Birmingham Southern Railroad

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. Lines in current use include a primary route from East Thomas to Bessemer, with interchanges with BNSF, Norfolk-Southern, and CSX carriers. The route includes Thomas, Ensley, Fairfield, and Woodward. A second line splits off between Ensley and Fairfield and continues past Norrell Junction (where the owners of the Oak Grove Mine operate a spur to Concord). From there the line continues through Mulga to Port Birmingham. The railroad operates an Ensley Yard and East Thomas Yard.

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.

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

Locomotives

File:BS 220 locomotive.jpg

BS 220, a 1,000 hp diesel switcher

• BS 10: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built October 1967)
• BS 11: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built October 1967)
• BS 12: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built January 1969)
• BS 13: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built January 1969)
• BS 14: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built October 1969)
• BS 15: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built January 1971, wrecked July 13, 1973 and scrapped)
• BS 16: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built October 1971, wrecked July 13, 1973 and scrapped)
• BS 17: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built October 1971, wrecked July 13, 1973 and scrapped)
• BS 18: GM EMD SW1001 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built May 1973)
• BS 19: GM EMD SW1001 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built June 1973)
• BS 21: GM EMD NW2 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built for Lake Terminal Railroad, January 1948)
• BS 22: GM EMD NW2 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built for Lake Terminal Railroad, February 1948)
• BS 23: GM EMD NW2 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built for Lake Terminal Railroad, March 1948)
• BS 25: GM EMD NW2 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built for Lake Terminal Railroad, March 1948)
• BS 71: EMC NC1 900 hp diesel switcher (built March 1937)
• BS 72: EMC NC1 900 hp diesel switcher (built March 1937), rebuilt as BS 92 & BS 292
• BS 73: EMC NC1 900 hp diesel switcher (built March 1937)
• BS 74: EMC NC1 900 hp diesel switcher (built March 1937)
• BS 75: EMC NC1 900 hp diesel switcher (built March 1937), rebuilt as BS 95
• BS 92 GM EMD SW900 900 hp diesel switcher (rebuilt from BS 72 in January 1958)
• BS 95 GM EMD SW900 900 hp diesel switcher (rebuilt from BS 75 in January 1958)
• BS 151: GM EMD SW1500 1,500 hp diesel switcher
• BS 210: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher
• BS 212: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher (formerly BS 12)
• BS 213: GM EMD SW1000 1,000 hp diesel switcher (formerly BS 13)
• BS 218: GM EMD SW1001 1,000 hp diesel switcher
• BS 219: GM EMD SW1001 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built January 1974)
• BS 220: GM EMD SW1001 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built January 1974)
• BS 221: GM EMD SW1001 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built January 1974)
• BS 223: GM EMD SW1001 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built January 1974)
• BS 224: GM EMD SW1001 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built January 1974)
• BS 225: GM EMD SW1001 1,000 hp diesel switcher (built October 1974)
• BS 260: GM EMD MP15DC 1,500 hp diesel switcher (built August 1976)
• BS 261: GM EMD MP15DC 1,500 hp diesel switcher (built August 1976)
• BS 292: GM EMD SW900 900 hp diesel switcher (formerly BS 92)
• BS 297: GM EMD SW9 1,200 hp diesel switcher (built for Woodward Iron Company, March 1952)
• BS 360: GM EMD SW1504 1,500 hp 4-axle diesel locomotive (built for Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México, May 1973)
• BS 370: GM EMD MP15DC 1,500 hp diesel switcher
• BS 575: GM EMD SW900 900 hp diesel switcher (built for Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, July 1955)
• BS 630: GM EMD SD9 1,750 hp 6-axle diesel switcher (built for Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway, February 1957)
• BS 631: GM EMD SD9 1,750 hp 6-axle diesel switcher (built for Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway, February 1957)
• BS 632: GM EMD SD9 1,750 hp 6-axle diesel switcher (built for Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway, March 1957)
• BS 633: GM EMD SD9 1,750 hp 6-axle diesel switcher (built for Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway, February 1957 )
• BS 700: GM EMD GP38-2 2,000 hp diesel 4-axle roadswitcher (built for Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway, December 1972)
• BS 701: GM EMD GP38-2 2,000 hp diesel 4-axle roadswitcher (built for Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway, December 1972)
• BS 702: GM EMD GP38-2 2,000 hp diesel 4-axle roadswitcher (built for Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway, December 1972)
• BS 702: GM EMD GP38-2 2,000 hp diesel 4-axle roadswitcher (built for Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway, December 1972)
• BS 848:

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 links

• Birmingham Southern Railroad Co. page at tstarinc.com
• BSRR locomotive photos at railpictures.net