Gulf & Ship Island Railroad
collection
rom early in its history as a state, Mississippians dreamed of a rail link between the capital and largest city at Jackson and the magnifi- cent natural harbor at Ship Island on the Gulf of Mexico. In March, 1850, the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad was chartered to build north from a point opposite Ship Island to an unspecified destination. A later survey projected a route of some 200 miles between the Gulf and Canton, Miss., via Brandon. It took the passage of a Federal Land Grant Act ... to spark renewed interest in the G&SI. Passed in August, 1856, the Act gave the State of Mississippi a right-of-way between the Gulf and Canton through Federal lands.
Alan R. Lind / The Illinois Central Story
lthough chartered by the state of Mississippi in 1882 with goal of connecting the Gulf Coast with the Tennessee state line, the Gulf & Ship Island Railroad did not reach Hattiesburg until 1897 or Jackson until 1900 ... and never grew beyond the capital. This new route — from the coast to the state capital, effectively a 160 mile shortline — opened another lane for the Mississippi coast's tourism potential and port traffic to move northbound.
Two branches would be built to Columbia and Laurel — 44 and 111 miles long, respectively. The road offered daily passenger service using a stable of high-stepping steamers, and it was a major mover of processed lumber in the early 1900s.
In 1925 the Illinois Central Railroad purchased the GSI, its Gulfport port facility, as well as its mounting debt. This acquisition gave the Mainline through Mid-America a new connection to the ports of the Gulf Coast. Millions were spent improving the line, with through sleepers from Gulfport added to the IC's famous Panama Limited at Jackson, to and from Chicago. The railroad likewise invested heavily in the coastal hotel market.
In 1925 the The GSI mainline between Gulfport and Jackson survived into the Illinois Central Gulf merger, only to be bifurcated with the formation of the second, slimer Illinois Central. The Jackson-Hattiesburg segment remained with the IC, but the Hattiesburg-Gulport segment was sold to regional newcomer MidSouth in 1986. This latter segment remains in service today with the Kansas City Southern, which acquired MidSouth in 1993. KCS retains trackage rights over the IC between Hattiesburg and Jackson.
In 2020, Mississippi-based shortline operator Rock Island Rail revived the Gulf & Ship Island name when it resumed operations of the Seaway lead in Gulfport, serving the Bernard Bayou Industrial Park with interchange to the KCS.
GSI Official Guide map / collection
1930 Official Guide ad / collection
1930 Official Guide ad / collection
1910 Official Guide ad / collection
1920 Official Guide ad / collection
David Price collection
Gulf & Ship Island #10
Builder's photo / collection
Gulf & Ship Island #10
retired, 1928
Gulf & Ship Island #12
Builder's photo / collection
Gulf & Ship Island #12
scrapped, 1927
David Price collection
the company operates under a perpetual charter granted before the present State Constitution was adopted. In addition to all of the usual concessions to railways and some special ones, the Company has the important advantage or rights to the land under water half a mile wide extending six miles into Mississippi Sound. Since the adoption of the now State Constitution no charter can be obtained by a railroad except one revocable at the pleasure of the legislature. Hence, the Company's charter is of itself a valuable asset.
Biloxi Daily Herald, 1902 edition
See also our contemporary Gulf & Ship Island shortline scrapbook in Shortlines
Links / Sources
- Wikipedia article for Gulf & Ship Island
- Mississippi Rails page for Gulf & Ship Island
- Alan R. Lind, The Illinois Central Story: From the Lakes to the Gulf (Transport History Press, 1993)