The MidSouth Rail Corporation is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line operated by

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operated in 10 Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Ark ...

(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 Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, going east across

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and across the state of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, running through the cities of Vicksburg,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

, and

Artesia, Mississippi Artesia is a town in Lowndes County, Mississippi. The population was 304 at the 2020 census, down from 440 at the 2010 census. History Artesia was originally ''Artesia Junction'', a junction point on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. During the rai ...

, then across the

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

state line to

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

, and finally (via

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

trackage rights) into

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. Midsouth had two other branches, with one to Counce, Tennessee, and a disconnected line from Gulfport to

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The ci ...

. Total mileage was worth of mostly former

Illinois Central Gulf The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, the Great Lak ...

's east-west Shreveport - Meridian main line.

Operations

On March 31, 1986, MidSouth Rail Corp. was created to purchase of

Illinois Central Gulf Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

(ICG), with start up operations on April 1, 1986. Edward L. Moyers served as the railroad's first president. MSRC was mostly the ex-ICG route between Meridian, Mississippi, and Shreveport, Louisiana, with the earliest segment of this line being built in 1833 by the Clinton and Vicksburg Railroad. On September 8, 1987, MSRC acquired the North Louisiana and Gulf Railroad and its subsidiary, Central Louisiana and Gulf Railroad, These properties were combined as subsidiary MidLouisiana Rail Corporation. On April 14, 1988, MidSouth merged with the

Gulf and Mississippi Railroad The Gulf and Mississippi Railroad was the first regional railroad in the United States upon its creation in 1985. With over of track in the states of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama it was among the largest spin-off railroads in the post-S ...

, itself an ICG spinoff. MSRC operated this property under the name of SouthRail.

Kansas City Southern takeover

On January 11, 1994,

took over operations of all of Midsouth Rail Corp.'s lines, creating its Meridian Corridor to connect with the

References

Predecessors of the Kansas City Southern Railway Defunct Louisiana railroads Defunct Mississippi railroads Railway companies established in 1986 Railway companies disestablished in 1993 1986 establishments in Mississippi 1994 mergers and acquisitions {{Mississippi-transport-stub