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The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio, "The Alton Route"
Similar to the Chessie System in the east, the Gulf Mobile and Ohio of the Midwest and South was a short-lived railroad whose legend continues to live on today. The GM&O wasn’t created until the early days of diesel power and it was gone by the early 1970s. However, during its roughly 40 years of operation it was a fierce competitor and although always surrounded by giants it held its own in many of the markets it served, which is not surprising as the railroad is also known as The Rebel Route.
If any one man deserves the credit for forming the Gulf Mobile and Ohio, then this credit is to go to Mr. Issac Burton Tigrett of Jackson, Tennessee. Mr. Tigrett entered railroading as a young man in 1911 when he became Treasurer and later President of a 50-mile short line between Jackson and Dyersburg, Tennessee, the Birmingham and Northwestern. After World War I he became a Director of the GM&N and at the age of 26 was appointed its temporary President. As President of the GM&N ‘Ike’ began a period of expansion by acquiring his former B&NW, and the 25 mile Memphis and Meridian in 1925. Next came the 15 mile Jackson and Eaton to gain access to Jackson, Mississippi and also a direct connection with the New Orleans and Great Northern. However, Mr. Tigrett was not satisfied with just a connection to New Orleans, and he later leased the NO&GN, thus giving the GM&N access to the ‘River City of the South’. In 1940 the GM&N merged with the bankrupt M&O creating a system of almost 2000 miles that connected St. Louis with the ports of Mobile and New Orleans. The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad thus was born. Now serving most of the central southeast region the GM&O was interested in connecting and serving Chicago, which would give the railroad a direct north/south route, a rather odd arrangement being that most traffic flowed east/west. Regardless, after taking control of the Chicago & Alton in the latter 1940s the GM&O proved highly successful at competing for traffic in the markets it served. Below is a brief history of these C&A courtesy of the Gulf Mobile and Ohio Historical Society: On July 18, 1931 the Chicago and Alton came under the control of the Baltimore and Ohio as ‘The Alton Railroad Company’. No further expansion came about while under B&O control, and on May 31, 1947 the GM&O acquired ownership of the Alton Railroad. The consolidation of these two railroads, the Alton, and the GM&O, created a 3000 mile North-South rail system serving America’s mighty Middle States and offered a direct trunk line service between the great gateways of commerce and industry of this region.  Aside from the GM&O’s maverick attitude the railroad is also well known for a number of its passenger trains including the Gulf Coast Rebel, the Alton Limited, and the Midnight Special. Its most famous trains, however, were the Rebel, Abraham Lincoln, and Ann Rutledge (which continues today under Amtrak). These trains carried a beautiful livery of two-tone maroon/red with yellow trim. Below is a brief history of a number of the GM&O’s notable accomplishments, especially regarding its passenger operations, courtesy of the Gulf Mobile and Ohio Historical Society: The GM&O and its predecessors were known as leaders in the development of railroading. For example, George Pullman in the Bloomington shops of the C&A built the first Pullman sleeper, the Pioneer, in 1861. The first railroad dining car, the Delmonico, was built by the C&A and put into service on its line. One of the first steel bridges in the world was built by the C&A over the Mississippi river at Glasgow, MO. The C&A also was the first railroad to pioneer ‘chair’ cars (reclining seats) and to operate an all-Pullman train. The GM&N was the first railroad to operate a streamline train in the South, ‘The Rebel’, and the Gulf Mobile and Ohio was early to advocate the advantages of trainload or unit train movements. Thus from the early dreams of men like Falkner and Godfrey, to the able leadership of I.B. Tigrett, the GM&O became a ‘favorite’ among railroaders, historians and railroad enthusiasts as a diverse and interesting subject of study. For all of the railroad’s accomplishments it was having trouble by the end of the 1960s and decided in 1972 to merge with the Illinois Central, after the two agreed that such a move would be best for both companies, to form the Illinois Central Gulf. The only problem with the ICG merger was that much like the disastrous Penn Central formation between the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads in the late 1960s, the IC and GM&O mostly paralleled one another and were staunch competitors. Because of this the success of the merger has always remained questionable. In any event, the ICG would soldier on and later drop the Gulf and was simply known as the Illinois Central. The IC’s end came in 1998 when it became part of the Canadian National Railway. Notable Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad Passenger Trains Alton Limited: (Chicago - St. Louis) Abraham Lincoln: (Chicago - St. Louis) Ann Rutledge: (Chicago - St. Louis) Gulf Coast Rebel: (St. Louis - Mobile/Montgomery) Midnight Special: (Chicago - St. Louis) Night Hawk: (St. Louis - Kansas City) Prairie State Express: (St. Louis - Chicago) The Mail: (Chicago - St. Louis)
For more reading and history about the GM&O consider the book below from James Kinkaid. From the excellent publishings of Morning Sun Books, IC/GM&O Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment features over 100 pages of colorful photographs of both the Gulf Mobile & Ohio as well as future partner, Illinois Central.
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