Todays photo shows the Alabama, Tennessee & Northern at a refinery on Blakely Island, Mobile, Alabama.
My question: Is that snow all over the ground? Can’t be, can it? Maybe it’s just beach sand. Can’t imagine they get snow on the gulf but maybe here and there they do. This Vinnie says " I’m so confused!"
PHOTO OF THE DAY
High-pressure short line
Alabama, Tennessee & Northern No. 11, a General Electric 45-ton center-cab diesel, switches high-pressure tank cars for a refinery on Blakely Island at Mobile, Ala. The railroad, which otherwise consisted of about 200 miles up the west side of the state, operated a car ferry and docks to reach this trackage. It was merged into Frisco on Jan. 1, 1971.
Classic Trains collection
Yes, after several years of operation by the Frisco, the AT&N was fully absorbed by the Frisco. In the last month of operation as the AT&N, I took a 40 mile round trip on the northernmost 20 miles of road–maximum speed was 10 mph. We left Reform after dark, did some switching in Aliceville, ate supper (the crew paid for my supper!), and returned to Reform.There was very little traffic by then, with most of it being interchange traffic with the GM&O in Reform. I do not know just when this part was abandoned, but when I drove through Reform in 2003, all signs of its existence were gone. Almost all of the rest of the AT&N was gradually abandoned, and now only a little bit around Mobile still exists.
I do not remember just what year it was, but the bridge across the Tombigbee fell in immediately after a southbound freight crossed it, and the bridge was never replaced. After that, the Memphis-Mobile traffic continued on the Frisco from Aliceville to Boligee; from their it used trackage rights on the AGS to York and from there it continued to Mobile on the AT&N. The Frisco crews claimed that they should operate the trains between Aliceville and York; the AT&N crews said they should–and they won.
I talked with the conductor who was on that last trip across the Tombigbee, and he said is really something to watch the bridge crumple into the river.
Hard to tell with a black & white shot, but that could very well be snow. It can get cold in the South, even that far south, so while snow is unusual it’s been known to happen.
I got curious and enlarged the shot 200%. Sure looks like snow to me, there’s what looks like a layer of same on the storage tanks to the right, and on the roof of the building in the background.
Too bad there’s no date attached to that photo so we could nail it down.
That’s my thought, too. During the nine years I lived at the north end of the AT&N, we had very little snow. I remember one snow that did stay on the highways for a few hours in the morning.
As I recall, when I was living 55 miles south of Jackson, Mississippi, we had one snowstorm that came up from the Gulf–and stopped about 40 miles south of Jackson. Perhaps this picture was taken after that storm hit? That was in '64 or '65.
Aerial photos show the remnants of the car float bridge near the East Bank Shipyard. The refineries all seem to be surrounded by white surfaces, and there is a materials plant on the island that is well stocked with white stuff.
Could be, but as the Miningman’s post shows and as I said earlier snow’s been known to happen down there. Hey, they’ve even gotten snow in the northern parts of Florida!
There’s a Stan Kistler shot of a Pacific Electric streetcar running through snow in Los Angeles, of all places! Taken some time in the 40’s I think.
So, in a lot of cases, never say never.
What’s the next un-important controversy we can get involved with? I can’t wait to find out! [;)]
With the amount of time I have spent in the Gulf, looking at this sort of scene, and the amount of time I have spent looking at snow in various parts of the deep South – yes, it’s not ‘never’ but it’s a really, really strong ‘hardly-ever’ unlikely.
At least it’s not that-topic-we’re-not-supposed-to-discuss; perhaps we should code-name it DIVOC (for ‘discussion is very off community’) Next meaningless topic coming right up: acronym or initialism?
