RAILROAD HISTORY PHOTOS

Collecting pictures for my new book, Mississippi Railroad Heritage, provided interesting
travel, conversations, and photography. These photos show examples of the multitude
of sites to visit across the state -- museums (Water Valley, Canton, Terry, McComb),
outdoor exhibits, depots and lots of history reminders.

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Agricultural shipments from Mississippi counties were popular in northern markets.
Illinois Central trains loaded water melons in Water Valley and long rows of cars were
filled with strawberries at Madison Station and Durant, my hometown. Ice plants were
placed at trackside to replenish the ice on fruit sent from Louisiana. Cotton bales were
stacked along extensive platforms. Gondolas and boxcars were filled to overflowing
with Mississippi produce that brought in much needed dollars when sold to merchants
and traders in the northern states.

CORINTH - Early view of station at this famous crossing. The Corinth Depot now
welcomes visitors with a Railroad Museum and Cafe. In 1861 the Memphis and Charleston
Railroad here met the Mobile and Ohio to link the Alabama Coast with Tennessee and
points north, the Great Lakes and the Northeast.

MERIDIAN - M & B and
Southern cabooses under the
overpass near Meridian Union
Station. The Meridian and Bigbee
line is now part of the BNSF
system. Southern was the name of
an ante bellum east west route and
also a rail system in this century.

NATCHEZ - The Canal Street Depot near the Miss. River is being renovated to house
condominiums and small shops. This covered platform is ideal for flea markets and concerts and
other downtown events. The rails once ran between the two-story brick station on the corner of
Canal and State Streets and a smaller passenger depot in the middle of the block. This section
was once the scene of many boarding houses and railroad hotels for travelers and workers.
Several old lodging establishments have been restored and converted to retail use. One special
place is the Turning Pages Book Store near the station.

MERIDIAN - Union Station, reconstructed to resemble the former station built in 1905,
contains in its east (right) wing the surviving portion of the old building, the express office,
now a railroad museum. The old station served five rail lines, including Alabama &
Vicksburg and the New Orleans & North Eastern.