~ HE lease by the Illinois Central Sys- tem of the Alabama and Vicksburg and the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific railroads, known jointly as “The Vicksburg Route,” becomes effective June 2, 1926, the Interstate Commerce Commission having approved an agree- ment entered into March 31, 1925. Thus one of the oldest and most historic railway lines in the South becomes part of the Ih- nois Central System. The Vicksburg Route extends Meridian, the metropolis of eastern Mis- sissippi, through Jackson, the state capital, Vicksburg, the historic river port, Monroe, the center of immense gas fields, and Shreveport, the largest city in Louisiana, to the Texas boundary at Lor- raine, La., a total distance of 329.9 miles. The addition of The Vicksburg Route in- creases the first track mileage of the IIli- nois Central System, including its Central of Georgia properties, from 8,703 to 9,033 miles. The first track mileage of the sys- tem in Mississippi is increased from 2,033 to 2,175 miles, which places Mississippi ahead of Illinois as the state having the largest system mileage. The first track mileage of the system in Louisiana is in- creased from 312 to 501 miles. from sece ynd . Traverses Two States The Vicksburg Route traverses six Mis- sissippi counties and eight Louisiana parishes having a total population in 1920 of 423,973. Details are shown in the ac- companying table. The territory is for the most part gently undulating, although ‘rugged hills are encountered in the region immediately west of Meridian and for sev- eral miles east of Vicksburg. The route traverses a rich agricultural region ideally adapted to diversified farming and live- stock raising. The principal crop is cot- ton, although the growing of corn, rice. oats, forage crops, sweet and white potatoes, vegetables, sorghum, fruits and nuts and poultry raising and dairying are becoming increasingly important at many points on the road. The census of 1920 placed the total value of farm crops, ex- clusive of animal products, at $47,665,000 in the fourteen counties and parishes traversed by the railroad. The forests along the Vicksburg Route yield many million feet of pine, cypress and June, Nineteen Twenty-Six 1005 CENT Published monthly by the Illinois Central System in the interest of the system, its officers and employes and the territory served by is lines ao - June, 1926. ‘ Offices: Room 817, Central Station, Chicago. C. EK. Kane, Editor (. J. Cortiss, Associate Editor Ie L. P. Buatrner, Assistant Editor eg other lumber annually, and- the transporta- tion of logs, sawed lumber, ties and other forest products constitutes one of the prin- cipal sources of the railroad’s revenue. No fewer than 150 saw, planing and cooper- age mills are located along the line of the railroad. The western section of the route taps the famous Caddo oil field, one of the richest oil and gas fields in the Southwest, with an output in 1924 of 66,000,000 barrels of petroleum and 182,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas. Within a few miles of Monroe and extending northward into Arkansas is one of the largest gas fields in the world, covering an area of more than 300 square miles and having at present more than 250 producing wells. Twenty- six oil refineries and oil storage plants are located at Shreveport and Monroe. —Ship- ments of petroleum and petroleum products from Shreveport alone approximate 35,000 carloads annually. The availability of cheap fuel and the abundance of mineral, forest and agricul- tural products have been important con- tributing factors in the location of indus- tries along the Vicksburg Route. The census of 1920 reported 598 manufactur- ing establishments in the six counties and eight parishes traversed by the railroad. MACH Ie. F. Harte, Managing Editor J. KIERNAN, Associate Editor Mepin, Staff Artist icksburg Line Lease Approved The value of their products in amounted to $79,000,000. The Vicksburg Route owns 72 locomo- tives, 78 passenger train cars, 1,995 freight train cars and 174 pieces of miscellaneous work equipment. The Alabama and Vicksburg and the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific own jointly the Louisiana & Mississippi Rail- road Transfer Company, which operates two train ferry steamers between Vicks- burg and Delta Point. The properties of the transfer company are included in the lease to the Illinois Central System. Mechanical facilities are located at Jack- son, Vicksburg, Monroe and Shreveport. The principal shops are at Monroe. At Meridian heavy repairs are made under contract in the shops of the New Orleans 1919 & North Eastern Railroad Company. En- gine terminals are located at Meridian. Vicksburg, Delta Point, Monroe and Shreveport, and there is a turnaround ter- minal at Jackson. Turntables are located at Meridian, Jackson, Vicksburg, NRelta Point, Monroe, Bossier City and Shreve- port. Track scales are located at Meridian, Jackson, Vicksburg, Delta Point, Monroe, Ruston and Shreveport. Fuel stations are located at Meridian, Jackson, Vicksburg, Delta Point, Monroe and Sibley, and water , ; = i <8 30° 4 Sen (ae lS 745 | MOreenneld ... . <>. eee 15 PRGCBOUS A ih <<. ss ee eee so 80 Jackson Wee. er ela RC OL 669 | PIGLEOEL ety hx « << «x's 2 ee 494 | POE WEL Oe os vss sae ee ees 727 Ly i ee 3 2 aes ee 82 Newmate)...».