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 MSCI locomotive 1605 in Holly Springs | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Holly Springs, MS |
| Reporting mark | MSCI |
| Locale | Southern United States |
| Dates of operation | 1993–present |
| Predecessor | Illinois Central Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
| Previous gauge | 5 ft (1,524 mm) andconverted to 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) in 1886[1] |
| Length | 51 miles (82 km) |
| Other | |
| Website | https://pioneerlines.com/mississippi-central-railroad-msci/ |
Mississippi Central Railroad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mississippi Central Railroad (reporting mark MSCI) is a short line railroad that operates three disconnected tracks: 51 miles fromOxford, Mississippi toGrand Junction, Tennessee; 11 miles inIuka Mississippi, and 46 miles fromCorinth, Mississippi toRed Bay, Alabama. It was formerly owned byPioneer Railcorp, which was acquired byPatriot Rail.[2] The railroad's principal commodities are aggregates and food products. The MSCI offers connections to theBNSF Railway in Holly Springs, theNorfolk Southern Railway in Grand Junction, andCanadian Pacific Kansas City in Corinth.[3][4]
Mississippi Central purchased the assets of theTishomingo Railroad near Iuka in 2009.[5] In 2013 the Mississippi Central purchased theRedmont Railway.[6]
In 1852, the Mississippi Central Railroad was chartered by the Mississippi Legislature to build a railroad fromCanton, Mississippi, toGrand Junction, Tennessee, financed by wealthy cotton planters inLa Grange, TN, andOxford, MS, passing through the towns of Grenada, Water Valley, Oxford and Holly Springs. The first passenger trains from Holly Springs to Oxford ran in 1857. Passenger service further south toWater Valley began in 1858. On January 31, 1860, the final spike was driven inWinona, Mississippi, establishing the first ever rail link between theGreat Lakes and theGulf of Mexico. The 26 miles (42 km) line was constructed with5 ft (1,524 mm)track gauge.[7]
In November 1862,General Ulysses S. Grant began theMississippi Central Railroad Campaign down the line with the ultimate goal of capturingVicksburg, Mississippi, in conjunction withGeneral William Tecumseh Sherman. Grant established a base in Holly Springs and began advancing south along the railroad. Confederate soldiers builtearthwork fortifications to defend the railroad'sTallahatchie River bridge nearAbbeville but retreated south without firing a shot when they learned of a flanking maneuver by Grant. Skirmishes were fought along the railroad to Oxford and in the streets of the town itself. The Confederates were pushed further south pastWater Valley, Mississippi, but managed to damage a railroad trestle and lead a successful ambush atOakland, Mississippi, that stalled the Federal advance.
While Grant was stalled, ConfederateGeneral Van Dorn lead a successful cavalry raid on Grant's supply base atHolly Springs, burning most of his supplies and then moved north destroying the railroad and telegraph lines along the way. With the railroad destroyed Grant had no way to resupply his army and was forced to end the campaign and retreat toMemphis, TN.
After the Civil War, the Mississippi Central was rebuilt under the guidance ofAbsolom M. West and eventually[when?] theIllinois Central Railroad started to acquire the line in 1872. Illinois Central established their regional headquarters inWater Valley, MS, and based a large maintenance facility there. Famed engineerCasey Jones regularly operated passenger trains along the line and it was said locals could set their watches by him due to his strict adherence to published schedules. In 1927, Illinois Central started to shift traffic to theirGrenada-Memphis route and closed the maintenance facility in Water Valley. In 1941, passenger service ended along the route and five years later the regional headquarters was relocated from Water Valley toJackson, TN. Finally, in 1982, 30 miles of track betweenOxford and Bruce Junction inCoffeeville was abandoned and the remaining northern portion of the line sold. Illinois Central continued to operate the southern portion of the line from the junction of theMississippi and Skuna Valley Railroad toGrenada, MS.
On Sunday, October 19, 1862, two passenger trains collided one mile south of Duck Hill Station (near Grenada). Thirty-five passengers (mostly soldiers) were killed and 40-50 others were injured.[8]
Buckner's Trestle was a 100-foot (30 m) long 50-foot (15 m) high bridge located south of Oxford that was the site of two accidents. The first occurred on February 25, 1870, killed 20 people, and injured 60 when the bridge collapsed. The second accident occurred on June 10, 1928, and injured 42 passengers but resulted in no fatalities.[9][10]
In March 1982,Kyle Railroad started operating the line under the name Natchez Trace Railway. In 1993,Pioneer Railcorp purchased the line and resurrected the nameMississippi Central Railroad.[11] The primary customer was a particle board plant in Oxford.
In the mid-2000s, all track south ofUniversity-Oxford Airport was abandoned and the airport runway expanded over the right of way. MSCI's tracks now end at the airport's perimeter fence. The remaining abandoned right of way has been turned into two different rail trails (Oxford Depot Trail andSouth Campus Rail Trail, formerly theThacker Mountain Rail-Trail) and the Gertrude Ford Parkway inOxford, MS.
In September 2013, Mississippi Central purchased the formerRedmont Railway between Corinth, Mississippi and Red Bay, Alabama. This line is now operated as the Redmont Division.
In February 2016Roseburg Forest Products, the only user of the railroad south of Holly Springs, announced that it would idle its plant in Oxford, with the last scheduled rail service on March 4.[4]
MSCI currently operates three locomotives:
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