 | |
 ALM #1812, a rareEMD GP28, westbound through Norfolk Southern Norris Yard inIrondale, Alabama. | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Crossett, Arkansas |
| Reporting mark | ALM |
| Locale | Arkansas andLouisiana |
| Dates of operation | 1991–present |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Length | 117 miles |
TheArkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi Railroad (reporting markALM) is a 117-mile (188 km)short-line railroad in northernLouisiana and southernArkansas.[1] Opened in 1908, it has undergone severalcorporate reorganizations, but has remained independent of larger carriers. In 2004, paper producerGeorgia-Pacific sold the company to shortline operatorGenesee & Wyoming Inc. Traffic generally consists oflumber,paper,forest products, andchemicals.[2]
The AL&M runs north fromMonroe, Louisiana, on theCanadian Pacific Kansas City'sMeridian Speedway, throughBastrop toCrossett, Arkansas, generally parallelingU.S. Routes 165 and425. At Crossett, the AL&M interchanges with the affiliatedFordyce and Princeton Railroad, whichhauls its cars to theUnion Pacific Railroad atFordyce.[2][3] A branch fromRolfe Junction toHamburg, Arkansas, was abandoned in 1920, with the grade reused for acounty road; in 2006 the AL&M leased a segment of line in Bastrop from the Union Pacific Railroad.
TheArkansas, Louisiana and Gulf Railway (AL&G) was incorporated in July 1906 to connect Monroe withPine Bluff, Arkansas.[4] The latter city was never reached, and the line as opened in October 1908 ended at Hamburg and Crossett. It enteredreceivership in May 1913, and in December 1914 the newly organized Arkansas, Louisiana and GulfRailroad leased both the Arkansas, Louisiana and GulfRailway and the Crossett-MonticelloAshley, Drew and Northern Railway (AD&N), the latter owned by theCrossett Lumber Company. Alfred Cowles ofChicago bought the AL&G's property atforeclosure in September 1915, and in November the reorganizedArkansas and Louisiana Midland Railway (A&LM) acquired the Monroe-Crossett line, but the branch to Hamburg remained with Cowles. The A&LM took over the AL&G Railroad's lease of the AD&N, and leased the Hamburg line.[5] Steam operations on the line ended by 1960.
The A&LM was not successful, and entered receivership in February 1920, terminating the AD&N lease in March.[6] Operations north of Bastrop were suspended in May, and the property was sold in July and conveyed in August to the newArkansas and Louisiana Missouri Railway. TheInterstate Commerce Commission approved permanent abandonment of the Hamburg branch, now a county road, and resumption of operation to Crossett. The new AL&M also obtainedtrackage rights over theMissouri Pacific Railroad from Bastrop toDollar Junction andHuttig, Arkansas, the two ends of the 1.88-mile (3.03 km)Louisiana and Pine Bluff Railway.[7] The AL&M leased the latter company,[8] which provided access to asaw mill, until its dissolution in 1979.[9]
The current name was adopted in September 1991,[2] when Georgia-Pacific organized the Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi Railroad to purchase the A&LM. The AD&N, then owned by Georgia-Pacific as successor to the Crossett Lumber Company, was abandoned in August 1995,[10] andGenesee & Wyoming Inc. purchased several of Georgia-Pacific's railroads, including the AL&M, in January 2004.[3] In 2006, the AL&M leased from theUnion Pacific Railroad 4.24 miles (6.82 km) of line at Bastrop,[11] which had previously been owned by theMissouri Pacific Railroad.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)