Louisiana Midland Railway

Formed in 1945, the Louisiana Midland Railway was developed to purchase a 77-mile branchline in central Louisiana from the Louisiana & Arkansas Railway. Connecting Packton, Louisiana to Vidalia, the line served as a connecting segment of the famed "Natchez Route" -- a through-freight operation controlled by the Mississippi Central. As such, when in 1967 the Illinois Central absorbed the Mississippi Central, it acquired the LOAM operation as well. In 1974, independent operation of the Louisiana Midland resumed for a decade, until track conditions prevented through freight service and the operation was discontinued in 1986.