The Alabama and Vicksburg Railway Company had its origins in the Vicksburg and Jackson and the Southern Mississippi railroads. The Vicksburg and Jackson and the Southern Mississippi railroads were consolidated in 1856 as the Vicksburg and Meridian Railroad. The railroad continued to operate under this name until it was foreclosed upon and sold on February 4, 1889. The Sterling Trust, Limited, of London, England, through its subsidiary, the Alabama, New Orleans, Texas, and Pacific Junction Railways Company, Limited, bought the Vicksburg and Meridian Railroad. The railroad was incorporated as the Vicksburg and Alabama Railway Company on March 18, 1889. The Sterling Trust, Limited, continued to operate the railway until 1926 when the Illinois Central Railroad, through its subsidiary, the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad, leased the railway for 365 years. The Illinois Central Railroad began to abandon small sections of track controlled by the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad in 1935, and this continued until 1978. The Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, formed in 1972 by the merger of the Illinois Central and Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio railroads, continued to operate sections of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad until 1999. The Illinois Central Railroad merged with the Canadian National Railway in late 1999.

This collection consists of eleven account books, five ledgers, and one journal documenting general operations of the Alabama and Vicksburg Railway Company for the years 1904 to 1952. The statements-of-account contain monthly entries detailing expenditures for locomotives, freight cars, work cars, and maintenance. The general ledger lists monies invested in bonds, as well as general expenditures. Maintenance costs and station agents’ reports are listed in the journal. The ledgers detail paid claims, passenger-train revenue, and equipment-maintenance costs.

1. Statements-of-Account. 1907-1921. 11 bound volumes.

   Boxes 1-4

2. General Ledger. January 1937-December 1952. 1 bound volume (indexed).

   Box 5

3. Journal. July 1923-December 1924. 1 bound volume.

   Box 6

4. Ledgers. February 1904; July 1910-December 1917. 3 bound volumes.

   Boxes 7-9