Alabama Southern Railroad
The Alabama Southern Railroad is a class III railroad that operates in the southern United States. The ABS is one of several short line railroads owned by Watco Companies. The railroad operates an line leased from the Kansas City Southern Railway. It began operating in 2005.History
The Alabama Southern's line is composed of three Kansas City Southern branch lines totaling : the Tuscaloosa Subdivision, the Warrior Branch, and the Brookwood Branch. The line runs between Columbus and Brookwood, with trackage rights over the Kansas City Southern from Columbus to Artesia, Mississippi.
The line was originally constructed by the Mobile and Ohio Railroad which was purchased through a foreclosure sale by the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad on August 1, 1940. The GM&O merged with the Illinois Central on August 10, 1972, resulting in the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. On March 31, 1986, the MidSouth Rail Corp. purchased of track, which included this line, from the Illinois Central Gulf. On January 1, 1994, the Kansas City Southern bought out Midsouth Rail.
The railroad began operating on November 20, 2005. The railroad interchanges with the KCS at Artesia, CSX Transportation in Brookwood, and the Norfolk Southern Railway in Tuscaloosa.
