Bowling Green Southern Railroad
Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 8:52 pm
Originally constructed in the early 1860's to connect Bowling Green, Kentucky, with the cities of Evansville, Indiana, and Nashville, Tennessee, the BGS system continued to grow over the next 80+ years, eventually reaching places like Louisville, Lexington, Somerset, Knoxville, Paducah, and Memphis. This thread will focus on the BGS system as it was throughout the 80's and 90's.
Coming into the 1980's, the railroad was compromised of two divisions; the Bowling Green Division and the Nashville Division. Railroad headquarters were originally located in Bowling Green, but were moved south to Nashville in 1982. The only major hump yard on the system was Seville Yard, located outside of Bowling Green. Nearly every over the road freight originated or terminated there. The Bowling Green Division consisted of seven subdivisions, and the Nashville Division consisted of six as listed below. In total, the railroad operated nearly 1,300 miles of mainline track and nearly 300 miles of branchline track as of 1985. The BGS also exercised trackage rights over other railroads such as CSX, NS, and the WI&I.
Bowling Green Division
BG Terminal Subdivision - 10 miles from North BG to South BG
Cortland Subdivision - 22 miles from North BG to Cortland Junction
Somerset Subdivision - 74 miles from Cortland Junction to North Somerset
Lexington Subdivision - 134 miles from Cortland Junction to Lexington
Evansville Subdivision - 111 miles from North BG to Evansville
Oakland Subdivision - 81 miles from Oakland to Warren/WI&I Connection
Paducah Subdivision - 137 miles from North BG to Paducah
Nashville Division
Jonestown Subdivision - 73 miles from South BG to Nashville/NA Junction
Knoxville Subdivision - 192 miles from East Nashville to Knoxville
Central Subdivision - 77 miles from Cortland Junction to Jameson Junction
Jackson Subdivision - 139 miles from West Nashville to Jackson
Memphis Subdivision - 78 miles from Jackson to East Memphis
Corinth Subdivision - 52 miles from Zemo Junction to Corinth
Throughout the 1980's and early 90's, the BGS roster consisted of a variety of EMD, GE, and ALCO power. As the railroad continued to buy new power from GE and EMD throughout the 80's, the ALCO fleet slowly became smaller, and most of the fleet could be found working out of Paducah or Somerset from 1984 to 1995 as the ALCO's performed well in mine run and coal drag service. By the end of 1995, the entire fleet of ALCO's had been retired and replaced with more modern power.
Coming into the 1980's, the railroad was compromised of two divisions; the Bowling Green Division and the Nashville Division. Railroad headquarters were originally located in Bowling Green, but were moved south to Nashville in 1982. The only major hump yard on the system was Seville Yard, located outside of Bowling Green. Nearly every over the road freight originated or terminated there. The Bowling Green Division consisted of seven subdivisions, and the Nashville Division consisted of six as listed below. In total, the railroad operated nearly 1,300 miles of mainline track and nearly 300 miles of branchline track as of 1985. The BGS also exercised trackage rights over other railroads such as CSX, NS, and the WI&I.
Bowling Green Division
BG Terminal Subdivision - 10 miles from North BG to South BG
Cortland Subdivision - 22 miles from North BG to Cortland Junction
Somerset Subdivision - 74 miles from Cortland Junction to North Somerset
Lexington Subdivision - 134 miles from Cortland Junction to Lexington
Evansville Subdivision - 111 miles from North BG to Evansville
Oakland Subdivision - 81 miles from Oakland to Warren/WI&I Connection
Paducah Subdivision - 137 miles from North BG to Paducah
Nashville Division
Jonestown Subdivision - 73 miles from South BG to Nashville/NA Junction
Knoxville Subdivision - 192 miles from East Nashville to Knoxville
Central Subdivision - 77 miles from Cortland Junction to Jameson Junction
Jackson Subdivision - 139 miles from West Nashville to Jackson
Memphis Subdivision - 78 miles from Jackson to East Memphis
Corinth Subdivision - 52 miles from Zemo Junction to Corinth
Throughout the 1980's and early 90's, the BGS roster consisted of a variety of EMD, GE, and ALCO power. As the railroad continued to buy new power from GE and EMD throughout the 80's, the ALCO fleet slowly became smaller, and most of the fleet could be found working out of Paducah or Somerset from 1984 to 1995 as the ALCO's performed well in mine run and coal drag service. By the end of 1995, the entire fleet of ALCO's had been retired and replaced with more modern power.