Russell Lands History
Including
A Greatly Expanded Version
4, 2020
PINE LUMBER COMPANY
It is difficult to plot where the logging railroad of the Pine Lumber Company used to be in east central Alabama because so much of the lower end of the line is now under the waters of Lake Martin. The company was incorporated in Tallapoosa County on January 20, 1916, by J.M. Steverson and Ben Russell.
The standard-gauge private railroad of Pine Lumber left the sawmill beside the Central of Georgia Railway at Alexander City and proceeded in a southwardly direction down through Harrisville and Ourtown to its southern terminus at Russell. This was about 14 miles of mainline track through rolling hills terrain. About two miles south of Ourtown (10 miles from Alexander City), a six-mile long branch of the railroad was laid to the west and crossed over into the southeastern corner of Coosa County.
Pine Lumber Company No. 11 was one of only two 3-truck type Climax locomotives ever used in Alabama logging railroad service. The engine is pictured at Southern Iron & Equipment yard in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1916 ready for shipment to Alexander City, Alabama. The No. 11 was cut up for scrap at Alexander City in May 1924.
The only documented motive power for the company was a big 70-Ton Climax, No. 11, purchased secondhand in 1916. However, an unconfirmed rumor says that an ex-Central of Georgia rod engine, probably a 2-8-0, was also used a lot of the time on this operation. If this is true, then the engine may have just been leased, as there is no record of such a locomotive being sold to Pine Lumber.
Both Mr. Steverson and Mr. Russell were wealthy gentlemen. Since they paid cash for most everything they purchased, there isn’t much of a “paper trail” by which one can trace the activities of their lumber mill operation through courthouse documents.
Pine Lumber Company finished cutting the timber available to their railroad early in 1923. The business was dissolved on June 12, 1923, with the assets of the company being divided equally between the two owners. Mr. Steverson elected to keep the cutover timberlands and Mr. Russell kept the machinery. The Climax locomotive was sold for scrap by Mr. Russell and it was cut up where it sat at Alexander City in May 1924.
Today, the location of Russell is down in the depths of Lake Martin. Harrisville is forgotten and Ourtown is just a wide spot in the road.
(Information taken from LOGGING RAILROADS OF ALABAMA by Thomas Lawson, Jr. – 1996)