Louisiana Southern Railway

Last updated

The Louisiana Southern Railway Company (LS) was a railroad in southern Louisiana, chartered in 1897 as successor to several short lines which had operated along the Mississippi River, including Mississippi, Terre aux Boeuf, and Lake; New Orleans and Gulf; and New Orleans and Southern, that eventually became part of the Southern Railway system. [1]

The Railway was originally owned jointly by Franklin (Frank) Emery Prewett (1872-1936) and his half-brother, Granville Prewett (1896-1973). [2] both of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Frank was the son of Vernal Franklin Prewett (1841-1911), of West Virginia, then Tennessee, and his first wife, Susan C. Ross (c. 1850–1878). [3] Granville was the son of Vernal Franklin Prewett and, apparently, his second spouse, Emma Lucy Ross. In 1907, the elder Prewett then married Ardelia (Della) Bowers, later Gooch (1868-1916). [4]

The main line was New Orleans to Bohemia, Louisiana, about 50 miles. [5] However, the line had total trackage of 65.1 miles by the early 1920s. [6] The line was leased to the New Orleans, Texas and Mexico Railway, operated by the Gulf Coast Lines, on February 1, 1911; [5] but, the National Railway Labor Board ruled in the 1920s that the line was still independent of Gulf Coast Lines. [6] By that time, sugar cane and sugar products, which had previously been a major commodity for the railroad, had ceased to be, due to closure of the sugar mills in the area. [6] That left truck farms, or large-scale market gardens, as about the line's only traffic. [6]

In 1952, Southern bought what was then a 15-mile line, running along the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Braithwaite, Louisiana. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railroad classes</span> United States classification system for railroads

Railroad classes are the system by which freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$504,803,294 for Class I carriers and US$40,384,263 for Class II carriers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Southern Railway</span> Former American transport company

The Kansas City Southern Railway Company was an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern and Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. KCS had the shortest north-south rail route between Kansas City, Missouri, and several key ports along the Gulf of Mexico.

<i>Crescent</i> (train) Amtrak service between New York and New Orleans

The Crescent is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and New Orleans. The 1,377-mile (2,216 km) route connects the Northeast to the Gulf Coast via the Appalachian Piedmont, with major stops in Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; and Birmingham, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Railway (U.S.)</span> Defunct United States railroad

The Southern Railway was a class 1 railroad based in the Southern United States between 1894 and 1982, when it merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) to form the Norfolk Southern Railway. The railroad was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missouri Pacific Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railroad

The Missouri Pacific Railroad, commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad operated 9,041 miles of road and 13,318 miles of track, not including DK&S, NO&LC, T&P, and its subsidiaries C&EI and Missouri-Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Central Railroad</span> American railroad

The Illinois Central Railroad, sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Another line connected Chicago west to Sioux City, Iowa (1870), while smaller branches reached Omaha, Nebraska (1899) from Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1877), from Cherokee, Iowa. The IC also served Miami, Florida, on trackage owned by other railroads.

<i>Sunset Limited</i> Amtrak service between Los Angeles and New Orleans

The Sunset Limited is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 1,995-mile (3,211 km) route between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Los Angeles, California, with major stops in Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, and Tucson. Introduced in 1894 by the Southern Pacific Railroad, it is the oldest continuously operating named train in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway</span> Railroad in Southern United States

The Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway is a Class II railroad owned by Genesee & Wyoming. It operates 339 miles (546 km) of track from the Pensacola, Florida export terminals, west of downtown, north to Columbus, Mississippi, with trackage rights along BNSF Railway to Amory, Mississippi. A branch uses trackage rights along Norfolk Southern from Kimbrough, Alabama west and south to Mobile, Alabama, with separate trackage at the end of the line in Mobile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad</span> Former American railroad

The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, as well as Chicago, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisiana and Arkansas Railway</span>

The Louisiana and Arkansas Railway was a railroad that operated in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The railroad's main line extended 332 miles, from Hope, Arkansas to Shreveport and New Orleans. Branch lines served Vidalia, Louisiana, and Dallas, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas and New Orleans Railroad</span> Former rail company in Texas, long controlled by Southern Pacific

