Keokuk Junction Railway
Encyclopedia
The Keokuk Junction Railway Company , is a Class III railroad
terminal railroad
in the US
states of Illinois
and Iowa
.
KJRY started service as a terminal railroad operating over tracks built in 1857 as part of the Keokuk & Des Moines Valley Railroad (the earliest railroad in Iowa). The K&DMVR was leased and later purchased by the Rock Island Railroad.
In August 1981, KNRECO, Inc., an Iowa corporation doing business as Keokuk Junction Railway (KJRY) purchased a portion of the shares in the Keokuk Union Depot Company, along with surrounding real estate and 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of yard trackage at Keokuk, this was part of the bankruptcy court decisions for the Rock Island railroad in 1980. Service on the KJRY started in September 1981.
In December 1986, KJRY purchased 33.5 miles (53.9 km) of TP&W trackage (then managed by Santa Fe railroad) extending from Keokuk and Warsaw to LaHarpe, IL.
On March 12, 1996, Pioneer Railcorp
purchased 93% of the common stock of KNRECO, Inc., an Iowa corporation doing business as Keokuk Junction Railway (KJRY) from the shareholders, and purchased all of the remaining common shares of KJRY in April 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 (61.2 km). 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 (19.5 km) 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 (24.9 km) 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.
On October 28, 2004, the Surface Transportation Board
(STB) granted KJRY's feeder line application to acquire the assets of the old Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway
(TPW) western main line (LaHarpe to Peoria, Illinois).
On February 11, 2005, the company completed the acquisition of the 76 miles (122.3 km) from LaHarpe to Peoria, Illinois, tripling the length of the KJRY's trackage.
In 2007 the KJRY placed two EMD FP9
A's (ex Algoma Central) Nos. 1750 and 1752 in revenue freight service Lettered for the Peoria and Western Railway. The plan then was to re-name the KJRY as the Peoria and Western to reflect the accquistion of the former TP&W west end, but for operational reasons this never took place. In March 2010 a former Algoma Central EMD F9
B No. 1761 (still painted in Algoma Central colors) joined the motive power roster running with the two FP9s in an A-B-A arrangement for revenue freight service running a freight train the crews call the "Canton Cannonball". The FP9As were finally relettered to Keokuk Junction Railway in September 2011 though the b-unit remains in Algoma Cental paint. For a few years now the KJRY has run a santa train from Mapleton, IL to Cuba, IL over the former TP&W west end with the FP9s starting in 2008. Each year since has marked a milestone for the santa train. In 2009 close to 1,000 kids and parents came out to see santa and his train. In 2010 the B-unit was added to the locomotives for the santa train making it an A-B-A set of power pulling the santa train.
Class III railroad
A Class III railroad, as defined by the Surface Transportation Board, is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of less than $20 million . The term only applies to United States railroads, but is sometimes applied to other countries...
terminal railroad
Terminal Railroad
Terminal Railroad or Terminal Railway may refer to:*Terminal railroad, a railroad that operates a terminal facility*Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks*Terminal Railway of Buffalo, predecessor of the New York Central Railroad...
in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
states of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.
KJRY started service as a terminal railroad operating over tracks built in 1857 as part of the Keokuk & Des Moines Valley Railroad (the earliest railroad in Iowa). The K&DMVR was leased and later purchased by the Rock Island Railroad.
In August 1981, KNRECO, Inc., an Iowa corporation doing business as Keokuk Junction Railway (KJRY) purchased a portion of the shares in the Keokuk Union Depot Company, along with surrounding real estate and 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of yard trackage at Keokuk, this was part of the bankruptcy court decisions for the Rock Island railroad in 1980. Service on the KJRY started in September 1981.
In December 1986, KJRY purchased 33.5 miles (53.9 km) of TP&W trackage (then managed by Santa Fe railroad) extending from Keokuk and Warsaw to LaHarpe, IL.
On March 12, 1996, Pioneer Railcorp
Pioneer Railcorp
Pioneer Railcorp is a holding company for a number of American short-line railroads. Other subsidiaries offer locomotive and freight car leasing to its own railroads and to third parties, and also freight car cleaning. Pioneer also has interests in real estate and newsletter publishing.The...
purchased 93% of the common stock of KNRECO, Inc., an Iowa corporation doing business as Keokuk Junction Railway (KJRY) from the shareholders, and purchased all of the remaining common shares of KJRY in April 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 (61.2 km). 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 (19.5 km) 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 (24.9 km) 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.
On October 28, 2004, the Surface Transportation Board
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
(STB) granted KJRY's feeder line application to acquire the assets of the old Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway
Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway
The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is a short-line railroad that operates of track from Mapleton, Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana, and includes a branch line between Logansport to Winamac, Indiana...
(TPW) western main line (LaHarpe to Peoria, Illinois).
On February 11, 2005, the company completed the acquisition of the 76 miles (122.3 km) from LaHarpe to Peoria, Illinois, tripling the length of the KJRY's trackage.
In 2007 the KJRY placed two EMD FP9
EMD FP9
The EMD FP9 was a , B-B dual-service passenger and freight-hauling diesel locomotive produced between February 1954 and December 1959 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division, and General Motors Diesel. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant, except for Canadian orders, which...
A's (ex Algoma Central) Nos. 1750 and 1752 in revenue freight service Lettered for the Peoria and Western Railway. The plan then was to re-name the KJRY as the Peoria and Western to reflect the accquistion of the former TP&W west end, but for operational reasons this never took place. In March 2010 a former Algoma Central EMD F9
EMD F9
The EMD F9 was a Diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1953 and May 1960 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors and General Motors Diesel . It succeeded the F7 model in GM-EMD's F-unit sequence. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant. The F9 was also...
B No. 1761 (still painted in Algoma Central colors) joined the motive power roster running with the two FP9s in an A-B-A arrangement for revenue freight service running a freight train the crews call the "Canton Cannonball". The FP9As were finally relettered to Keokuk Junction Railway in September 2011 though the b-unit remains in Algoma Cental paint. For a few years now the KJRY has run a santa train from Mapleton, IL to Cuba, IL over the former TP&W west end with the FP9s starting in 2008. Each year since has marked a milestone for the santa train. In 2009 close to 1,000 kids and parents came out to see santa and his train. In 2010 the B-unit was added to the locomotives for the santa train making it an A-B-A set of power pulling the santa train.
Interchange services
- BNSF RailwayBNSF RailwayThe BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
(Keokuk, IA and Peoria, IL) - Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
(Fort Madison, IA and Peoria, IL) - Toledo, Peoria and Western RailwayToledo, Peoria and Western RailwayThe Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is a short-line railroad that operates of track from Mapleton, Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana, and includes a branch line between Logansport to Winamac, Indiana...
(Hollis, IL) - Tazewell and Peoria RailroadTazewell and Peoria RailroadThe Tazewell & Peoria Railroad is a short-line railroad, running entirely in Peoria County and Tazewell County, Illinois, and formed by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. to lease the assets of the century-old Peoria and Pekin Union Railway , which is owned by Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and Canadian...
(Peoria, IL) - Canadian National RailwayCanadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
(Peoria, IL) - Norfolk Southern RailwayNorfolk Southern RailwayThe Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
(Peoria, IL) - Iowa Interstate RailroadIowa Interstate RailroadThe Iowa Interstate Railroad is a Class II railroad operating in the central United States. The railroad is owned by Railroad Development Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.-History:...
(Peoria, IL) - Illinois and Midland Railroad (Peoria, IL)
- Pioneer Industrial Railway (Peoria, IL)