 Mississippian No. 77 on the Alberta Prairie Railway | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Fulton, Mississippi |
| Reporting mark | MSRW |
| Locale | Mississippi |
| Dates of operation | 1926–present |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Length | 25 miles |
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TheMississippian Railway (reporting markMSRW) is ashort line railroad operating fromAmory toFulton, Mississippi. It is owned and operated by theItawamba County Railroad Authority.
The MSRW interchanges with theBNSF Railway at Amory. The MSRW's shops are also located in Amory.
TheMississippian Railway was established in 1923 primarily to haul lumber products fromFulton south to the interchange with theFrisco Railway inAmory.
In 1944 abentonite plant was built inSmithville to take advantage of a large deposit discovered there which led to a surge in business for the line and its nicknameThe Bentonite Road. By 1968 the bentonite deposits near Smithville had been depleted and the plant closed, however several industries had moved to Fulton and continued to provide traffic for the railroad.
In the late 1970s, construction of theTennessee–Tombigbee Waterway threatened to flood about nine miles of track. TheU.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided it would be cheaper to abandon the line than pay to relocate it. Local business owners and public officials teamed up with theAppalachian Regional Commission to save the railroad. They successfully lobbied theInterstate Commerce Commission to withhold the sale of the line until the funds to purchase it could be found.
In 1986, theItawamba County Development Council purchased the Mississippian Railway and transferred it over to theMississippian Railway Cooperative, an entity directly representing industries that relied on the railroad to transport their products. County leaders raised several million dollars to upgrade the severely degraded track to a condition where reliable service could be provided.
In 2016, the Mississippian Railway Cooperative transferred the assets to the Itawamba County Railroad Authority, which also took over the operation of the railroad.[1][2]
Today, the Mississippian hauls between 100 and 120 cars a month operating three days a week.[citation needed]
The railroad previously operated a pair of 1920Baldwin2-8-0s until 1967 when diesels replaced them. Currently the MSRW operates anEMD GP7[3] (no. 102).
The two Baldwin2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotives survive:
