Ripley and New Albany Railroad
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 1871 |
| Founder | Colonel William C. Falkner |
| Headquarters | New Albany , United States |
Area served | New Albany to Falkner, Mississippi |
| Products | Lumber, Oil-Dri products |
The Ripley & New Albany Railroad is a shortline railroad that runs between New Albany and Falkner, Mississippi, having previously extended to Middleton, Tennessee on former Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad tracks. RNA connects with the BNSF Railway in New Albany and mainly hauls lumber and Oil-Dri products.
History
The rail connection linking New Albany and Ripley was originally chartered in 1871 by Colonel William C. Falkner, the great-grandfather of writer William Faulkner, under the name The Ripley Railroad. By 1874, the line had reached northward to Middleton, and in 1878 it was renamed the Ship Island, Ripley & Kentucky Railroad. Following a foreclosure sale in 1889, the Gulf & Chicago Railroad acquired the line and extended service to Pontotoc, Mississippi.
In 1903, the Mobile, Jackson & Kansas City Railroad established a northern connection from Beaumont, Mississippi, which merged with Gulf & Chicago in 1909 to create the New Orleans, Mobile & Chicago Railroad. This entity reorganized as the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad in 1917 and later became the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (GM&O) in 1940. The GM&O operated the distinguished The Rebel over this route. The link to the Frisco Railway, now part of BNSF Railway, at New Albany was crucial for freight heading north.
In 1972, GM&O merged with the Illinois Central Railroad, forming Illinois Central Gulf (ICG). ICG discontinued service south of Houston and sold this segment in 1985 to the Gulf and Mississippi Railroad, recognized as the first regional railroad in the United States. That company managed operations until selling to Midsouth Rail in 1988. The line came under Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) ownership in 1994 when KCS purchased Midsouth; KCS retained control until selling it in 1998 to North American RailNet, Inc., which operated it as Mississippi Tennessee Railnet.
In 2003, Ironhorse Resources, Inc. acquired Mississippi Tennessee Railnet and renamed it Mississippi Tennessee Railroad (MTNR). During MTNR’s tenure, substantial track abandonments took place: south of New Albany to Houston was abandoned in 2004 due to insufficient traffic and high upkeep expenses; from Middleton to Falkner was discontinued in 2008; remaining tracks south of New Albany were repurposed for car storage before being abandoned entirely by 2010. Additionally, a spur north of New Albany was removed in 2011 to accommodate highway development. That same year, MTNR secured financial support from Ripley and New Albany authorities for infrastructure upgrades such as replacing rail ties.
On November 10, 2011, Alabama and Florida Railway—a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp—filed a petition to take over MTNR operations. Subsequently, the railroad was rebranded as Ripley and New Albany Railroad.
Current operations and abandonments
RNA runs on weekdays and exchanges freight with BNSF at downtown New Albany. The former 43.2 miles of track between New Albany and Houston that have been abandoned were transformed into the Tanglefoot Trail, a paved pathway for cyclists.
Motive power
RNA operates a single locomotive:
- One EMD GP8 (PREX 800)