+. cee eee as. 53 ARIST ony ss + 3's ea 18,072 | Louisiana Sy re 225 | MOUNGE 5 2. Sg CANA IY men aS a So Miss. the company by the rough heels of war have been very damaging and numerous. On the 24th of April, 1863, General Grierson’s raid destroyed Newton station, burning the depot building containing the books and papers of that office, with some freight; also destroying the cars of two trains and injuring the engines. The troops tore up half a mile of track and de- stroyed the trestles. In May, 1863, the United States troops under General U. S. Grant, while at Jackson, burned Pearl River Bridge and several hundred feet of high and expensive trestle work, partially destroying several miles of track east of Pearl River, and about seven miles of track between Jackson anod Big Black River, including the valuable bridge over that river, together with upwards of 3,000 feet of high trestle work connected with it; also Baker's Creek Bridge and a number of smaller ones. : On the march of General Grant’s army to Vicksburg five engines and fifty cars were cap- tured and twenty-two freight cars were de- stroyed at Jackson. The damage done to the road between Jackson and Big Black, includ- ing Pearl River and Big Black River bridges, was estimated at the time at $204,000. In the following July, after the surrender of Vicks- burg, the United States Army again marched to Jackson in pursuit of General Joseph E. Johnston and pursued him to Brandon and Morton, tearing up track and destroying bridges and trestles in their march to such an extent that trains did not run farther than Brandon before the 6th of January, 1864, and for a portion of the time trains ran no farther west than Morton. In February, 1864, General Sherman made his great march through the state on a parallel line with the railroad and near enough to it for the cavalry to make sudden dashes on any station he thought proper to destroy. His troops burned the station houses at Brandon, Morton, Lake, Newton and Meridian. Machine shops and other company buildings at Lake were de- While the army of General Sherman remained at Meridian seven miles of our track were as effectually destroyed as labor and skill combined with energy could do it; also 7,000 feet of bridges and trestles, including two expensive bridges across Chunkey River, to- gether with the eighty-three other trestles along the line. Superadded to these heavy losses, the val- uable brick depot and the warehouse at Jack- son were destroyed by fire in November, 1862, and a commodious depot building at Morton was burned in February, 1863. These two depot Nine pare pattie Meridian Meridian, the eastern terminus of The Vicksburg Route, is the metropolis of eastern Mississippi. The census of 1920 gave its population as 23,399. Unofficial estimates now place the population of Meridian at 31,000. The city ranks high as a manufacturing center, having a total of fifty-four industrial establish- ments, with an output valued at $9,590,- 000 in 1920. Lauderdale County, of which Meridian is the county seat, had eighty-five manufacturing establishments with an output valued at $10,736,000 in 1920. The articles manufactured in Meridian include: lumber, sashes and doors, veneers, barrels, staves, spokes and handles, cotton, cdttonseed products, fertilizer, saw mill machinery, building materials, wagons and automobile trail- ers, automobile batteries, display fixtures, brick, paints, saws, foundry specialties, condiments, soap, canning machinery, bleached linters and hosiery. The manu- facture of lumber and wood products constitutes the most important group of manufactures. Meridian is served by six railway lines operating forty-six passenger trains in and out of the city daily. Approxi- mately 296,000 carloads of freight orig- inate *here annually, 100,000 of which are classed as lumber and lumber prod- ucts. The railway shops of Meridian employ 2,400 persons, and the annual railway payroll in the city 1s $2,520,000. Meridian is the wholesale distributing center for 300,000 people located within a radius of fifty miles. Its seventeen wholesale houses do an annual business of $20,000,000, not including trade in lumber and lumber products, which runs into many millions of dollars annually. The city is served by five banks hav- ing. deposits of $10,467,000 in 1923. There are thirty churches, representing ten denominations, in the city. Their combined membership is approximately 10,000. The city has many fine schools, stores and public buildings and hun- dreds of beautiful humes. There are thirty acres of parks and playgrounds within the city limits. In addition to an active chamber of commerce with 500 members, Meridian has four business men’s luncheon clubs and a large num- ber of fraternal and social organizations. Meridian is situated in one of the most beautiful sections of the state, in the southeastern foothills of the Alle- ghany Range. The elevation at the court house is 344 feet. A hill to the south of the city reaches an altitude of 544 feet and commands an impressive view of the surrounding country. The city is surrounded by a productive agricultural region, characterized by a wide variety of soils which possess great possibilities for diversified farming. It is said that more than 150 products have been grown successfully in Lauder- dale county, including cotton, corn, sweet potatoes, sugar cane, peanuts, pecans, tomatoes, peas, watermelons, strawberries and various other fruits and vegetables. There are more than 3,000 farms in Lauderdale county, stocked with 4,000 head of dairy cattle, 10,000 head of beef cattle, 26,000 hogs and 120,000 head of poultry. The value of the farm crops of Lauderdale county in 1920 was $2,700,000. buildings, on account of their supposed security, were made. the repositories of all the valuable records and papers belonging to the company. It was deemed prudent to transfer the archives of the company from Vicksburg during the bombardment, and they were sent to those two depots and were consequently all destroyed. All the furniture, with the valuable library, fine paintings and costly plate of the late Wil- liam C. Smedes, then president of the company, were entirely destroyed by the burning of the Morton depot. On January 28, 1867, the name of the Ten road between Meridian and Vicksburg was changed by legislative authority from Southern Railroad to Vicksburg and Meridian Railroad. By military orders the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Texas Railroad between Delta Point and Monroe was destroyed by the Confederate army in November, 1863, and was not rebuilt and put in operation until 1870. The property and franchises of the ~ Vicksburg, Shreveport & Texas Railroad Company were acquired by John T. Lude- ling and associates of Monroe, La., who formed the Northern Louisiana & Texas Railroad Company, incorporated in Louisi- ana September 28, 1868. Mr. Ludeling was president, George C. Waddell of Vicks- burg was vice-president, and W. R. Gordon of Monroe was superintendent and chief engineer of the new company. The road between Delta Point and Monroe was re- constructed by this company in 1869 and 1870, and the line between Shreveport and Lorraine, which had been completed by the original company in 1866, was leased to _another company from 1870 to 1875. The track gauge was 5 feet 6 inches. In the meantime the North Louisiana & Texas Railroad was being harassed by liti- gations arising from the manner in which it acquired the property of the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Texas Railroad. The sale to the Ludeling interests was attacked in court, and in October, 1874, the United States Supreme Court decreed that the proceedings under which Ludeling and his associates acquired the property were fraudulent. The title to the property was accordingly set aside, and the North Louisiana & Texas Railroad Company went out of existence. The property was in receivership from March 22, 1875, to De- cember 2, 1879, when it was sold at fore- closure to the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railroad Company. New Company Formed The Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railroad Company, the predecessor of the present Vicksburg, Shreteport & Pacific Railway Company, was incorpo- rated in Louisiana December 2, 1879, with the following directors: Edmund Richard- son, Jackson, Miss., president of the com- pany; A. B. Pittman and T. M. Smedes, Vicksburg; Henry R. Jackson and William M. Wadley, Savannah, Ga.; L. P. Grant; Henry B. Plant, Augusta, Ga., and Edward Hoopes, Philadelphia. J. W. Green of Monroe was general manager. The pres- ence of H. B. Plant, president of the Plant System of Georgia and Florida, and Wil- liam M. Wadley, president of the Central of Georgia Railroad, on the directorate, as well as the name of the company, itself, indicate that the dream of making this a transcontinental railroad still played an im- portant part in the plans and policies of the promoters. The new company leased the line between Shreveport and Lorraine to the Texas & Pacific Railway and, in conjunction with the Vicksburg & Meridian Railroad, con- tracted with the Delta Wharf & Land Company and the Vicksburg Wharf & Land Company for the operation of a train ferryboat between Vicksburg and Delta Point. In the early part of 1881 the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railroad Company Monroe | Monroe, the second largest city in | northern Louisiana and the county seat | of Ouachita parish, has experienced a | remarkable growth in recent years. | From 5,428 inhabitants in 1900 the city’s population increased to 12,675 in 1920, and, according to latest estimates, it | now exceeds 18,000. The population of West Monroe, across the Ouachita River, increased from 775 in 1900 to 2,240 in 1920, and is now estimated at 3,000. This growth has been due largely to the location of jndustries as a result of the discovery and development of the im- mense gas fields situated within a few miles of the city. This gas field, said to be the largest in the world, covers an area of at least 300 square miles and produces many millions of feet of gas daily. Gas is piped into the city and serves as a cheap fuel for domestic and industrial purposes. The census of 1920 reported fifty-five industrial establishments in Ouachita parish, with products valued at more than $6,000,000 in 1919. The value of manu- factured products in Monroe was $4,159,- 000, compared with $936,000 in 1909. Among the important industries at Monroe are lumber, sash and door mills, pulp and paper mills, gasoline extracting plants, oil refineries and carbon black plants. The surrounding forests produce large quantities of pine, cypress, oak and other valuable woods, and lumber and wood products are shipped from Monroe to all parts of the