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Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroad"The Road of Service" / "Keep Your Freight Moving" |
Jackson, Ms / Sep 1937 / collection
he Gulf, Mobile & Northern Railroad was formed in 1917 through the reorganization of the New Orleans, Mobile & Chicago Railroad. The backbone of the GM&N was a north-south mainline from Jackson, Tennessee to Mobile, Alabama. Later expansion would take the road as far north as Paducah, Kentucky. Acquisitions in the early 1920s extended the regional system east to Meridian and west to Jackson from a major junction in the otherwise small community of Union, Mississippi. In order to leverage traffic agreements with northern railroads, the expanding GM&N took control of the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad in 1929. This lease brought access to the port city of New Orleans, Louisiana, via trackage rights at Slidell over the Southern Railway. The Gulf, Mobile & Northern was notable for operating an unusual streamlined passenger trainset known The Rebel from Jackson to Mobile, with a section that extended to New Orleans. On September 13, 1940, the GM&N merged with previous north-south neighbor the Mobile & Ohio to form the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad.
See also our complete Gulf, Mobile & Northern featured regional scrapbook in Mainlines
HawkinsRails thanks railfan friend David Price for sharing his GM&N roster collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #10
Laurel, Ms / Jan 1940 / David Price collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #10
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #10
to Gaylord Container Corp #10
to Charles Black Sand & Gravel #10
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #33
Jackson, Tn / Jan 1925 / David Price collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #33
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #33
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #133
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #72
1928 / collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #72
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #72
to Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #72
to Green Bros Gravel Company
on display, Franklinton LA
Jenkins, La / Oct 1961 / JCH
Jenkins, La / Oct 1961 / JCH
Jenkins, La / Oct 1961 / JCH
See also our Green Brothers Gravel Company scrapbook in Industrials
Franklinton, La / Dec 2016 / RWH
Dec 2016 / RWH
Franklinton, La / Dec 2016 / RWH
Dec 2016 / RWH
Franklinton, La / Dec 2016 / RWH
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #84
Mobile, Al / Aug 1933 / David Price collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #84
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #84
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #184
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #92
Bogalusa, La / collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #92
to New Orleans Great Northern #92
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #92
to Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #92
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #107
Jackson, Tn / Jun 1930 / Gary Everhart collection 
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #107
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #107
to Gulf Mobile & Ohio #107
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #174
Jackson, Ms / 1938 / David Price collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #174
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #74
modernized and renumbered #174
to Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #174
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #206
Meridian, Ms / Jul 1936 / David Price collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #206
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #206
to Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #206
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #251
builder's photo / collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #251
to Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #251
The Gulf, Mobile & Northern owned ten "Russian" decapods and used them in heavy freight service, the heaviest power normally allowed between Laurel and Mobile due to bridge loadings on the two Leaf River bridges on that section of the line. The road acquired three more Russian 2-10-0's with their acquisition of the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad. Of the original ten, at least three were equipped with booster engines on the rear tender truck. This ten-coupled power set the course of heavy steam power on the GM&N, who acquired heavier 250-260 series Baldwin engines for most of their through freight work. The original ten Russians were all Baldwin engines, while the three acquired from the NOGN were American Locomotive Company (ALCo) products.
David Price
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #256
Louisville, Ms / Sep 1940 / John Allen
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #256
to Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #256
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #261
Jackson, Ms / Jul 1928 / Gary Everhart collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #261
to Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #261
Jackson, Ms / Oct 1940 / collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #401
Jackson, Ms / Sep 1937 / collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #401
to Gulf, Mobile & Northern #401
to Gulf, Mobile & Ohio #501
Rebel in the North
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #425
builder's photo / collection
Gulf, Mobile & Northern #425
to Gulf Mobile & Ohio #580, 1940
to Louisiana Eastern #4, 1950
to Valley Forge Scenic #425
to Wilmington & Western #425
to Reading & Northern #425
Louisiana Eastern #425
Shiloh, La / Apr 1958 / JCH
See also our complete Louisiana Eastern steam scrapbook in Shortlines
from Railroad Stories magazine
- May 1932 / collection
Blue Mountain & Reading #425
Hamburg, Pa / Aug 1989 / JCH
Aug 1989 / JCH
Hamburg, Pa / Aug 1989 / JCH
Hamburg, Pa / Aug 1989 / JCH
See also our complete Blue Mountain & Reading tourist scrapbook in Preservation
collection
Jim Thorpe, Pa / July 2010 / Dave Crosby
Mitch Goldman
See also our complete Gulf Mobile & Northern #425 featured scrapbook in Steam
See also our complete Gulf, Mobile & Northern featured regional scrapbook in Mainlines
Links / Sources
- Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Historical Society
- Wikipedia article for Gulf, Mobile & Northern
- Mississippi Rails Gulf, Mobile & Northern page
- James Lemly, The Gulf, Mobile And Ohio: A Railroad That Had to Expand or Expire, 1953
- Historical Guide to North American Railroads - Second Edition (Kalmbach, 2000) 185-6
- George Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives (Kalmbach, 1993) 199-200
- Steam locomotive roster data courtesy of Allen Stanley at Railroad Data Exchange