Category Archives: Railroads

Map Your Visit to the Magic City

Birmingham by the Book Cover

Use this guide and the map below to plan your visit to Birmingham. Each location includes the matching page number from Birmingham by the Book: A Guide to the Magic City, so you can easily read more about it.

Using the map: Tap or click the white menu icon in the upper-left corner of the map (legend button), immediately to the left of the blue B to chose a category, then select any map marker to see the site name, photographs, information, and its page number in the book.

On a phone or tablet: You can move around the map and zoom in to explore different areas of Birmingham. Use the map’s legend button to switch between categories. Choose a category before expanding the map in the upper right hand corner.

When you click or tap a pin on the map, a little popup will appear with the site’s name and the matching page number from the book, so you can easily find it.

What’s in Birmingham by the Book? All these sites above and MORE!

Visit the Magic City of Birmingham using Birmingham by the Book!

Mineral Riches and Historic Mines in Birmingham

Birmingham emerged as the industrial capital of The South by 1900, and its growth was so fast, it was nicknamed The Magic City. For those curious about Birmingham’s resources, mines, and mineral lands, there are lots of sites to see (see pg. 11 of Birmingham by the Book for a list of 15 )! The historic Lone Pine Iron Mine opened around 1900 and can be viewed from The Vulcan Trail. It was a part of the Birmingham Mineral Railroad but the mine was closed shortly before WWI.

(photo above by Art Meripol 2025)

Tannehill Furnace (photo by Marjorie White)

During the Civil War, the Tannehill site expanded into three large stone cold blast furnaces producing up to 22 tons of pig iron daily for the Confederacy. The Union Cavalry under General James H. Wilson destroyed and burned the furnaces on March 31, 1865. But because it had successfully produced pig iron, the site is considered to be the birthplace of iron and steel making in the Birmingham District.

For more information, please refer to The Birmingham District: An Industrial History and Guide and Building Birmingham’s Industrial Base

Follow the Gaps for Railways, Hiking Trails, and Roadways!

Did you know that there are over 9 wind or water gaps in the Birmingham vicinity? The interactive topographical map below locates and names the gaps, many of which formed the rail bed for the Birmingham Mineral Railroad. Others form hiking trails today including the popular Grace’s Gap hiking trail at Red Mountain Park and the historic Brock’s Gap in Hoover.

Click on the location or select the name of the gap in the list following the map for more information on its location, elevation, and in some cases, water source. Thanks to John Troulias for finding the map and James Lowery for sharing it with Birmingham Historical Society.

At least nine gaps are located in the immediate vicinity of Birmingham . Thanks to John Troulias for finding the map and James Lowery for sharing it with Birmingham Historical Society.

The 4.2-mile Grace’s Gap Overlook trail in Red Mountain Park features sweeping valley views and abandoned mining ruins.

Nineteen gaps are located within Birmingham metro area with an additional eleven outside Interstate 459. Click on map above and select location for detailed information.

James Lowery on the Birmingham Mineral Railroad’s Legacy

Learn why the Birmingham Mineral Railroad was significant to Birmingham’s economic development, as explained by railroad historian, James Lowery. As volunteer coordinator and member of the Board of Directors of the Mid-South Chapter, Lowery details the privately funded Historic Birmingham Mineral Railroad Signs Project created to locate signs all along its route, in order to preserve its historical significance. More information is available HERE, along with a summary on Birmingham Historical Society’s May newsletter HERE

Note that this is the full presentation of James Lowery’s talk and is an hour and a half.
James Lowery and BHS President Wayne Hester hold the sign used to mark the Birmingham Mineral Railroad bed

The Birmingham Mineral Railroad: A Century of Impact

The 393 mile division of the L&N Railroad known as the Birmingham Mineral Railroad was active for 100 years from 1884 to 1998. It transported raw materials of coal, iron ore, and limestone from local deposits into furnaces, then to processing facilities, and eventually to extended routes to be distributed across the country. Some portions have been converted to walking, biking, and hiking trails, while one segment from Bessemer to Tuscaloosa and Huntsville remains active. But James Lowery stressed in his talk May 10th that its historic importance to the economic development of Birmingham remains and needs to be preserved.

James Lowery is the volunteer coordinator and historian of the Mid-South Chapter of the Historic Birmingham Mineral Railroad Signs Project which is installing signs on the rail bed at various locations throughout the Birmingham area and in surrounding areas. He wants to make people aware of where the historic railroad ran, often in surprising places like below Vulcan, and in English Village. For more information, photos, maps, or to contribute to this project, click HERE or on the gallery above. And then, look for these signs! You may be surprised where you’ll find them.

The Birmingham Mineral Railroad is marked with signs like this.

See also BHS May 2026 BHS newsletter which includes additional information in the Salute to our Rail Heritage.

May is Preservation Month!

Featured this year are three FREE events, with a tour of Rickwood Field, a talk on Birmingham Mineral Railroad, and a Community Preservation Spotlight in Titusville. Mark your calendars for these upcoming events! For more information, please contact Birmingham’s Historic Preservation Manager: Hannah.Garmon@birminghamal.gov

Riding the Rails: Past Meets Present

Mark your calendars for this upcoming event on Sunday, May 10th, 3:00 PM at 2827 Highland Avenue! James Lowery is an authority on the path of the Birmingham Mineral Railroad, and has installed 199 signs to indicate the former roadbed.

Screenshot
Charlie Preston took this photo just north of the English Village Shopping Center: from the Birmingham Public Library Archives Collection

Historic Hiking Trails in Birmingham

Are you a hiker? Do you enjoy nature trails? Are you interested in history? If so, there is lots to explore on Birmingham’s historic hiking trails as posted by AllTrails and available right on your smartphone.

The app provides driving directions, maps, points of interest, photos, and even plant identification with estimated times, length of trails, elevation changes, and difficulty. Abandoned mines and railroad tracks, along with associated structures, tell the story of Birmingham’s early industrial heritage. The topography and natural environment offer clues into why the area developed as it has.

Want more? Check out the numerous Birmingham Historical Society publications that go into depth about Birmingham’s industrial history including:

And follow the posts on the preservation of Ross Bridge

The weather is beautiful! It’s time to get outside and HIKE

About our historic sister city…

Did you know we have a namesake in the United Kingdom, also known as the UK’s second city? It was established by Lord Mayor Peter de Birmingham, who was allowed to hold the first market on his property by King Henry II in 1166. By 1538, in Birmingham, England, there were 1,500 people in 200 houses selling goods, and the town was developing a reputation as a metalworking center. It’s now famous for being the first manufacturing town in the world with a population of 2.5 million.

Hundreds of years later, in 1871, Birmingham, Alabama, was chartered. As it had vast deposits of iron ore and coal, founders envisioned an industrial future similar to Birmingham, England, so the name Birmingham was proposed.

As we continue to record our relatively new history in Birmingham, Alabama on our website birminghamhistoricalsociety.com, we are occasionally confused with Birmingham, England online.

A recent example was an offer of this impressive inherited collection of special editions of the Birmingham Mail newspaper. Anyone from Birmingham, England interested? Let us know and we’ll put you in touch!