Mississippi Central Railroad
| Mississippi Central Railroad (original) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reporting marks | MIS |
| Locale | south Mississippi |
| Dates of operation | 1897 – 1967 |
| Successor line | Illinois Central Gulf |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | |
| Mississippi Central Railroad (current) | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Reporting marks | MSCI |
| Locale | Oxford, Mississippi |
| Dates of operation | 1992 – |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | Peoria, Illinois (corporate) Holly Springs, Mississippi (operating) |
The Mississippi Central Railroad (AAR reporting marks MIS) was a railroad in the U.S. state of Mississippi.
The company was started in 1897 as the Pearl and Leaf Rivers Railroad. This line was built by the J.J. Newman Lumber Company from Hattiesburg, to Sumrall.
In 1905 the company's name was changed to the Mississippi Central. In 1906 a company was formed to build a rail line from Natchez to Brookhaven. In 1909 this line was absorbed by the Mississippi Central.
For a short time during the 1920s, the line operated a service named "The Natchez Route", running trains from Natchez to Mobile, Alabama through trackage agreements with the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad. At Natchez, freight cars were ferried across the Mississippi River to connect with the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway to institute through traffic into Shreveport, Louisiana.
On March 29, 1967 the Mississippi Central was sold to the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad.
Current Mississippi Central Railroad
The Mississippi Central name was resurrected in the northern part of the state by Pioneer Railcorp when it purchased the former Natchez Trace Railroad from Kyle Railways. The line runs from Oxford to Grand Junction, Tennessee, for a length of 51 miles.
