Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway

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Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is currently a short-line railroad that operates from Mapleton, IL to Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, IN and includes a branch line between Logansport to Winamac, IN. TPW has trackage rights between Galesburg, IL and Peoria, between Logansport to Kokomo, IN, and between Reynolds and Lafayette, IN. Traffic includes agricultural-related commodities, auto parts, coal, steel and chemicals. TPW has connections with UP, BNSF, NS, CSXT, CN, CP, CERA, CIM, KBSR and T&P.

History

Toledo, Peoria & Western's earliest ancestor was Peoria & Oquawka. The eastern extension began construction, three years after its charter in 1855.

The Toledo, Peoria & Western was incorporated in Illinois on March 28, 1887 and consolidated the operation of the Toledo, Peoria, & Warsaw Railway and the Logansport, Peoria, and Burlington Railroad. The Logansport, Peoria and Burlington Railroad built from Galesburg to East Burlington, IL in 1855, reached Gilman, IL in 1857, and Effner in 1859.

The Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad purchased six Class H-10 Northerns from the American Locomotive Company in 1937. These locomotives were given road numbers 80 through 85 and were the lightest 4-8-4 ever built for a North American railroad, weighing only 361,000 pounds. They had 69-inch drivers, 23.5 x 30 cylinders, a 250 psi boiler pressure and a tractive effort of 51,000 pounds force.

In January 1960, the ATSF & PRR gain joint control (half interests) of TP&W. When the Penn Central collapsed in 1976, the TP&W acquired the former Pennsylvania Railroad trackage from Effner into Logansport.

In 1979, the Toledo, Peoria & Western was acquired by the Santa Fe. TPW was merged into ATSF on December 3, 1983.

The ATSF sold the main line on February 3, 1989 to new investors, who reused TP&W name. TP&W was an independent railroad again. In 1998, TP&W had revenues of approximately $13.4 million and moved over 59,000 freight carloads and intermodal units. It was acquired by RailAmerica in September 3, 1999, it is still operated as TP&W.

KJRY

Western Illinois & Keokuk section of TP&W (Fulton, McDonough and Hancock counties in Illinois).

On March 12, 1996, Pioneer Railcorp purchased 93% of the common stock of KNRECO, Inc., an Iowa corporation d/b/a Keokuk Junction Railway (KJRY) from the shareholders, and purchased all of the remaining common shares of KJRY in April of 1996. KJRY operates a common carrier railroad line within the City of Keokuk, Iowa, from Keokuk to LaHarpe, Illinois, and a branch line from Hamilton to Warsaw, Illinois, a total of approximately 38 miles. In addition, KJRY owns all of the common stock of Keokuk Union Depot Company, an Iowa corporation that owns the former Keokuk Union Depot building, along with surrounding track and real estate. KNRECO, Inc. changed its corporate name to Keokuk Junction Railway Co. (KJRY) effective April 10, 1996.

On December 19, 2001, the KJRY purchased 12.1 miles of track from LaHarpe to Lomax, Illinois and was assigned trackage rights from Lomax, Illinois to Ft. Madison, Iowa, a distance of approximately 15.5 miles over the BNSF, allowing the KJRY to interchange traffic with the UP. The KJRY also interchanges with the BNSF at Keokuk. The railroad's principal commodities are corn, corn germ, corn syrup, meal, gluten feed, and railroad wheels.

The Company's feeder line application on file with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to acquire the assets of the west end of the Toledo Peoria and Western Railway (TPW) was granted on October 28, 2004.

The Company completed the acquisition on February 11, 2005 which added 76 miles from LaHarpe to Peoria, Illinois (the old TP&W main line west of Peoria).

External Links

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