ALABAMA GULF RAILWAY

Turn of the Century - 2000 - 2006

The Intermodal and container services units continued to grow, as did all commodity loadings. The Alabama Gulf is experiencing good relations with the other regional railroads and interchange partners. The country's economy is providing much business. The Alabama Gulf continues to operate as an independent RR, influenced by the KCS.

2003 - 'QUICKSILVER' OPTIMA roadrailer service extends to include the ALGF. ALGF handles a Jacksonville to Birmingham route in cooperation with the Georgia Road.

2004 - Greenlight Intermodal Services signs on for a dedicated Intermodal Train service from Jacksonville to Kansas City and Jax. to St. Louis. Greenlight provides a small diesel fleet to power these trains. Service partners are: JB&T, ALGF, GARD & KCS. Greenlight expands its' Ocean service worldwide.

2006 - In December the ALGF reaches an agreement with FGCI to acquire it's intermodal business unit within the state of Florida. The unit is renamed FGC Intermodal. ALGF adds additional ports to it's Florida service offerings.

July 1, 2007 - The Alabama Gulf has added another Intermodal Service lane to their expanding Southwind Intermodal offerings. The new service offers COFC and TOFC service twice weekly from Mobile to Houston and points west. The new service will carry the 'Westwind' moniker and operate from Mobile over trackage rights to New Orleans, where it will run to Houston on trackage in east Texas of the new start up line, Texas & Gulf Railway. The Mobile loadings will include ALGF loadings from Florida, thus giving the Alabama Gulf haulage from Florida's ports to Houston.

Connections to Mexican railways will be made in Houston for southbound traffic and loadings bound for the Pacific coast will be exchanged in Houston also.

There has been some scuttle-butt about the ALGF offices, as the new service is competitive to the KCS, which maintains a 35% ownership in the ALGF. Fortunately KCS has it's hands full on it's own service

routes at the moment. How this plays out is unknown. KCS enjoys the benefits of ALGF's midwest bound loadings that it picks up in Birmingham.

Background map note: The red/brown lines are ALGF trackage. Gray lines are CSX.

LEXXER INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Connections To The World

ALABAMA GULF HISTORY

Creation: 1983 to 1989

The ALABAMA GULF RAILWAY was created in 1983 from a combination of abandoned rails lines and some spin off rail lines from SCL, L&N and Southern. The lines were in poor condition. A private group of investors, GULF SOUTHERN INDUSTRIES, bought the lines and with some government loans a track rehab project begin. The assembled track, plus some trackage rights gave the ALGF two north south Main lines, Mobile north to Reform, AL, where the line meets the east -west main running from Columbus, MS to Eufaula, AL. The other north-south main runs from Pensacola north to Birmingham, crossing the east-west main at Maplesville. Trackage agreements with the Southern and with SCL provide two routes into Jacksonville, FL and the Atlantic coast shipping port (Jaxport). During the first five years, management worked hard on track rehabilitation and establishing customers. Hard work by the sales staff and an association with a development group helped to increase car loadings and provide the ALGF with a solid base of on line customers. TOFC service was offered and had several regular shippers on the Birmingham to Jax. 'ATLANTIC FLIER' route, with a steady business provided by Greenlight Intermodal loadings from their Center in Jacksonville. Investors were satisfied that the young railroad was on the right track, but management felt additional capital was needed for more trackwork, so that track speeds and service times could be increased and for an infusion to the ragged power and freight car fleet. The private investors, while waiting for some return on their investments, were tapped out. A new source of funding had to be found.

Enter A Southern Belle: 1989-1999

The search for additional investors proved successful, when in 1989 KCSI Corp. expressed an interest in ownership and asked to begin talks with Alabama Gulf management on how Kansas City Southern Rwy could further their relationship with ALGF. After four months of discussions, the ALGF management and the GULF SOUTHERN IND. investors accepted an offer from KCSI to become a partner with 35% ownership in the ALGF. Along with the 35% ownership, came much experience and advice from KCS.

The power fleet experienced a rebuild program and received a new Company paint scheme that kept the Red of ALGF and added the KCS yellow sill and nose stripes (received from KCS). The mid-nineties found KCS aggressively pursuing expansion. KCS was pushing their Mexican connections in an effort to compete with the larger mergers happening around them. The Alabama Gulf's Atlantic coast and Gulf ports access was growing more important as KCS pushed to compete. Intermodal express service was established between Mobile and Kansas City and Jacksonville to Kansas City / St. Louis and found immediate success as an alternate to the crowded existing rail routes. The ALGF / KCS team had a niche. The 'Southwind' Container service route was established between Mobile and Kansas City, and the 'Atlanticflier' TOFC/COFC service had an established service lane from Jacksonville to the Midwest. Greenlight Intermodal establishes Ocean container service, and the ALGF is their preferred carrier. Business during this period increased at a steady pace.

Southwind Intermodal Services / FGC Intermodal / Atlantic Flier Intermodal

The Alabama Gulf Railway serves the states of Alabama, Georgia & Florida serving local industries and is a bridge route for the Kansas City Southern, providing routing to the Gulf and Atlantic coast ports. The ALGF and KCS operate express Intermodal services from Jaxport to Kansas City, providing direct service from the Midwest to the South Atlantic Coast.

ALGF - A GULF SOUTHERN / KCSI COMPANY .

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N Scale Alabama Gulf Railway.