The
Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a
Class I railroadA Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...
in the central
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
whose primary routes extended from
Mobile, AlabamaMobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, and
New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, to
St. LouisSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and
Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, as well as Chicago, Illinois.
From its two parallel lines through eastern
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, the GM&O also served
MontgomeryMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
and
Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, as well as
Memphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
.
History
The
Gulf, Mobile and Northern RailroadThe Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad was a railroad in the Southern United States. The first World War had forced government operation upon the company; and in 1919, when it became once more a free agent, it chose Ike Tigrett to charter its new course...
was created as the reorganization of the New Orleans, Mobile and Chicago Railroad in 1917. The GM&O was incorporated in 1938 to merge the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad and the
Mobile and Ohio RailroadThe Mobile and Ohio Railroad was a railroad in the Southern U.S. The M&O was chartered in January and February 1848 by the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. It was planned to span the distance between the seaport of Mobile, Alabama and the Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois...
, which was accomplished in 1940. The GM&O later bought and merged the
Alton RailroadThe Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 and was controlled until 1942 when the Alton was...
in 1947.
Isaac B. Tigrett, a native of
Jackson, TennesseeJackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
, was named president of the GM&N from 1920 and of the GM&O from 1938 to 1952, and oversaw the development of the road from a nearly bankrupt operation into a thriving success. He was the great-uncle of
Hard Rock CafeHard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...
founder
Isaac TigrettIsaac Tigrett of Jackson, Tennessee is a businessman best known as founder of Hard Rock Café and House of Blues.Tigrett belonged to a well-to-do business family. He was raised in Tennessee until the age of fifteen...
, also a native of Jackson.
From 1952 to 1972 the headquarters of the GM&O were located in Mobile, Alabama at 104 St.Francis street. The President of the GM&O Railroad during this period was G.Paul Brock. The Railroad retained the passenger terminal located at Beauregard Street for additional offices.
The GM&O Railroad was the first railroad in the United States to convert all its locomotives to diesel fuel.
On August 10, 1972, the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad was merged into the
Illinois Central RailroadThe Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
, forming the 9600-mile north-south Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. In 1996 Illinois Central spun off some of its redundant trackage, including most of the former Gulf, Mobile and Ohio. Most of this trackage was acquired by other railroads.
On February 11, 1998, the Illinois Central was purchased by the
Canadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
(CN) with the integration of operations beginning on July 1, 1999.
Passenger Operations
In addition to the GM&O's most popular train, the streamlined
RebelThe Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad Rebels were lightweight, streamlined Diesel-electric trains built by American Car and Foundry. The first two trains, purchased in 1935, provided service between New Orleans, Louisiana and Jackson, Tennessee. The third train, purchased in 1937, allowed...
(New Orleans -
Jackson, TennesseeJackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
1935-1941; extended to St. Louis thereafter), the railroad also operated a number of other named trains. These include:
- Alton Limited (later simply The Limited): (Chicago - St. Louis)
- Abraham Lincoln: (Chicago - St. Louis)
- Ann Rutledge
The Ann Rutledge was a passenger train service operated by Amtrak running between St. Louis, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri as part of the Missouri Services brand...
: (Chicago - St. Louis) (operated 1937-1947 by the Alton, 1947-1971 by GM&O, 1971-2009 by Amtrak)
- Gulf Coast Rebel: (originally Mobile - Union, Mississippi, later extended to St. Louis)
- Midnight Special: (Chicago - St. Louis)
- Night Hawk: (St. Louis - Kansas City)
- Prairie State Express: (St. Louis - Chicago)
- The Mail: (Chicago - St. Louis)
Preservation
- Gulf, Mobile and Ohio caboose #2867 is on display in a park just south of Rienzi, MS.
- Gulf, Mobile and Ohio caboose #2951 is on display in downtown Madison, MS.
- Gulf, Mobile and Ohio caboose #2954: re-numbered by ICG as #199044, preserved by the Monticello Railway Museum in Monticello Illinois.