country. Monroe is the center of a productive agricultural region. In 1920 Ouachita parish alone had 2,666 farms, containing 159,490 acres, of which 79,381 acres were in crops, as_ follows: cotton, 31,227; corn, 23,299; hay and forage, 3,863; sweet and white potatoes, 1,311; miscellaneous crops, 8,981. The value of farm crops in the parish was $2,781,- 847; dairy products, $151,000; poultry products, $112,400. There were 37,400 head of livestock on farms. The census reported 21,000 peach trees and 2,200 pecan trees in the parish in 1920. Six railway lines radiate from the city. "Monroe is blessed with a mild climate. Roses bloom out-of-doors in December, and snow and ice are seldom seen. The winter season is short and not uncom- fortable, and the temperatures in the summer seldom get above the point of comfort. The mean temperature is 50 de- grees in the winter and 78 degrees in the summer. The city has one daily newspaper, two large banks, churches of eight denomina- tions, excellent schools, hundreds of fine homes, many modern commercial build- ings and numerous recreational advan- tages, including country clubs, good roads, parks and playgrounds. One of the noteworthy features of Monroe is a large salt water bathing pool, which is fed ‘by a salt water well more than 2,000 feet deep. “People come from miles’ around to enjoy bathing in this pool. Game, including deer, quails, ducks and opossums, abounds in the forests around Monroe, and the nearby rivers and lakes provide the disciples of Izaak Walton with trout, bar fish, white perch, speckled perch and other fish. The Ouachita River is one of the clearest rivers in the South, being fed by giant crystal springs in Arkansas. It affords splendid opportunities for rowing, yacht- ing and sailing as well as fishing and bathing. ‘ passed under the control of the Alabama, New Orleans, Texas & Pacific Junction Railways Company, Ltd., of London, Eng- land, owners of the “Queen & Crescent Route,” parts of which now belong to the Illinois Central Magazine Southern Railway System. Charles Schiff, C. C, Harvey and R. Carroll, president, vice-president and general manager, re- spectively, of the “Queen & Crescent” at Cincinnati, were elected to those offices on the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Rail road. In the same year construction was begun on the line between Monroe and Shreveport. This line was completed and opened in August, 1884, thus completing the route between Delta Point and the Louisiana-Texas line. In the meantime the gauge of the completed stretches of the road was changed from 5 feet 6 inches to 4 feet 8%4 inches. About the same time the gauge of the Alabama & Vicksburg was changed from 5 feet to 4 feet 8% inches. On February 4, 1889, the property of the Vicksburg & Meridian Railroad Company ‘was sold under foreclosure to the owners of the “Queen & Crescent Route,” and on March 18, 1889, a new company was formed under the name of the Alabama and Vicksburg Railway Company. Thus the two roads, the Alabama and Vicks- burg and the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific passed under common control, and since that time they have remained under virtually the same management, although they have always maintained a separate corporate existence. The “Queen & Cres- cent” officers became the general officers of the Alabama & Vicksburg Railway, with Charles Schiff and C. C. Harvey as presi- dent and vice-president, respectively. On May 20, 1895, the Louisiana & Mis- sissippi Railroad Transfer Company, incor- porated June 18, 1895, and owned jointly by the two railroads, purchased the train ferryboat and other property of the Delta Wharf & Land Company and the Vicks- burg Wharf & Land Company and took over the operation of the ferry service be- tween Vicksburg and Delta Point. The lease of the Shreveport-Lorraine extension was surrendered by the Texas & Pacific Railway January -1, 1899. In 1907 D. D. Curran, vice-president and general manager of the railroads, succeeded C. C. Harvey as president of the two com- panies. In February, 1915, he became chairman of the board of directors, and Larz A. Jones, formerly vice-president and comptroller, was elected president of the companies. Mr. Jones has been identified with the properties since 1884. In: 1917 the name of the Alabama, New Orleans, Texas & Pacific Railways Com- pany, Limited, of London, England, was changed to The Sterling Trust, Limited, with Baron Emile Beaumont d’Erlanger as chairman. In November, 1924, The Sterling Trust, Limited, disposed of its stock and thereby its controlling interest in the Alabama and Vicksburg and the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific railroads through public offerings at New York and New Orleans. Ownership in the proper- ties is now widely distributed. The direc- tors of the Alabama and Vicksburg Rail- way Company are: F. H. Cabot, Jr.. New York; Larz A. Jones, president and gen- eral manager of the company; J. Blanc Monroe, general counsel; W. J. Kelleher, assistant to the president, and Larz E. Jones, New Orleans; R. E. Kennington and Judge R. H. Thompson, Jackson, Miss. The directors of the Vicksburg, Shreve- port & Pacific Railway Company are: J. B. Ardis, Shreveport; James P. Butler, Jr., W. J. Kelleher, Larz A. Jones, J. Blanc Monroe and William P. Richardson, New Orleans; T. W. McCoy, Vicksburg. 9990zzS0I ZLLOE hii