Newton, MS with a Drone

Situated along Interstate 20/Highway 80, and approximately 25 miles west of Meridian, Historical Newton, Mississippi is a town built around the railroad. 3,195 people live in the quaint town in central Newton County. Named after Isaac Newton, the town situates in the southern/central part of Mississippi and is served by two railroads: The Mississippi Southern, and the CPKC. Starting first with CPKC, the line was originally owned by the Alabama and Vicksburg, and then sold to the Illinois Central. Midsouth bought the line in 1986 and operated it until 1993, when KCS absorbed Midsouth and acquired the 320 mile line from Meridian to Shreveport. When KCS merged with CP in March 2023, the line was now under CPKC control. On the Mississippi Southern, the line was formally the GM&N (or GM&O) and then under ICG control before being taken over by Midsouth. After the Midsouth, it was KCS, and in 2005, it was named the Mississippi Southern railway. Today, the line runs 191 miles from Ackerman, MS to Bay Springs, MS and a branch line that goes to Hays, MS. The only interchange on the line with another railroad is here in Newton with the CPKC. In this video, you will see CPKC train I169, a hotshot intermodal from the outskirts of Atlanta to the intermodal facility in Wylie, TX. The Mississippi Southern also had 4 engines in idle here, so we took a while to look at those as well. Enjoy the video!
Video Information:
August 26, 2023 at around 10:30AM
CPKC Meridian Speedway at MP 30.7
Mississippi Southern Railway (Ackerman to Bay Springs Line)
Video Tools:
DJI Mavic Mini 2
Canon EOS 40D
Uniden Bearcat BC125AT Scanner
iPhone 13 Pro

[@benjaminpettis5468]

Great Video & Present History of this Rail Line, assuming Ackerman is end of the line?
Thanks for sharing drone Video & History .

[@atucker2976]

Thanks! Ackerman is as far as Mississippi Southern goes. The actual rail line continues north of there, but is not used.

[@benjaminpettis5468]

On History side of this video, it was mentioned there is a branch line, is this an active branch?
Thanks

[@atucker2976]

I’m not sure