Meridian & Bigbee Railroad
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Meridian & Bigbee Railroad | |
---|---|
Reporting marks | MB, MNBR |
Locale | Mississippi / Alabama |
Dates of operation | –present |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
Headquarters | Meridian, Mississippi |
The Meridian & Bigbee Railroad (AAR reporting marks MB, MNBR) is a Class III railroad that operates 189 miles of railroad from Meridian, Mississippi eastward to Burkeville, Alabama. Additionally, the M&B has trackage rights over CSX from Burkeville to Montgomery, Alabama. CSX has reciprocal trackage rights over the entire M&B.
The M&B is owned by Genesee and Wyoming Inc. After Hurricane Katrina, it served as a run-through bridge route for CSX to connect with the Kansas City Southern at Meridian, thereby avoiding interchange at New Orleans.
The M&B was chartered on December 24, 1926. Construction advanced eastward to Cromwell, Alabama in April 1928, and finally to Myrtlewood, Alabama where it connected with the L&N in 1935.[1] [2]
In 2003 the M&B took over the ex-L&N line from Myrtlewood to Selma, Alabama and the ex-Western Railway of Alabama line from Selma to Burkeville. CSX retained ownership between Montgomery and Burkeville, where there is a large industrial customer.
In 2007, the line gained publicity when a train hauling parts of the Space Shuttle solid rocket booster derailed on an overloaded bridge weakened by heavy rains.[3] In September 2007, interchange between KCS and CSX was moved to other lines.