Greenville Railroad Station

In 1884 the Memphis and New Orleans Railroad (M&NO) also had completed a line from Greenville to Lamont. In 1888 this had become part of the LNO&T and was completed from Rosedale through Wilczinski (Metcalf) to Greenville as part of the “Riverside” line and a connecting line was completed from Leland to Wilczinski (Metcalf). A combination passenger and freight railroad station was built during this period and was located just north of the present Greenville railroad station at 738 Washington Avenue.

The “Riverside” main line was completed from Cohoma Junction through Greenville to Rolling Fork Junction in the early 1890’s and the LNO&T had become part of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad (Y&MV) in 1890.

In the early 1900’s, approximately 1910, a new two-story Greenville railroad station was built by the Y&MV located on the footprint of the present station at 738 Washington Avenue. The first floor was the passenger station and the second floor contained the division offices. The old era 1888 Greenville railroad station was converted at this time to the Railway Express Building for which it was used until 1965. The Railway Express building was torn down in the mid 1970’s. A new freight station was also constructed around 1910 on the corner of Washington Avenue and North Street. Over the years the freight station was enlarged several times and by the 1940’s it extended over half a block along North Street. The freight station was destroyed by a fire in 1971.

In 1942 the Y&MV abandoned the “Riverside” main line south of Greenville to Rolling Fork Junction. The division offices were moved to Cleveland. In 1945 the station was completely rebuilt. The second floor was removed and the first floor was remodeled into the present configuration and the building was bricked. The Y&MV had always been controlled by the Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR) and for many years operated as part of the ICRR The Y&MV ceased to exist as a company in 1976 at the time of the merger of the ICRR and the Gulf Mobile and Ohio Railroad (GM&O) Passenger train service to Greenville ended in July of 1965 with the last run of the “Delta Express” ICRR Train Number 23/24.

All information on this page courtesy of Harold Holiman.

For more reading about railroad stations you might want to consider a copy of America's Railroad Stations from author Brian Solomon. While the book is just a very general overview of some of the great stations that once stood in this country it is quite good with lots of historical photographs, including that of Grand Central Terminal and the late Pennsylvania Station (it also gives a history of the thousands of small depots that existed in most communities). All in all if you’re interested in stations and depots you’re sure to enjoy Mr. Solomon’s book on the subject.

One other book of interest is Kevin Holland's Classic American Railroad Terminals. While Mr. Solomon's book looks at depots and stations, large and small, found across the country Holland's work looks only at America's most famous and best remembered terminals. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.