Birmingham Southern Railroad

Infobox SG rail
railroad_name=Birmingham Southern Railroad
logo_filename=BSRR3LOGO.jpg
logo_size=104px
old_gauge=
marks=BS
locale=Birmingham, Alabama and surrounding area
start_year=March 3, 1899
end_year=present
hq_city=Pittsburgh, PA (corporate); Fairfield, Alabama (operations)

Birmingham Southern Railroad reporting mark|BS is a subsidiary of Transtar, operator of several short-line railroad companies. The BS operates on 84 miles of track, providing switching services in the Birmingham, Alabama area.

History

The Birmingham Southern Railroad Company was organized on March 3, 1899. The line was originally built between 1878 from Birmingham to Pratt City, AL to haul coal to the steel mills in Birmingham. The line was extended to Ensley, AL in 1887.

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Southern Railway jointly purchased and operated the Birmingham Southern shortly after the Birmingham Southern's organization. The Birmingham Southern was later sold to the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, which in 1906 became a part of the United States Steel Corporation and remained a U.S.S. Corp. subsidiary until 1988. The railroad expanded its lines in the western industrial section of Jefferson County by 1910. In 1966, the Birmingham Southern acquired the 18-mile Federal Barge Lines (also known as the Barge Line Railroad) that ran from Ensley to Port Birmingham, giving the Birmingham Southern access to Mobile, AL via the barge lines of the Warrior River. The Barge Line Railroad track was formerly owned by the Southern Railway.

In 1988 the Birmingham Southern was sold to Transtar, Inc., the transportation subsidiary of United States Steel. In 1989, United States Steel sold Transtar and Transtar became a privately held company specializing in the operation of short line railroads and barge lines that primarily serve United States Steel and its predecessors.

On May 17 2007, Birmingham Southern Railroad was awarded a Gold E. H. Harriman Award in the S&T Group for the railroad's 2006 safety record. [cite press release| url=http://www.aar.org/Index.asp?NCID=4002| title=Railroad Employees Post Safest Year Ever in 2006| publisher=Association of American Railroads| date=2007-05-17| accessdate=2007-05-18| ]

Abandoned Track

Some of the Birmingham Southern's track has been abandoned as described below:
*Track from Docena (near Oakwood) to Village Creek Junction (near Pratt City), about 2 - 3 miles.
*Track of the former Tennessee Coal & Iron Company from Bayview to Edgewater Junction (with a short spur to the Edgewater Mine), to just northwest of Exum.
*Track of the former Woodward Iron Company from Mulga Shaft - Mulga - Woodward #2 Coal Mine - Woodward #1 Coal Mine - Kopper (Woodward) Coke Plant at Woodward-Collins. (This trackage crossed what is now Allison-Bonnett Memorial Drive in Dolomite, through its intersection with Pleasant Grove Road. The track now ends just short of that intersection; the remaining trackage is not used since the demolition of the coke plant.)
*Track from Dolonah Junction to Maury and Dolonah Quarry.
*Spurs in West Bessemer area.
*Track of the former Tennessee Coal & Iron Company from Muscoda (Mines #4, #5, #6) - Sloss (Mines #1 and #2) - Fossil (Mines #6 - 10) - Alice - Wenonah (Fossil) - Songo (Mines #1 - 2) - Ishkooda (Mines #11 - 15) - Spring Gap - Clinton Mine - Steinman. Also track from the Birmingham Southern's Flintridge Yard, south to Wenonah. This line is known as the "High Line," and roadway bridges are still in place along the line, notably over Bessemer Super Highway in Midfield. The line remains intact over Interstate 20/Interstate 59, connecting Flintridge Yard with the U.S. Steel plant.)
*Track from Birmingham Southern's former downtown Birmingham Station to a location southwest of the present day BNSF East Thomas Yard.
*Track from East Highlands - Stockton Junction.
*Track from Stockton Junction - Ridgefield - Laketon - Bakers Siding - Tipton - Thompson - Powder Mill and Stockton.
*Track from Stockton Junction - Pratt City.
*Track from Pratt City - Shafton.
*Track from Pratt City - Village Creek Junction - United States Steel Ensley Works - Wylam.

References

*Edward A. Lewis, American Shortline Railway Guide 5th ed. (Kalmbach Books, 1996)
*Mike Walker, SPV's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - Southern States (Steam Powered Publishing & SPV, 2001)
* [http://www.tstarinc.com/birmingham/index.html Birmingham Southern Railroad]
* [http://www.tstarinc.com/index-target.html Transtar]