BMRR BRANCHES

NOTE:  UPDATED January 19, 2026.   The list below documents the NAMED branches that we know about including (1) the name of the branch, (2) its route, (3) whether it also provided passenger service, (4) its length in miles, and (5) its constructed or completed date.  Additional branches will be added to this list as information about other ones is found in historic documentation or is provided by individuals knowledgeable about a specific branch.  If you are aware of other BMRR branches, please let us know about them using the Contact Form on this website.

NOTE:  At the end of the list, the total miles of trackage is repeated and the sources from which the branch information was acquired are listed.

NOTE:  Passenger Service — The BMRR system was a “freight railroad,” but many of its branches also carried passengers to locations where the freight railroad ran, especially to outlying areas.  Sometimes passenger (and baggage) cars were added to the freight train (a “mixed” train), but sometimes a train containing only passenger (and baggage) cars was run, especially during weekends.  In the Branches list below, we have included a designation “[and passenger service]” to the branches that we are sure had passenger service as well as freight, and the following are those Branches:  Birmingham and Tuscaloosa Railroad, Blocton, Blue Creek Extension, Brookwood, Cain Creek, Dudley, Gate City Extension, Helena & Blocton, Huntsville Branch No. 2, North, Red Mountain, Tuscaloosa Mineral Railroad, Woodstock and Blocton Railway.

TOTAL MILES:  393.38 miles of the 69 named branches listed below; PLUS 75 miles (estimated) of unnamed sidings and spurs to mines and facilities.

LEGEND for list below:  BRANCH NAME — ROUTE OR GENERAL AREA — LENGTH — DATE BUILT/COMPLETED, if known

Acton Branch — South & North Alabama Railroad at Helena TO Acton Mines — 7.52 miles — 1908 (First Mile Post was set in 1918.)

Altoona Branch — Huntsville Branch No. 2 at Altoona TO mines on both sides of Schuler — 0.75 miles — before 1908

Atkins Branch — Caffee Creek Branch TO Shook and Fletcher Atkins Mine — 0.25 miles — before 1927

Banner Branch — North Alabama Railroad at Chetopa (North Alabama Railroad later was considered part of Cain Creek Branch) TO Banner — 4.01 miles — 1904

Belle (also spelled Bell) Ellen Branch — Ardella on Southern Railway TO Hansell — 2 miles — before 1908

Birmingham and Tuscaloosa Railroad — Brookwood TO north end of yard in downtown Tuscaloosa [and passenger service] — 17.6 miles — before 1910, completed 1912

Blacrea (also spelled Bracree) Branch  (SEE Colta Branch)

Blocton — Blocton Junction on Blue Creek Extension TO Blocton (see also Woodstock and Blocton Railroad) [and passenger service] — 7.25 miles — 1872

Blue Creek Extension — Blue Creek Junction (Bessemer) TO Blocton Junction (Woodstock and Blocton Railroad) [and passenger service] — 27.07 miles — 1887

Boyles Gap Branch  — Huntsville Branch No. 1 TO end of track north of Boyles Yard — 2.08 miles — 1904

Brookwood Branch — Blue Creek Extension TO Brookwood [and passenger service] — 27 miles — before 1890

Caffee Creek Branch — Caffee Junction on Pioneer Branch TO past Martaban — 1.12 miles — 1900-1902

Cain Creek Branch — Extension of North Alabama Railroad that came off the South & North Alabama Railroad at Milner Junction (at Black Creek and “Humoro”) TO Praco [and passenger service] — 28.72 miles — various sections built until final section from Vulcan to Praco competed in 1907

Coalburg Branch — Rigland TO Arcadia — 1.32 miles — 1903

Coleanor (also spelled Colenor) or Piper Branch (SEE Piper or Coleanor also spelled Colenor Branch)

Colta Branch — Cain Creek Branch at Colta TO Blacrea (also spelled Bracree) — 0.75 miles — before 1908

Compton Branch — Huntsville Branch No. 2 at Village Springs TO Compton and later extended to Lehigh (see also Lehigh Branch) — 3.39 miles — 1889

Connellsville Branch — Connellsville Junction on Blue Creek Extension TO Connellsville — 1.77 miles — 1887   (Comment:  Apparently, Connellsville, Alabama, got its name from a similar mining district in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, named for Zachariah Connell, American Revolution officer.  Source:  John Troulias)

Crocker Branch — Crocker Junction TO Crocker then on to Durant — 2.59 miles — 1903

Davis Creek Branch — Blue Creek Extension (near Abernant) TO Rockcastle — 1.58 miles — 1903

Deming Branch (probably another name for Graystone Branch) — SEE Graystone Branch).

Dixiana Branch (also served Bradford Mines) — Self Creek Branch at Bradford TO Dixiana mies and coke ovens –.52 mile — 1887

Dolcito Branch — Dolcito Junction on BMRR Huntsville Branch No. 2 TO Dolcito — .97 mile — 1887

Dudley Branch — Yolande TO Brookwood [and passenger service]– 3.39 miles — before 1927

Dunn Branch  — North Alabama Railroad at Mineral Springs (North Alabama Railroad later was considered part of Cain Creek Branch) TO Dunn — 1.08 miles — 1903;  Later extension:  Dunn TO Walmore — .38 mile — 1913.  TOTAL Branch Length 1.46 miles.

