Birmingham Southern Railroad

File:BSRR LOGO.jpg

Birmingham Southern Railroad (BSRR, AAR reporting mark BS) is a subsidiary of Transtar, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based operator of several short-line railroad companies. Its local offices are located in the Flintridge Building in Fairfield.

Organized in 1899, BSRR remains one of the busiest local rail systems in the United States. It operates on 84 miles of track, providing switching services in the Birmingham area. The primary lines in current use connect a Warrior and Gulf Navigation Company-owned rail to barge facility at Port Birmingham to Mulga and then to a primary line running from a CSX connection in Bessemer, through Woodward, Fairfield, another interchange with CSX at Ensley, and on through Thomas to a BNSF interchage at East Thomas. A private spur owned by USS Mining connects Concord to the Port Birmingham line at Norrell Junction.

History

BSRR bridge at Arkadelphia Road in Thomas

The Birmingham Southern Railroad Company was organized on March 3, 1899. The line was originally built beginning in 1878 connecting Pratt City's coal mines to the steel mills in Birmingham. The line was extended to Ensley in 1887.

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Southern Railway jointly purchased and operated the Birmingham Southern shortly after its organization. The Birmingham Southern was later sold to the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, which in 1906 became a part of United States Steel and remained a US Steel 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 Railroad that ran from Ensley to Port Birmingham, giving the Birmingham Southern access to Mobile 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 off Transtar, which became a privately held company specializing in the operation of short line railroads and barge lines, primarily serving United States Steel and its predecessors.

In early 2009 the railroad laid off 41 workers, citing "waning market conditions".

Customers

Primary users of the BSRR include:

• U. S. Steel Fairfield Works
• American Cast Iron Pipe Company, Thomas
• Choctaw Pipe, Fairfield
• Western Pipe Services, Woodward
• Griffin Wheel, Bessemer
• A&K Railroad Materials, Woodward
• Honeywell, Ensley
• American Firelog, Fairfield
• Ergon, Port Birmingham
• Koppers Tar, Woodward
• Vulcan Materials, Ensley
• Wade Sand and Gravel, Thomas
• Hanna Steel, Fairfield
• Hubbell Steel, Fairfield
• Southline Steel, Bessemer

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 Coke Plant at Woodward-Collins. (This track 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 Superhighway in Midfield. The line remains intact over I 20/59, connecting Flintridge Yard with the U.S. Steel Fairfield Works.)
• 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

• "New Railroad" (April 22, 1899) Pratt City Herald - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
• "Birmingham Southern Railroad". (December 19, 2009) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia - accessed June 16, 2010
• 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)
• Tomberlin, Michael (February 3, 2009) "Fairfield railroad cuts 41 jobs." Birmingham News

External link

• Birmingham Southern Railroad Co. page at tstarinc.com