Part one in a series dedicated to the L & N Railroad that once served Baldwin County.

Completed in May 1905, Baldwin County’s L & N (Louisville and Nashville) Railroad connected Bay Minette and Foley with 36.5 miles of track. Based on information gathered and reported by Baldwin County historians like Doris Rich and Kay Nuzum, the “Pine Knot Special,” as it became known, helped establish the settlements of central and southern Baldwin County.

It was along this stretch of iron rail, also called the Bay Minette and Fort Morgan Railroad, that many settlers culminated their long journeys, purchasing property and building homes in Robertsdale, Summerdale and Foley.

The train engine that served during this formative period in Baldwin County history was what is referred to as a 4-4-0 type, or the American type. This locomotive was among the classification of steam driven engines that was described by it’s wheel configuration. The 4-4-0 designation is indicative of the four smaller front wheels situated on two axels with two larger drive wheels situated on two additional axels. The “0” indicated that there were no further wheel arrangements aft of the drive wheels.

In Baldwin County, there were two engines of that configuration that served on the L & N line just after the turn of the 20^th century. What’s more, those two engines featured a unique design that set them a part from many in operation at that time. They were wood burning models.

The L & N Railroad placed Engine No. 34 in service just after the railway was completed, and it ran for nearly seven years in Baldwin County, even though it had been built some 30 years earlier. It was a wood burning engine that featured a high stack, used to help dissipate the sparks from the fire as it channeled smoke away from the raging fire in the boiler. The use of coal was the norm because of the fuel's longer lasting ignition, as opposed to wood. Nevertheless, No. 34 burned wood because of a set of specific circumstances within Baldwin County.

In 1906, an unnamed storm of intense strength struck the Alabama Gulf Coast, wiping out settlements like Morgantown on the Fort Morgan peninsula, killing dozens of people and destroying hundreds of trees throughout the southern half of Baldwin County. As a result of the destruction, many mills emerged to harvest the trees.

Likewise, the L & N Railroad took advantage of the situation by incorporating a wood burning locomotive to operate along its line from Bay Minette to Foley. To accommodate the large amounts of wood needed (10 to 14 cords per day) to operate the engine, several locations along the way were designated as fuel stops where locals would stockpile wood for the train crew. Local woodcutters would receive a ticket from the train engineer, which they would redeem later for cash.

Engine No. 34 ended its service on the L & N line in 1912 when it derailed after hitting a horse north of Foley. While no one was injured in the accident, the engine was retired and replaced by Engine No. 2105, which was brought in from the company’s Yellow River Railroad. Soon enough, it was replaced with coal-burning models.

In the first quarter of the 20^th century, hardships and misfortune only slowed the L & N; it did not stop the line from continuing its mission. As the years passed, more land buyers made the trip to Foley. As they carved out a life for themselves, the railroad continued to be a large part of the community and since has become an integral chapter in the Foley legacy.