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Location / Name:
Biloxi MS, Harrison County
What's Here:
Amtrak Station
Three signal locations
Swing Bridge over the Biloxi Bay
Filming location for the 2017 movie Arsenal
Data:
GPS Coordinates: 30.39894, -88.89157 (at the Amtrak station)
Phone A/C: 228
ZIP: 39530
Access by train/transit:
None (for now: 2024)
Geography:
Flat
The Scoop:
The only reason I did a page for Biloxi is because the town is the featured in the movie ARSENAL. The movie stars Adrian Grenier (the younger brother), Johnathon Schaech (Mikey, the big brother that winds up in trouble), Nicholas Cage (the bad guy), and John Cusack (a local police detective). There are two shots in the movie that contain trains, and at the beginning, a scene where we're driving down Seal Ave and we go over a grade crossing with a view of the signals a little further down the track. The scene of the freight going thru town could have been shot anywhere, so no effort was put into trying to find out where it was done. The other two were "easy finds".
CSX rolls through here on what was originally L&N (Louisville & Nashville RR) tracks. Most of the track thru town is single track except for a passing siding on the west side of town.
Amtrak used to run the Gulf Coast thru here, but hurricane Katrina wiped out much of the track, and Amtrak discontinued the train. Service is expected to resume in 2024 after a long list of upgrades are completed.
Most of the grade crossings are pretty good for shots. For really good shots of a train going over the bay, either of the fishing piers get you fairly close, 1500-1600 feet, easy shots for a medium telephoto lens.
Fun fact of the movie (from IMDB): Eddie King's (the bad guy) older brother, Buddy, is played by Christopher Coppola. Cristopher Coppola is in fact the older brother of Nicolas Cage (born Nicolas Kim Coppola). :-)
The town of Biloxi is apparently -not happy- with CSX trains rolling through town, mostly because they don't stop in Biloxi to service any local business' or industries.
My questions are:
-- Where are you going to relocate the railroad to, considering all land in Biloxi is spoken for, and,
-- Is the city willing to pay CSX for them to relocate the ROW since they are the unhappy party here?
Maybe the answer is to do what Wilmington DE did 100+ years ago, and pay to have CSX elevate the track through town. Or they could put it on a "high line" like the one that goes through Philadelphia :-) That would make the town less separated, but it provides no relief from flooding like the current "railroad berm" does.
from the Biloxi city PDFAcknowledgements:
Tony Howe
Nathan Chidester
TrainWeb.org
Rail Magazine
Google Maps
Open Street Map
IMDB
Wikipedia
Websites and other additional information sources of interest for the area:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/grassroots-railroad-sports/161868/page159/
https://www.msrailroads.com/L&N.htm
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580536/
https://x.com/RAILMag/status/1646199722099589145
https://www.wlox.com/2023/09/08/amtrak-begin-service-coast-2024/
http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/biloxi.htm
https://www.biloxi.ms.us/wp-content/static/renaissance/RTRtransportation.pdf
US 90 runs east-west through town, and along the coast. I-10, also east-west, is about 3.8mi north of the tracks, take I-110 south into town, exit 46.
Mobile is about 56 miles (90km) to the east, while New Orleans is about 83 miles 133km) to the west via I-10.
Amtrak Station:
BIXGPS Coordinates:
https://www.railwayage.com/regulatory/whats-the-status-of-amtrak-gulf-coast-service/
From Wikipedia: Amtrak service to Biloxi began with the Gulf Coast Limited, which operated between 1984 and 1985. The stop was reactivated on March 31, 1993 in service on the Sunset Limited. Damage to the rail line resulting from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused Amtrak to suspend service east of New Orleans, including at Biloxi.
from Wikipedia
Test train on the Biloxi Bay Bridge - from Rail Magazine
Here are the three scenes that prompted me to do a page on Biloxi.....
~1:20 into the movie
~16:30 into the movie
~1:25:40 into the movie (very near the end)
The signal shot was taken from Seal Ave as we're driving along in one of the opening scenes.
The scene at the end of the movie with a train rolling by, and where the brothers played baseball, is Danella Park.
The place where Nicolas Cage did all his dirty deeds was filmed at a place called "Slap Ya Momma's BBQ" in Gulfport, but when I looked up the address for it, 12261 US 49, there is no building there, and Google says it is permanently closed. Darn.
At the very beginning of the movie, credits for the various production companies involved with Arsenal are shown. This one for Emmett/Furla Oasis Films includes a futuristic version of a passenger train coming at you.
I'm still looking for the house at -351- where much of the action was filmed, but so far haven't found it.... it may not even be in Biloxi.
CSX Biloxi Bay Swing BridgeGPS Coordinates: 30.40912, -88.84946 (center)
The bridge is ~1.13 miles (1.8km) long, from shore to shore, with the swing bridge about 2/3 of the way to the eastern shore.
This bridge has two particularly good vantage points to take pictures from. On the Biloxi side, you have the Biloxi Fishing Pier, taking you to within 1,600 feet of the swing section. You can drive your car out on the Biloxi pier, which is 4,600 feet long.
On the eastern shore, you have the Fishing Pier on Biloxi Bay in Ocean Springs. This pier gets you to within 1,500 feet of the swing bridge.
Color Light Signals Adjacent to Iroquois StGPS Coordinates: 30.39889, -88.89789
There are three sets of signals in Biloxi. The first set I have here at Iroquois Street is a set of intermediates. There are also signals on the bridge for controlling movements when the bridge is open.
Interlocking Color Light Signals Adjacent to Veterans AveGPS Coordinates: 30.39769, -88.94747
The second set of signals in Biloxi is west of the above signals, and are the east end protection of a 1.6mi (2.6km) long siding that ends at Beauvoir Rd in west Biloxi.
Interlocking Color Light Signals Adjacent to Beauvoir RdGPS Coordinates: 30.39645, -88.97417
The third set of signals going west, is at the western end of the siding.
Partial L&N timetable from 1954 showing some of the trains stopping in Biloxi. Found on the Wikipedia page for the Biloxi Amtrak station.
While I kind of agree with this review, John Cusack's contribution is no less than that of Morgan Freeman in Oblivion, where we only see Mr. Freeman in a small portion of the movie, but his role is pivotal in furthering the story. I had not seen Arsenal before 2024, and the main reason for watching it was because seeing Nicholas Cage and John Cusack in the credits! :-) If Nicholas Cage -didn't- act over the top, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the movie as much - we kind expect this from him, and I think it has helped him become as great as he is. :-) :-) I gave the movie a "B" instead of a "C".....
Interesting homes n all :-)
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