailAmerica was acquired by Fortress Investment Group. Before that, it ...

. In December 2012,

Genesee & Wyoming Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and formerly Australia. It operates ...

acquired the railroad in its acquisition of RailAmerica.

History

The Bauxite and Northern Railway was incorporated in

on November 13, 1906 and began operations in 1907, for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad from the town of Bauxite Saline County to a junction with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway. The BXN connected with the Rock Island at Bauxite, and connected with the

Missouri Pacific The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as 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. In 1967, the railroad ...

at BN Junction. For the railroad's first 100 years, it was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America. The connection for the old Rock Island is now gone, but the remnants are still visible, including a bridge over the Rock Island roadbed and local highway. Current motive power are two

EMD MP15DC The EMD MP15, sometimes referenced as MP15DC, is a switcher-type diesel locomotive model produced by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1974-1980. It was equipped with an engine sporting a roots blower. The length was either or de ...

locomotives, and an

EMD SW1500 The EMD SW1500 is a Diesel-electric locomotive intended for switching service and built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division from 1966 to 1974. The SW1500 replaced the SW1200 in the EMD product line. Many railroads regularly used SW1500s f ...

, housed in a two-stall enginehouse just outside the Alcoa plant. Former power was an

ALCO RS-3 The ALCO RS-3 is a , B-B diesel-electric locomotive manufactured from May 1950 to August 1956 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and its subsidiary Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). A total of 1,418 were produced: 1,265 for American railroads, ...

diesel.

References

* RailAmerica (September 9, 2005),
RailAmerica Selected to Acquire Four Railroads from Alcoa; Additionally Announces Lease with CSX Transportation for the 48 Mile Fremont Branch
'. Retrieved September 13, 2005. * Interstate Commerce Commission Valuation Docket 525; 121 ICC 474. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bauxite Northern Railway Arkansas railroads Railway companies established in 1906 RailAmerica Bauxite, Arkansas 1906 establishments in Arkansas Bauxite mining