- Gulf, Mobile and Ohio caboose #2994 is on display at the depot in downtown Corinth, MS.
- Gulf, Mobile and Ohio caboose #2997 is on display at the depot in downtown Booneville, MS.
- Gulf, Mobile and Ohio SD40 #950: the first SD40, currently in Illinois Central marking as #6071, donated to the Monticello Railway Museum in Monticello, Illinois.
- Gulf, Mobile and Ohio GP35 #631 currently owned by the SARM in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The unit is non-operational and in much disrepair.
- Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Pullman "Judge Milton Brown" is on display and used by American Family Radio at the Casey Jones Village in Jackson, TN
In the media
GM&O locomotives and passenger cars were featured in the 1967 film
In the Heat of the Night. Although the film's opening and ending shots of the GM&O are implied to be in a fictionalized version of
Sparta, MississippiSparta is a small unincorporated community in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, United States, in the northeastern part of the state.A fictionalized Sparta was featured in the 1967 film In the Heat of the Night and the television series in the 1980s and '90s. This fictional version of Sparta differs...
, GM&O had ceased all passenger service south of
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
eight years before filming was done in 1966. The actual filming location was
Sparta, IllinoisSparta is a city in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,486 at the 2000 census.The city was the principal filming location for the 1967 film In the Heat of the Night.-Geography:Sparta is located at ....
. The location where the GM&O locomotives and cars were filmed was in Sparta Illinois also. The train was leased from GM&O with a train crew to comply with union and operating rules of the road. The train came from Metro St. Louis, Missouri and traveled south along a GM&O right of way towards Sparta Illinois. At the time of filming, GM&O had not merged yet with the Illinois Central Railroad. The opening scene of the film shows the train crossing a main street in Sparta at night with the bright headlamp on the lead engine approaching town from an overhead shot. This was done using a scaffold across the tracks. This scene shows Virgil detraining and entering the depot station. The train was then driven south to an available roundtable and parked for the night turning the engines around for the return trip to Sparta to shoot the final scene which was shot the following day and was among the final scenes of the film showing Virgil boarding the train and saying goodbye to Gillespie. As the train leaves Sparta, a close up shot of Virgil riding in a passenger car was taken by helicopter as the train travels the opposite direction with the scene expanding the view showing it meandering through the countryside as it leaves Sparta.
In popular music, the GM&O line is referenced in
Adrian BelewAdrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
's "The Rail Song," a nostalgic song about the heyday and subsequent decline of the American railroads. Originally on 1983's
Twang Bar KingTwang Bar King is the second solo album by Adrian Belew, released in 1983.-Track listing:All songs written and arranged by Adrian Belew except “I’m Down” written and arranged by John Lennon, Paul McCartney# "I'm Down" – 2:54# "I Wonder" – 4:39...
album, the song can also be found on the
Desire of the Rhino KingDesire of the Rhino King is a compilation album released in 1991 by experimental rock musician and guitarist Adrian Belew. It compiles songs from Belew's first three solo albums: Lone Rhino, Twang Bar King, and Desire Caught By the Tail....
compilation and in an acoustic version on both
The Acoustic Adrian BelewThe Acoustic Adrian Belew is the seventh solo album by Adrian Belew, released in 1993.-Track listing:# "The Lone Rhinoceros" – 2:37# "Peace on Earth" – 2:49# "The Man in the Moon" – 2:12# "The Rail Song" - 3:42...
and the
Salad DaysSalad Days is a compilation-acoustic album by the artist Adrian Belew, originally released on February 9, 1999. It is a compilation of acoustic/unplugged compositions both old and new....
compilation.
See also
- The Rebel
The Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad Rebels were lightweight, streamlined Diesel-electric trains built by American Car and Foundry. The first two trains, purchased in 1935, provided service between New Orleans, Louisiana and Jackson, Tennessee. The third train, purchased in 1937, allowed...
, lightweight streamlined train, built for GM&O predecessor GM&N by American Car and Foundry
External links