Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad freight trains remembered

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio’s daily northbound freight crosses the Alabama River northwest of Montgomery near Prattville in April 1971. The line, which started in Montgomery, joined the GM&O main in West Point, Miss. J. David Ingles photo

A more traditional three-quarter shot shows the same Gulf, Mobile and Ohio GP38s on the freight train near Maxwell Air Force Base in April 1971. J. David Ingles photo

The daily Gulf, Mobile and Ohio freight train meets the Prattville Turn at the west of the Montgomery yard in April 1971. J. David Ingles photo

Three Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Alco RS1 diesels pull a train of pulpwood logs for the Union Camp paper mill at Prattville, Ala., in April 1971. Pulpwood was an important, if short-distance, commodity for railroads in the South at the time. J. David Ingles photo

The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio “Jack Local” crosses the Wabash diamond in Jacksonville, Ill., before heading south in May 1962. It will likely switch Mobil Chemical before leaving town for Roodhouse. J. David Ingles photo

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio RS2 No. 1512 switches the railroad’s freight house at Jacksonville, Ill., in March 1962. J. David Ingles photo

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio train 93 detours over the “Jack Line” via Jacksonville, Ill., due to a problem on the main line. The train operates Bloomington to Kansas City and on this day has 37 cars behind F7 813A and F3 800A. J. David Ingles photo

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio F3 810B and RS3 1523 team up on the “Jack Local” crossing Routt Street in Jacksonville, Ill., in April 1963. The two units do not have compatible m.u. systems, so it’s possible that the F unit is rescuing a failed RS3. J. David Ingles photo

A Gulf, Mobile and Ohio GP30 and GP35 roll a train south near Odell, Ill., on the main line connecting Chicago; Springfield, Ill.; and St. Louis, Mo. J. David Ingles photo

A seven-car Gulf, Mobile and Ohio piggyback train heads north through Springfield, Ill., for Chicago in September 1975. Walter A. Peters photo