The Texas and New Orleans Railroad was a railroad in Texas and Louisiana. It operated 3,713 miles (5,975 km) of railroad in 1934; by 1961, 3,385 miles (5,448 km) remained when it merged with parent company Southern Pacific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Orleans Union Station</span> Former railroad station in Louisiana, US

New Orleans Union Station was a railroad station in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was designed by Louis H. Sullivan for the Illinois Central Railroad and opened on June 1, 1892. It was located on South Rampart Street, in front of the current New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal.

The MidSouth Rail Corporation is a railroad line operated by Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) as a result of the January 1, 1994, acquisition; KCS began operating over MidSouth's line on January 11, 1994. The line ran from Shreveport, Louisiana, going east across Louisiana, and across the state of Mississippi, running through the cities of Vicksburg, Jackson, Meridian, and Artesia, Mississippi, then across the Alabama state line to Tuscaloosa, and finally into Birmingham. Midsouth had two other branches, with one to Counce, Tennessee, and a disconnected line from Gulfport to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Total mileage was 1,212 miles (1,951 km) worth of mostly former Illinois Central Gulf's east-west Shreveport - Meridian main line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama Great Southern Railroad</span> Railroad in Southern United States

The Alabama Great Southern Railroad is a railroad in the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It is an operating subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS), running southwest from Chattanooga to New Orleans through Birmingham and Meridian. The AGS also owns about a 30% interest in the Kansas City Southern-controlled Meridian-Shreveport Meridian Speedway.

The Gulf Coast Limited was a passenger train service operated by Amtrak along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It ran daily between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, with stops in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula, Mississippi. The route first operated in 1984–1985, and again in 1996–1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway</span>

Chartered on June 6, 1903, the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway was a 200-mile (321 km) U.S. railroad that operated from Brownsville, Texas, to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston, Texas. It served numerous towns and cities along its routes and operated a rail bridge between Brownsville and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in junction with the Mexican government. The Brownie connected the citizens of Brownsville to nearby Corpus Christi for the first time on land rather than using water transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf and Ship Island Railroad</span>

The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SI) was constructed in the state of Mississippi, USA, at the turn of the 20th century to open a vast expanse of southern yellow pine forests for commercial harvest. In spite of economic uncertainty, entrepreneurs William H. Hardy and Joseph T. Jones successfully completed railroad construction. The railroad resulted in the development of a seaport and expansion of cities along its route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Coast Lines</span> Defunct American railway company

The Gulf Coast Lines was the name of a railroad system comprising three principal railroads, as well as some smaller ones, that stretched from New Orleans, Louisiana, via Baton Rouge and Houston to Brownsville, Texas. Originally chartered as subsidiaries of the Frisco Railroad, the system became independent in 1916 and was purchased by the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1925.

References

  1. ↑ Hawkins Rails Shortlines: "Louisiana Southern Railway Company", accessed September 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ United States Railroad Labor Board (1923). Decisions of the United States Railroad Labor Board with Addenda and Interpretations: 1920[-1925] With an Appendix Showing Regulations of the Railroad Labor Board, and Court and Administrative Decisions and Regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission in Respect to Title III of the Transportation Act, 1920... U.S. Government Printing Office.
  3. ↑ Kidmundy Historical Society Evergreen Cemetery Kinmundy, Marion County, IL
  4. ↑ R.A. Prewitt PREWITT - PRUITT RECORDS OF VIRGINIA, by Richard A. Prewitt, Family History Library, page 231, accessed September 1, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Gulf Coast Lines". Missouri Pacific Historical Society. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Railway Employees' Department, A. F. of L. (Federated Shop Crafts) v. Gulf Coast Lines, p. 224-226, March 29, 1922". 1923. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  7. ↑ Tom Murray. Southern Railway. Voyageur Press. pp. 105–. ISBN   978-1-61060-509-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.