The Rebel Base
Formed in 1940 with the merger of the Gulf, Mobile and Northern and Mobile and Ohio Railroads (and the Chicago and Alton in 1947), the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio operated a 3,000-mile railroad between Chicago and the Gulf Coast out of its beautiful Spanish Revival building in Mobile, Alabama.
Built in 1907 for the GM&N, the building served as the railroad's corporate headquarters as well as the southern terminus of the Rebel, the South's first streamlined passenger train launched in 1935. The Rebel was rebranded as the Gulf Coast Rebel after the 1940 merger and operated between Mobile and Saint Louis with modern heavyweight equipment. Nonetheless, the GM&O could not compete with rival Illinois Central in the southern passenger market, and all GM&O passenger services south of Saint Louis ended in 1958 with the discontinuation of the Gulf Coast Rebel.
Ultimately, the GM&O merged with the IC in 1972, and the offices were vacated in 1986. Today, the remnants of the GM&O system is divided up between Illinois Central successor CN, UP, KCS, and various shortline operators, and the glamorous terminal building was restored in 2001 after years of disrepair.
The Rebel Base
Formed in 1940 with the merger of the Gulf, Mobile and Northern and Mobile and Ohio Railroads (and the Chicago and Alton in 1947), the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio operated a 3,000-mile railroad between Chicago and the Gulf Coast out of its beautiful Spanish Revival building in Mobile, Alabama.
Built in 1907 for the GM&N, the building served as the railroad's corporate headquarters as well as the southern terminus of the Rebel, the South's first streamlined passenger train launched in 1935. The Rebel was rebranded as the Gulf Coast Rebel after the 1940 merger and operated between Mobile and Saint Louis with modern heavyweight equipment. Nonetheless, the GM&O could not compete with rival Illinois Central in the southern passenger market, and all GM&O passenger services south of Saint Louis ended in 1958 with the discontinuation of the Gulf Coast Rebel.
Ultimately, the GM&O merged with the IC in 1972, and the offices were vacated in 1986. Today, the remnants of the GM&O system is divided up between Illinois Central successor CN, UP, KCS, and various shortline operators, and the glamorous terminal building was restored in 2001 after years of disrepair.