Eureka “Branch/Spur”  (SEE Hillsboro “Branch/Spur”)

Fossil & Spring Gap Branch — North Branch at Winetka TO Steinman — 4 miles — 1887

Gate City Branch (SEE also Gate City Extension) — Boyles Yard TO Red Gap Junction on Red Gap Branch — 6.46 miles — 1887

Gate City Extension (SEE also Gate City Branch) — Red Gap Junction on Red Gap Branch TO Trussville [and passenger service]  (NOTE:  This branch served the blast furnace and coke ovens in Trussville, and ended there.  However, prior to this BMRR branch reaching Trussville, the blast furnace was served by an Alabama Great Southern Railroad spur that ran from the mainline AGS in Trussville to the blast furnace area.) — 10.67 miles –1889

Globe Branch — Cain Creek Branch at Globe TO Hecla — 0.75 miles — before 1908

Grasselli Branch (spur) — North Branch near Powderly TO Grasselli Chemical works — 0.5 mile — If It was constructed, it was after 1900

Graves Branch — Boyles Gap Branch TO Graves Mines — 2.62 miles — 1904

Graystone Branch  (SEE also Deming Branch) — Huntsville Branch No. 2 at Mattawana TO Graystone — 1.75 miles — before 1904

Hecla Branch  (SEE Globe Branch)

Helena & Blocton Branch — South & North Alabama Railroad at Tacoa TO Blocton (TO Gurnee Junction by 1890 then onto Blocton by 1908 using Southern Railway and Woodstock and Blocton Railway) [and passenger service] — 9.99 miles — 1890

Hewitt Branch — Dudley Branch TO Hewitt — 0.5 mile — before 1908

Hillsboro “Branch/Spur” (Started at Tocoa on South & North Alabama Railroad near Helena, and passed through Newtown and near Hillsboro to serve the Eureka Mines)  NOTE:  This is not shown here as a NAMED branch but is included because, currently, the portion called “Hillsboro Trail” that begins near Lee Springs Park and extends to the Helena High School is on this roadbed. — Original trackage ran from Tacoa, through Hillsboro area, then TO Eureka Mines — Miles Not Applicable because it was not referred to as a “Branch.” Thus, its trackage is classified as a “spur,” and its length is included in the 75 miles of estimated length of spurs and sidings. — before 1892

Hogeland Branch — Linton Branch at Hogeland Junction TO Elvista — .65 mile — 1904

Holt Branch — Holt Junction on Birmingham and Tuscaloosa Railroad TO Holt — 3.10 miles — before 1910

Huntsville Branch No. 1 —  Bessemer TO Boyles Yard — 15.74 miles — 1887

Huntsville Branch No. 2 — Boyles Yard TO Attalla [and passenger service] — 61.82 miles — Completed 1905

Kennedy Branch — Blue Creek Extension at Kennedy Creek Junction TO Docray (NOTE: “Docray” was named for Dr. Ray who was in the area of the mines) — 2 miles — before 1908

Labuco Branch — Cain Creek Branch at Ambato TO Labuco — 2.3 miles — before 1910

Langley Branch — Hogeland Branch at Langley Junction TO Langley — 1.5 miles — before 1908

Lehigh Branch (also known as Long Branch Coal Road) — Huntsville Branch No. 2 at Village Springs TO originally Compton (see Compton Branch) then extended to Lehigh after crossing current Highway 79 at Selfville — 9 miles — before 1904

Linton Branch — Warrior Branch at Linton TO Coaldale — 2 miles — before 1908

Long Branch Coal Road  (SEE Lehigh Branch)

Maxine Mines Extension — Cain Creek Branch at Praco was extended TO New Maxine Mine — 3.75 miles (estimated) — 1953

Morrows Gap Branch — Morrows Gap on Gate City Extension TO end of tracks — 0.75 mile — before 1908

Muscoda Branch — South Branch TO Muscoda — 1.51 miles — 1889

Nebo Branch — Cain Creek Branch TO Nebo (near Linn Crossing) — 0.75 miles — before 1908

Nickle Plate Branch — North Alabama Railroad at near Mineral Springs (North Alabama Railroad later was considered part of Cain Creek Branch) TO Orono and Rilma — 1.45 miles — 1903

North Branch — Magella (near Graces Gap) TO Brickyard Junction in Bessemer [and passenger service] — 9.12 miles — 1887

Pioneer Branch — Blue Creek Extension at Chamblee TO past Goethtite — 3.99 miles — 1887

Piper or Coleanor (also spelled Colenor) Branch — Seymour on Southern Railway TO past Piper — 3.75 miles — before 1908

Powhatan Branch — Cain Creek Branch TO Powhatan — 2.99 miles — before 1927

Red Gap Branch — Red Gap Junction on Gate City Branch TO Junction with South & North Alabama Railroad at Graces Gap –10.22 miles — 1890

Red Mountain Branch — Green Springs Ore Mines TO the valley below passing by a smelly dumping ground in the area called Cologne to make people feel better about the odor!   [and passenger service] — 3.7 miles — after 1908

Reeders Gap Branch  (later referred to as “Readers Branch”) — South Branch TO Reeders Gap — 2.47 miles — 1897

Savage Creek Branch — Brierfield Blocton & Birmingham Railroad at Aden TO Masena then on to Youngblood (on other side of Cahaba River where trestle pillars still remain in the river) — 4.5 miles — before 1910

Sayre Branch — Vulcan TO Sayre Mines — 1.69 miles — 1904

Searles Branch — North Alabama Junction on Dudley Branch TO Searles — 3.23 miles — 1900

Self Creek Branch — Huntsville Branch No. 2 at Palmers TO Bradford — 4.4 miles — 1889

Songo Branch — Songo TO BMRR North Branch (Steinman) — 0.25 miles — before 1908