The Birmingham Southern Railroad was a

short-line railroad :''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.'' A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that oper ...

in the

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, area. It ceased operating in 2012 when its assets were acquired by

Watco Watco Companies, L.L.C. (Watco) is a transportation company based in Pittsburg, Kansas, formed in 1983 by Charles R. Webb. Watco was composed of four divisions: transportation, mechanical, terminal and port services, and compliance. Watco is t ...

's Birmingham Terminal Railway.

History

The Birmingham Southern Railroad Company was founded on March 3, 1899. The line was originally built between 1878 from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

to Pratt City to haul coal to the steel mills in Birmingham. The line was extended to Ensley in 1887. The

Louisville & Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

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 & Railroad Company, which in 1906 became a part of the

United States Steel Corporation United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

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 Federal Barge Lines (also known as the Barge Line Railroad) that ran from Ensley to Port Birmingham, giving the Birmingham Southern access to Mobile, Alabama, 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, 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 successors. 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. On December 2, 2011,

announced plans to purchase the Birmingham Southern. The railroad was subsequently renamed Birmingham Terminal Railway; operations under the new name began on February 1, 2012.

Surviving Locomotives

*Birmingham Southern No. 82, an ALCO HH900, is on static display at the

Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum ( initialised HOD, reporting mark CSMX) is the official state railroad museum of Alabama. Dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and operation of historically significant railway equipment, the museum is loca ...

in Calera, Alabama.

References

* *

External links

ALCO HH900 No. 82
*

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HAER) documentation: ** ** {{Authority control 1899 establishments in Alabama American companies established in 1899 Defunct Alabama railroads Historic American Engineering Record in Alabama Railway companies established in 1899 Railway companies disestablished in 2012 Switching and terminal railroads Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company

History

Surviving Locomotives

See also

References

External links