Mardi Gras Service

ocated southwest of downtown and just a few blocks from the shore of the Mississippi Sound, the Amtrak station consists of a concrete platform and open air shelter adjacent to the former Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) depot, an exuberant Spanish Revival building constructed in 1929. This historic structure, restored by the city in the 1990s, now houses the Hancock County Tourism Bureau, the Bay Saint Louis Cultural Affairs Office, Mardi Gras Museum, Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum and the Depot Visitors Center.

Fronting the depot to the south is a park boasting walking paths lined with benches, pavilions used for concerts and events, and palms and other mature trees that offer welcome shade during the warmer months.

Amtrak restored passenger rail service to Bay Saint Louis via the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service (New Orleans-Mobile, Ala.) on August 18, 2025. The service name references the long history of Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, Mobile and the communities of coastal Mississippi. Amtrak operates this service under contracts with the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, financial support by the City of Mobile and with the long-time backing of the Southern Rail Commission, an interstate compact working on behalf of the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation support operating expenses for this route and are funding improvements for freight and Amtrak trains.

Great American Stations

ocated downtown about a half mile north of the Mississippi Sound, the Gulfport station provides access to key attractions in the state’s second most populous city, including the Mississippi Aquarium, white sand beaches and expansive Jones Park. Coast Transit Authority bus routes pass within a few blocks of the station.

The Amtrak station consists of a platform on the north side of the former Union Station, which opened in 1904 to serve the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) and Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SI). Built where the two railroads crossed – the L&N traveling east/west and the G&SI north/south – the one-story red brick depot takes the form of an “L”. The southern wing originally housed a baggage room and space for the Southern Express Company – indicated by the large doors that allowed workers to move carts laden with packages between trains and the depot. The other wing held a lunchroom and storage area.

Where the two wings meet at the crossing, the location of the passenger waiting rooms, the facade curves gently and features a parapet and balustrades – an elegant touch that highlights the entryway at ground level. As built, the depot had platforms serving both tracks; the overhanging roof formed deep eaves supported by large brackets that would have offered travelers protection from the sun and inclement weather.

The depot remained in active use by the L&N through April 30, 1971, when the Pan-American (Cincinnati-New Orleans) made its last run. With the start of Amtrak operations the following day, May 1, the new passenger rail service provider decided not to include this coastal route in its network map. Today, the building houses the Gulfport Museum of History.

Great American Stations

he Amtrak station consists of a platform on the block bounded by Caillavet and Reynoir Streets south of the CSX railroad tracks. Since the 1870s, this site has hosted at least three depots, all of which are now gone. It’s about a half-mile north of the Mississippi Sound, which in that area is lined with casinos. Keesler Federal Park, home of the Biloxi Shuckers baseball team, can also be reached within 10 minutes on foot, as can the Biloxi Transit Center, which is served by intercity and local Coast Transit Authority buses. For those arriving or departing by car, the station is easily accessible from Interstate 110 or coastal Highway 90.

Great American Stations

he current L&N passenger depot, on the southside of the tracks, dates to this merger year; a separate freight building was located across the tracks. Within a decade, the railroad also would landscape part of the adjacent right of way as a park that included walking paths, a fountain and a bandstand.

The passenger depot replaced an earlier one that was likely in the same area. Built to a standard design found in other cities served by the L&N, the current one-story wood frame building on a brick foundation is topped with a gable-on-hip roof punctuated by cross gables and gabled dormers with decorative finials. Deep eaves supported by large brackets protected customers from sun and inclement weather as they waited to board the train.

The exterior walls are covered in siding: the wainscot and frieze – the bottom and top fourths of the surface, respectively, have vertical beadboard – while the center half employs horizontal clapboard. This center band contains all the windows, many of which are in pairs. The clapboard and trim in the center section run around the structure, connecting the windows’ sills and lintels, emphasizing the depot’s horizontal orientation. Trackside, a projecting bay allowed the station manager to monitor activity along the platform and tracks.

Built during a time of widespread segregation in the United States, the depot had separate waiting rooms for use by white and African American passengers. They were physically separated by the railroad agent’s office and had separate entries to and from the street and platform. As built, from east to west, the depot included: the general waiting room, agent’s office, African American waiting room and baggage room. In 1918, the L&N added onto the building, resulting in the expansion of the two waiting rooms.

Great American Stations

he Amtrak station, consisting of a platform, is located downtown and across from Cooper Riverside Park overlooking the Mobile River. Within a short walk, one may reach the convention center to the north, the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf and the Alabama Cruise Terminal to the south, and Fort Condé to the west. Numerous Wave bus routes operate within a few blocks of the station, as does the moda! circulator that makes a loop through downtown, serving hotels, government agencies, shopping, entertainment venues and historic sites. The station is also easily accessible from Interstate 10.

The platform sits in the area formerly occupied by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) depot, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and demolished two years later. It featured a strong horizontal massing in buff brick punctuated by a vertical pavilion with decorative stone-faced elements bearing the “L&N” logo. Opened in 1956, the facility replaced an earlier station on the site, and it was used by Amtrak when it variously operated service to Mobile.

Great American Stations