M&B Railroad

M&B Railroad
Reporting mark	MNBR
Locale	Mississippi / Alabama
Dates of operation	–present
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Meridian, Mississippi

The M&B Railroad (reporting mark MNBR), formerly the Meridian and Bigbee Railroad, is a Class III railroad that operates 189 miles of railroad from Meridian, Mississippi eastward to Burkeville, Alabama. Additionally, the M&B has trackage rights over CSX from Burkeville to Montgomery, Alabama.

The M&B is owned by Genesee and Wyoming Inc. After Hurricane Katrina, it served as a run-through bridge route for CSX to connect with the Kansas City Southern at Meridian, thereby avoiding interchange at New Orleans.

History

The M&B was chartered on December 24, 1926. Construction advanced eastward to Cromwell, Alabama in April 1928, and finally to Myrtlewood, Alabama where it connected with the L&N in 1935.^[1][2]

In 2003 the M&B took over the ex-L&N line from Myrtlewood to Selma, Alabama and the ex-Western Railway of Alabama line from Selma to Burkeville. CSX retained ownership between Montgomery and Burkeville, where there is a large industrial customer.

In 2007, the line gained publicity when a train hauling parts of the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster derailed on an overloaded bridge weakened by heavy rains.^[3] In September 2007, interchange between KCS and CSX was moved to other lines.

References

1. ^ Nussbaum, Nick: History of Meridian railroads
2. ^ Photo of Meridian & Bigbee Railroad Engine 105 at Meridian terminal
3. ^ Horn, Lisa. "Train carrying boosters for space shuttle derails". The Montgomery Advertiser. http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070503/NEWS02/705030321/1009.