AT&N Railroad - YouTube Cab View Video, York to Mobile

Discussion in 'A.T.&N. R.R.' started by trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017), Feb 13, 2016.

  1. trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017)

    trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017) Passed away September 22, 2017

    I had a "comments" conversation the other day with youtube user hornhospital. He is in the process of uploading railfan videos that he recorded from the Mississippi/Alabama gulf coast & the Florida panhandle. His tapes date back to Jan. 1989. I asked him some questions.

    Q: "Do you have any footage from the old AT&N/SLSF/BN/BNSF/AGR north of Mobile?"
    A; "How about a 6 hour cab ride from York to Mobile? I shot it with full permission of Burlington Northern. It's coming when I get to the right time period in the order of these tapes."
    Q: That will be awesome. Looking forward to it. I'm glad you were able to get that footage before BN yanked up the rails. It will be nice to see what it was like. Do you have the full 6 hours on tape?
    A: Yes, the whole trip. The only part I didn't record (due to being afraid I'd run out of tape, and I would have) is (the) part where we stopped and did some switching around Axis.

    While I doubt any video exist between Reform and York due to the collapse of the Tombigbee River bridge in 1973, it will certainly be extremely nice to see what the segment from York to Mobile was like. When he uploads the York-Mobile video, I will embed it in another post in this thread.
     
  2. trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017)

    trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017) Passed away September 22, 2017

    Joe Lovett, Sirfoldalot and RogerRT like this.
  3. trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017)

    trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017) Passed away September 22, 2017

    I have two windows going so that I can follow along on Google Maps. The video is sound-bound of course.
    AT&N Video.GIF
     
  4. trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017)

    trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017) Passed away September 22, 2017

    Video 1 covered bout 50 miles from York's yard/shops down to the south end of Gilbertown. They picked up or dropped off a few cars at the Cromwell yard / Meridian & Bigbee RR interchange. Seeing the old, joint AT&N/M&B depot was a real treat. This is undoubtedly probably the best view of the line that we'll ever have. While watching the video, to know where the train is, you have to follow the curves on google maps while remember that since the train is going south, the curves on the map are opposite what you see in the video. Also, the sounding of the bell & horn at crossings helps me keep up with where the train is on the map. I can't wait to watch videos 2 & 3 later. AT&Nvideo1.GIF
     
  5. fredpavey

    fredpavey Member

    Watched all three videos and I truly enjoyed each one. I have a couple of questions that you may (or may not) be able to answer. My first question is do you know the train frequency for this line and second, did the Frisco run any grain trains to the port on this route?
     
  6. yardmaster

    yardmaster Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Talk about a good way to get a feel for the area surrounding an entire line. Wish I had one of these taken from a 2-8-2 back in the day between Lindenwood-Chaffee-Turrell.

    Thanks Brandon,

    Best Regads,
     
  7. trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017)

    trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017) Passed away September 22, 2017

    I don't have the answers to those questions. I wish I did. Maybe someone else can answer them for us.

    I grew up about in Sulligent, AL, about 40 miles north of the AT&N/SLSF Mobile Sub's northern terminus at Reform, AL. The SLSF Pensacola Sub crossed the AT&N/SLSF Mobile Sub 20 miles south of Reform at Aliceville. The AT&N crossed a rotating drawbridge across the Tombigbee River 7 miles south of Aliceville. In 1973, the bridge's center (pivoting) pier collapsed and the bridge fell into the river right after a train crossed it.
    http://frisco.demopolis.ws/at&n.cochrane.bridge.1.htm

    SLSF chose not to replace the bridge. That was the "beginning of the end" for almost the entire line 19 years later. After the bridge collapsed, the Frisco abandoned the segment from Aliceville to York. SLSF reached Mobile by running SE from Aliceville to Boligee on the Pensacola sub, then SW down the AGS/NS tracks to York, then south down the Mobile Sub from there.

    As for the line from Alicville, north to Carrollton & Reform (the original segment of the line that started it all... The Carrollton Shortline), according to http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/aliceville-carrollton-and-reform.4375/, the last train on the "Reform Branch" ran on 6/29/76... roughly 3 years after the bridge collapse cut the line in two. The "Reform Branch" was officially abandoned on 12/21/77.

    As for the segment from York, south to Axis (Axis is 20 miles north of Mobile), I think BN ripped it up in late '91 or '92. Only the small segment from Mobile to a customer at Axis remains in service (3rd video). BNSF has that segment, as well as the Pensacola sub, leased to the Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway on a 5-year, renewable lease. About a month ago, a BNSF employee told me that the rail ferry business from Mobile to Mexico (http://www.cgrailway.com/) has increased so much that BNSF has decided to non-renew the lease when it is up, in order to operate the lines themselves. I think the Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway takes the Pensacola sub from Amory or Columbus, down to Kimbrough, then gets on some other railroad (NS?) to reach Mobile & Axis. I assume BNSF would do the same if they take back operations.

    As for me, the bridge collapsed, the subsequent abandonment of the Aliceville-York segment, and the Reform Branch ceasing to operate, were all before my time. I was an infant when the Reform branch was officially abandoned. Even though I had traveled by car between Reform & Geiger (a town on the line north of York) a few times, I never knew that a railroad from Reform to Mobile ever existed until I asked, in 2010, why Frisco 1527 was in Mobile. That's when (as a native of West Alabama) I became interested in the history of West Alabama's AT&N. Since my hometown is on the B'ham sub, learning of the tie-in between the AT&N & the Frisco fueled my interest even more. In 2011, I began a freelanced HO layout on an idea of the Alabama, Tennessee, and Northern, fully rebuilt in the modern era, and exteneded northward or "...Northern" to a connection with BNSF at Sulligent.

    That is so true. The insight these videos provide is priceless to me. I greatly appreciate what youtube user hornhospital did to record this history in a video.
     
  8. The_Kid

    The_Kid Member

    Awesome find! This will take a guy I work with on a trip down memory lane! May save it till his retirement!
     
  9. The_Kid

    The_Kid Member

    About a month ago, a BNSF employee told me that the rail ferry business from Mobile to Mexico (http://www.cgrailway.com/) has increased so much that BNSF has decided to non-renew the lease when it is up, in order to operate the lines themselves. I think the Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway takes the Pensacola sub from Amory or Columbus, down to Kimbrough, then gets on some other railroad (NS?) to reach Mobile & Axis. I assume BNSF would do the same if they take back operations.

    I've been hearing about the BNSF taking Columbus to Kimbrough back since I hired out with the AGR. All I can say is come on BN and take it back already!
     
  10. Coonskin

    Coonskin Member

    "I've been hearing about the BNSF taking Columbus to Kimbrough back since I hired out with the AGR. All I can say is come on BN and take it back already!"

    If they do, will you still have a job? Or, do the Union agreements allow Unionized BNSF crews to bump you to unemployed/furloughed status?
     
  11. trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017)

    trainchaser007 (Brandon Adams RIP 9/22/2017) Passed away September 22, 2017

    A BNSF employee I know told me the same thing. I wish they would rebuild the Mobile sub but I don't think that will ever happen.
     

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