Fast Freight on the Bayou
A warm summer morning along Bayou Crew, or Crew Lake, in Start, Louisiana, is punctuated by the sounds of the wound out General Electric Gevo 12 prime mover in KCS ES44AH 4807 east. KCS 4807 is on the point of high priority intermodal-manifest I166 east running from Dallas, Texas, to Atlanta, Georgia, via the Norfolk Southern interchange in Meridian, Mississippi. The train is moving through the pictured scene right at the 50mph maximum speed allowed for trains carrying any hazardous material loads.
The original wooden bridge here dates back to the Illinois Central era whenever the line through here was a backwater, lightly trafficked, branch that extended out to the KCS interchange in Shreveport, Louisiana, from Meridian, Mississippi. Through the Illinois Central Gulf merger of the 70s the line eventually fell into control of regional railroad Midsouth Corp. The Midsouth was a regional railroad that resurrected many former Gulf
Mobile and Ohio, and Illinois Central lines from abandonment and bankruptcy in the mid 1980's. The Midsouth, and associated companies, SouthRail, and Louisiana MidSouth Rail, were seen as one of the success stories of post-Staggers Act regional rail spinoffs.
Only 8 years after MidSouth began operations the burgeoning railroad would be acquired by the smallest class one railroad in the country, the Kansas City Southern railroad. This acquisition would give KCS one of the most competitive routes in the south, the Meridian Speedway. The Speedway is a mainline connection that offers swift service between the Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads in Meridian, Ms, and Myrtlewood, Alabama, to the Dallas, Houston, and Mexican markets served by CPKC. It also serves as a shortcut for the Union Pacific's high priority coast-to-coast Z intermodal trains from Los Angeles to Atlanta and return.
Now in 2025 the Meridian Speedway continues to serve that purpose for the newly-formed CPKC railroad. While not quite yet reaching full capacity the speedway still boasts a significant number of premium service trains across its 370 route miles. The I166 pictured here is the second of two daily eastbounds fired out of Dallas for Atlanta via NS, and runs with a single crew all the way over to Meridian. Train counts around this portion of the speedway cycle between 12-16 trains a day. The new connection to Atlanta and Jacksonville via CSX has, and soon will, add even more traffic across north Louisiana, and central Mississippi.
Thanks for looking!
Fast Freight on the Bayou
A warm summer morning along Bayou Crew, or Crew Lake, in Start, Louisiana, is punctuated by the sounds of the wound out General Electric Gevo 12 prime mover in KCS ES44AH 4807 east. KCS 4807 is on the point of high priority intermodal-manifest I166 east running from Dallas, Texas, to Atlanta, Georgia, via the Norfolk Southern interchange in Meridian, Mississippi. The train is moving through the pictured scene right at the 50mph maximum speed allowed for trains carrying any hazardous material loads.
The original wooden bridge here dates back to the Illinois Central era whenever the line through here was a backwater, lightly trafficked, branch that extended out to the KCS interchange in Shreveport, Louisiana, from Meridian, Mississippi. Through the Illinois Central Gulf merger of the 70s the line eventually fell into control of regional railroad Midsouth Corp. The Midsouth was a regional railroad that resurrected many former Gulf
Mobile and Ohio, and Illinois Central lines from abandonment and bankruptcy in the mid 1980's. The Midsouth, and associated companies, SouthRail, and Louisiana MidSouth Rail, were seen as one of the success stories of post-Staggers Act regional rail spinoffs.
Only 8 years after MidSouth began operations the burgeoning railroad would be acquired by the smallest class one railroad in the country, the Kansas City Southern railroad. This acquisition would give KCS one of the most competitive routes in the south, the Meridian Speedway. The Speedway is a mainline connection that offers swift service between the Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads in Meridian, Ms, and Myrtlewood, Alabama, to the Dallas, Houston, and Mexican markets served by CPKC. It also serves as a shortcut for the Union Pacific's high priority coast-to-coast Z intermodal trains from Los Angeles to Atlanta and return.
Now in 2025 the Meridian Speedway continues to serve that purpose for the newly-formed CPKC railroad. While not quite yet reaching full capacity the speedway still boasts a significant number of premium service trains across its 370 route miles. The I166 pictured here is the second of two daily eastbounds fired out of Dallas for Atlanta via NS, and runs with a single crew all the way over to Meridian. Train counts around this portion of the speedway cycle between 12-16 trains a day. The new connection to Atlanta and Jacksonville via CSX has, and soon will, add even more traffic across north Louisiana, and central Mississippi.
Thanks for looking!