Page 59 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2022

solutions. It has made connections and alliances with other carriers and ports that link the Gulf of Mexico to the rest of North America and the globe.
“We are a team of dedicated, skilled and experienced individuals with a mission to provide the best-customized customer service and creative solutions to help customers and thus communities prosper,” said Luce.
Despite industry challenges, MSE has grown into a diversified transportation company with a full-service railcar repair and locomotive shop, transloading terminals, track maintenance and repair services, robust railcar storage facilities, and shovel ready industrial development sites.
“As a team, we work together to anticipate challenges and opportunities for and with our customers to gain greater control of our destiny,” said Luce.
MSE continues to drive economic development and industrial expansion on and around its 42-mile main line that extends from Pascagoula to Lucedale, Mississippi. MSE works with a multitude of industries to meet their freight transportation needs. Making it easy for customers to use rail means the customer can focus on its core business, thus improving yield for both businesses.
“Our goal is to grow and diversify our business by providing consistent, customer-oriented service. This creates greater stability for our team, supports our customers’ success, and creates new jobs in our community,” said Luce.
A recent example of this is decade long recruit of Enviva Biomass, the world’s largest producer of wood pellets, to Lucedale, Mississippi. MSE will transport approximately 750,000 tons of pellets per year to the Port of Pascagoula for final delivery to Asia. Enviva’s Lucedale mill not only supports renewable energy production globally but also creates approximately 300 new jobs here at home.
Economic and industrial growth aside, shortline railroads such as MSE play a vital role in our day-to-day lives transporting products local consumers may not even realize.
“We sometimes forget the numerous steps it takes to have convenient access to power in our homes, gas in our cars, food on our tables or the bags needed to carry our groceries home from the store,” Luce said. “A vast number of raw materials and finished goods we use every day move by rail and do so more economically, safely, with less environmental impact, and greater fuel efficiency.”
For 100 years, MSE has provided exceptional service to its customers and community. Powered by its dedication to caring for its employees, safety, and a diversified business strategy, MSE has reached a 100-year milestone few companies in the world can claim and is looking forward to a very bright future ahead.
On November 10, 1922 Gregory Luce purchases the defunct A&M Railroad, extending the railway from within the corporate limits of Pascagoula up to Luce Farms in George County.
In 1946 MSE purchases the only locomotive ever produced by Ingalls Shipbuilding.
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In 2019 American Short Line Railroad Association (ASLRRA) named MSE Maintenance-of-Way Foreman, Cleo Johnson, Jr. Safety Person of the Year.