Today's Train of Thought- Crossing a Warrior; September 7, 2011

Today's train of thought takes us to one of WATCO's operations in the Heart of Dixie- the Alabama Southern, which operates some 80 miles between Columbus, MS and Tuscaloosa, AL.

Thus portions of the line was originally chartered as part of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, which became part of the Gulf Mobile & Ohio towards the end of the Great Depression in 1940. In 1972, the GM&O merged with the Illinois Central to form the Illinois Central Gulf. By the mid 1980s, the line was part of several hundred miles worth of trackage from Minnesota to Alabama that the ICG had divested, forming half a dozen regionals in the process. The Columbus-Tuscaloosa segment became part of the Mid-South railway, which in turn was acquired by the Kansas City Southern in 1994. However, KCS for the most part seemed primarily interested in the Shreveport, LA to Meridian, MS portion of the former Mid South line and in 2005, leased the 80+ miles between Columbus and Tuscaloosa, AL to Kansas-based WATCO Companies. WATCO began operations under the name Alabama Southern that year and has been hauling steel, lumber, aggregates and other commodities ever since.

Earlier this year, the railway suffered a significant setback when one of the many deadly tornadoes that tore through the region knocked down the steel Hurricane Creek trestle east of Tuscaloosa. The 1909 built structure was one of the largest steel structures in the southeastern USA. According to a local conservation group, they have been in direct consultation with both WATCO and Opelika, AL-based Scott Bridge on guidelines for a replacement structure. Since the tornadoes, the Alabama Southern has been interchanging with CSX in Birmingham, AL via a detour on Norfolk Southern.

However, to the west, the 1898-built combination steel and timber trestle across the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa still stands. Here, railpictures.net contributor Chris Martin caught WAMX (Webb Asset Management) SD40-2 # trundling across the eastern end of the Black Warrior River trestle at a brisk 5 MPH with a trip of SD40-2s and some general freight in February 2008.