Mobile & Gulf Railroad

Near the shores of the Sipsey River stretch 11 of Alabama's 5,500 railroad miles. The state claims one train mile for every nine square miles, while Mobile & Gulf's main aim is to get from Brownsville to Buhl. It gave up long ago trying to make it to Mobile in the southern part of the state. Still, it had tried. Mobile & Gulf fell short of Mobile by only 150 miles. The Gulf of Mexico may have been another 40 or so miles beyond. The little road then, is content with its brief span, following a custom of steam energy in a state embued with tradition.

John Krause, Rails Through Dixie, 1965

The 10-mile long Mobile & Gulf Railroad was a terrific Alambama shortline, despite the fact that it never came close to either of its namesake locations. Located in northwest Alambama, to the west of Tuscaloosa along Route 82, the line was owned by a lumber mill operation in Brownsville, Alabama, and ran 10 miles due south to an interchange with the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio line between Tuscaloosa and Columbus, Ms. The little road operated a high-stepping Baldwin 2-6-0 steamer. Still in service as late as 1972, it was one of the last operating revenue steam engines in the United States. MG #97 is preserved at the Indiana Railway Museum in French Lick.

Motive Power

Mobile & Gulf #97

Baldwin 2-6-0 (1925) / Buhl, Al / Sep 1960 / JCH

Mobile & Gulf #97

builder:Baldwin Locomotive Works
arrangement:2-6-0 Mogul
built:1925
fuel:coal/water
notes:
to Indiana Railway Museum

Buhl, Al / Sep 1960 / JCH

Brownsville, Al / Apr 1957 / collection

Mobile & Gulf #9

Baldwin 2-6-0 (1920) / Brownsville, Al / May 1920 / collection

"Mobile & Gulf #9

builder:Baldwin Locomotive Works
arrangement:2-6-0 Mogul
built:Apr 1920, Baldwin #53142
fuel:coal/water
notes:
_________

Lagniappe

In his classic collection Rails Through Dixie, John Krause reports that the Mobile & Gulf engineer would regularly park the locomotive behind his house after another day's run from the GM&O back to the mill. And why not? There would be no other movements on the line until his own the next day. Plus, Krause notes, it saved his having to drive to work! These kinds of notes point to a time long gone, when the country moved at an easier pace and "security" was hardly an issue. The MG looks to have been a fine little operation, with a classly little steamer. I'm glad my dad detoured to Buhl at least once to catch #97 in action on the interchange track.

Links / Sources

Indiana Railway Museum - current owner of MG #97
John Krause, Rails Through Dixie (Golden West Books, 1965) 129