The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a

Class I 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$ ...

in the central

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 territorie ...

whose primary routes extended from

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, and

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, as well as

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. From its two parallel lines through eastern

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, the GM&O also served Montgomery and

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 ...

, as well as

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

History

The

Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad The Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad was a railroad in the Southern United States. The first World War had forced government operation upon the company; and in 1919, when it became once more a free agent, it chose Isaac B. Tigrett to chart its n ...

was created as the reorganization of the New Orleans, Mobile and Chicago Railroad in 1917. The GM&O was incorporated in 1938 to merge the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad and the

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 Mobil ...

, which was accomplished in 1940. The GM&O later bought and merged the

Alton Railroad The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 an ...

in 1947. Isaac B. Tigrett, a native of

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...

, was president of the GM&N from 1920 and of the GM&O from 1938 to 1952, and oversaw the development of the road from a nearly bankrupt operation into a thriving success. He was the great-uncle of

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and rol ...

founder

Isaac Tigrett Isaac Burton Tigrett (born November 28, 1948, Jackson, Tennessee) is an American businessman, best known as the co-founder of Hard Rock Café and House of Blues. Early life Isaac Tigrett belonged to a well-to-do business family and was raised i ...

, also a native of Jackson.Lesley Barker, ''St. Louis Gateway Rail: The 1970s'', Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 51
/ref> From 1952 to 1972 the headquarters of the GM&O were in Mobile, Alabama at 104 St. Francis Street. The President of the GM&O Railroad during this period was G. Paul Brock. The Railroad retained the passenger terminal at Beauregard Street for additional offices. At the end of 1944 GM&O operated 1950 miles of road, including NOGN; at the end of 1950 it operated 2898 route-miles. At the end of 1970 route mileage was 2734 (3946 miles of track); GM&O reported 8285 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 44 million passenger-miles for that year. The GM&O Railroad was the first "large" railroad in the United States to replace all its steam locomotives with diesels. On August 10, 1972 the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad merged into the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also c ...

, forming the 9600-mile north-south

Illinois Central Gulf Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A ...

. In 1988, the railroad dropped the "Gulf" from its name, reverting its name to the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1996 Illinois Central spun off some of its redundant trackage, including most of the former Gulf, Mobile and Ohio. Most of this trackage was acquired by other railroads. On February 11, 1998 the Illinois Central was purchased by the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

(CN) with the integration of operations beginning on July 1, 1999.

Passenger Operations

Gulf Mobile and Ohio streamliner circa 1940s

In addition to the GM&O's most popular train, the streamlined ''Rebel'' (New Orleans -

1935-1941; extended to St. Louis thereafter), the railroad also operated a number of other named trains. These include: * '' Alton Limited'' (later simply ''The Limited''): (Chicago - St. Louis) * ''

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

'': (Chicago - St. Louis) * ''

Ann Rutledge Ann Mayes Rutledge (January 7, 1813 – August 25, 1835) was allegedly Abraham Lincoln's first love. Early life Born near Henderson, Kentucky, Ann Mayes Rutledge was the third of 10 children born to Mary Ann Miller Rutledge and James Rutledge ...

'': (Chicago - St. Louis) (operated 1937-1947 by the Alton, 1947-1971 by GM&O, 1971-2009 by Amtrak) * ''

Gulf Coast Rebel The ''Gulf Coast Rebel'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (GM&O) between St. Louis, Missouri and Mobile, Alabama. It operated from 1940 to 1958. Unlike the similarly named ''Rebels'', the ''Gulf Co ...

'': (originally Mobile - Union, Mississippi, later extended to St. Louis) * ''The Mail'': (Chicago - St. Louis) * ''Midnight Special'': (Chicago - St. Louis) * ''Night Hawk'': (St. Louis - Kansas City) * ''Prairie State Express'': (St. Louis - Chicago) * '' ''Rebel'''': (St. Louis - New Orleans)

Preservation

*Gulf, Mobile and Ohio

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damag ...

#2825 is on display in Kiroli Park in West Monroe, Louisiana. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio caboose #2867 is privately owned and on display in Rienzi, Mississippi. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio caboose #2951 is on display in downtown

Madison, Mississippi Madison is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,841 at the 2010 census. The population is currently over 25,000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The city of Madison, named ...

. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio caboose #2954: re-numbered by ICG as #199044, preserved by the

Monticello Railway Museum The Monticello Railway Museum ( initialized MRYM, reporting mark MRMZ) is a non-profit railroad museum located in Monticello, Illinois, about 18 miles west of Champaign, IL. It is home to over 100 pieces of railroad equipment, including several re ...

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio caboose #2994 is on display at the depot in downtown

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

, Mississippi. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio caboose #2997 is on display at the depot in downtown Booneville, Mississippi. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio

SD40 SD40 may refer to: * Canon PowerShot SD40, a digital camera * EMD SD40, a diesel-electric locomotive * South Dakota Highway 40 * SD-40 alcohol, ethanol denatured by adding denatonium benzoate Denatonium, usually available as denatonium benzoate (u ...

#950: the first SD40, currently in Illinois Central marking as #6071, donated to the Monticello Railway Museum in Monticello, Illinois. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio GP35 #631 currently owned by the SARM in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The unit is non-operational and in much disrepair. *Gulf, Mobile & Ohio parlor-observation #5998 from the 1935 "Abraham Lincoln" train is on display at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri. *Gulf, Mobile & Ohio EMD AA Boxcab #1200 is currently on display at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri as B&O 50. *Gulf, Mobile, & Ohio ALCO RS1 #1053 is currently preserved at the Danbury Railroad Museum in

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

#0673. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Pullman "Judge Milton Brown" is on display and used by American Family Radio at the Casey Jones Village in

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. * Gulf, Mobile and Ohio #580, originally Gulf, Mobile and Northern #425, is currently operational at the Blue Mountain and Reading Railroad in Port Clinton,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio F3 #800A is currently inoperable on display as the Seaboard Air line #4033 at the

Gold Coast Railroad Museum The Gold Coast Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located in Miami, Florida, adjacent to Zoo Miami. Description The Gold Coast Railroad Museum was founded in 1956. The museum was built on the former Naval Air Station Richmond. With over three ...

, in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio F3 #883A which was later rebuilt and converted into an FP10 by MBTA and renumbered to #1153 is currently on display at the

Edaville Railroad Edaville Railroad (also branded Edaville USA and Edaville Family Theme Park) is a heritage railroad and amusement park in South Carver, Massachusetts, opened in 1947, and temporally closed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The park was onl ...

, in South Carver,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. *Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Azalea Passenger car located in Liberty, New Jersey 1421 US-46 visible on Google Maps.

In Popular Culture

Sonny Boy Williamson recorded the song ''GM&O Blues'' in 1945. A GM&O

EMD E7 The E7 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. 428 cab versions, or E7As, were built from February 1945 to April 1949; 82 booster E7Bs were built from March 1945 to J ...

and passenger cars were featured in the 1967 film '' In the Heat of the Night''. In popular music, the GM&O line is referenced in

Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...

's "The Rail Song," a nostalgic song about the heyday and subsequent decline of the American railroads. Originally on 1983's '' Twang Bar King'' album, the song can also be found on the '' Desire of the Rhino King'' compilation and in an acoustic version on both '' The Acoustic Adrian Belew'' and the ''

Salad Days "Salad days" is a Shakespearean idiom referring to a period of carefree innocence, idealism, and pleasure associated with youth. The modern use, chiefly in the United States, describes a heyday, when a person is/was at the peak of their abilitie ...

'' compilation. The album cover of the 1989

Traveling Wilburys The Traveling Wilburys were a British-American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. Originating from an idea discussed by Harrison and Lynne during the sessions for Harrison's 1987 album ...

song '' End of the Line'' features an upside down photograph of the ''

'' at

Lincoln, Illinois Lincoln is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. First settled in the 1830s, it is the only town in the United States that was named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president; he practiced law there from 1847 to 1859. Lincoln is h ...

in 1953.

References

External links

The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Historical Society

The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio (book)
*
James Childers Railroad Collection
McLean County Museum of History
Steve Gossard Railroad Collection
McLean County Museum of History {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulf Mobile Ohio Railroad Railway companies established in 1938 Railway companies disestablished in 1972 Predecessors of the Illinois Central Railroad Former Class I railroads in the United States Defunct Alabama railroads Defunct Illinois railroads Defunct Kentucky railroads Defunct Louisiana railroads Defunct Mississippi railroads Defunct Missouri railroads Defunct Tennessee railroads American companies established in 1938