Private company

Alabama Southern Railroad

Railroad in Alabama

The Alabama Southern Railroad (reporting mark ABS) is a class III railroad that operates in the southern United States. The ABS is one of several short line railroads owned by Watco. The railroad operates an 85-mile (137 km) line leased from the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).2 It is headquartered in Tuscaloosa.1 It is part of Watco Companies.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

2005Founded1

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Alabama-Southern-Railroad-WAMX-Watco-GP35-3851-in-Tuscaloosa-on-2016-06-20
Photo: JeffG205 Birmingham Photographer J.g., CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Alabama Southern Railroad (reporting mark ABS) is a class III railroad that operates in the southern United States. The ABS is one of several short line railroads owned by Watco. The railroad operates an 85-mile (137 km) line leased from the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). It began operating in 2005.2

Corporate structure

Alabama Southern Railroad is part of a group headed by Watco Companies. 20 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The railroad began operating on November 20, 2005 on lines leased from the Kansas City Southern Railway.

The line was originally constructed by the Mobile & Ohio Railroad which was purchased through a foreclosure sale by the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad (GM&O) on August 1, 1940. The GM&O merged with the Illinois Central on August 10, 1972, resulting in the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. On March 31, 1986, MidSouth Rail purchased 373 miles (600 km) of track, which included this line, from the Illinois Central Gulf. On January 1, 1994, the Kansas City Southern Railway bought out Midsouth Rail.

From Wikipedia’s article on Alabama Southern Railroad, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 2005Acquired Acquired by Watco Companies1
  2. 2005Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
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