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Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway

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Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway
Map
TP&W GP30 No. 700 and GP35 No. 902 maneuvering in Logansport, Indiana, November 25, 1966
Overview
Parent companyGenesee & Wyoming
HeadquartersEast Peoria, Illinois
Reporting markTPW
Dates of operation1863–present
PredecessorToledo, Peoria & Warsaw Railway
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length247 miles (398 km)

The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway (reporting mark TPW) is a shortline railroad that operates 247 miles (398 km) of trackage between Mapleton and Peoria in Illinois, and Logansport, Indiana.[1] TP&W also has trackage rights over other railroads between Peoria and Galesburg, between Logansport and Kokomo, and between Reynolds and Lafayette. As of 2024, the railroad is owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. The railroad's traffic primarily consists of agricultural products, including raw and processed grain products, chemical products, and completed tractors.[1]

Early history

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The Toledo, Peoria and Western's earliest predecessor was the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad, which was chartered in 1855, and their eastern extension began construction, three years later. Also in 1855, the Logansport, Peoria and Burlington Railroad (LP&B) completed their route from Galesburg to East Burlington, Illinois, and then they reached Gilman in 1857, and Effner in 1859.

In 1863, the Toledo, Peoria and Warsaw Railway was chartered, and in 1868, they opened their trackage from the Illinois-Indiana state line to the Mississippi River at Warsaw, Illinois. In 1880, the railway was reorganized as the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad (TP&W), and the company was leased by the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway. The lease lasted until 1884, and then in 1887, the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway took over operations.[2] The TP&W railway was incorporated in Illinois, on March 28, 1887, and they consolidated the operations of the Toledo, Peoria and Warsaw and the LP&B.

Pennsylvania Railroad and Santa Fe stewardship

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In 1918, the TP&W formed an alliance with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), allowing the former to extend their western terminus to Keokuk, Iowa, and to interchange with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe) at Lomax, Illinois. In 1937, the TP&W purchased six H-10 class 4-8-4 "Northern" locomotives (Nos. 80-85) from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). The H-10s were the lightest 4-8-4s ever built for a North American railroad, weighing only 361,000 pounds (164 tonnes). They were equipped with 69-inch (1,800 mm) diameter driving wheels, 23.5-by-30-inch (600 mm × 760 mm) cylinders, and a boiler pressure of 250 psi (1,700 kPa), and they produced a tractive effort of 51,000 pounds-force (230 kN).

On the night of March 10, 1947, TP&W owner George McNear was shot and killed while walking back from a Bradley Braves basketball game during a power outage.[3]

TP&W No. 400, an ALCO RS-11, on display at the Illinois Railway Museum, in Union, Illinois

In January 1960, the PRR and the Santa Fe gained joint control (half interests) of the TP&W.[4] By the end of 1970, the TP&W operated 239 miles (385 km) over 323 miles (520 km) of trackage; that same year, the railway reported 520 million ton-miles of revenue freight.

When Conrail was formed in 1976, the TP&W acquired the Effner Branch, a former Pennsylvania Railroad line between Effner and Logansport, since it was rejected from Conrail inclusion. In 1981, the value of the Effner Branch diminished, since Conrail closed their TP&W interchange in Logansport. In 1979, the Santa Fe reached an agreement to acquire the former PRR's interest in the TP&W from Conrail. On December 31, 1983, the TP&W was absorbed into the Santa Fe.

Post-Santa Fe activity

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On February 3, 1989, the Santa Fe sold the former TP&W Lomax-Peoria-Logansport main line to a pair of investors, former Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) managers Cynthia O'Connor and Michael Smith. The two investors revived the TP&W railway name and operated it as an independent company. In 1995, when the Santa Fe merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) to create BNSF, the TP&W was granted trackage rights over BN's line between Peoria and Galesburg.

In 1995, the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) acquired a 40% interest in the TP&W, and the following year, the Delaware Otsego Corporation (DO), the NYS&W's parent company, assumed full control of the TP&W. The railway began to be dispatched from the DO headquarters in Cooperstown, New York. Some TP&W locomotives were painted in the NYS&W's yellow-and-black paint scheme. By 1998, the TP&W reported a revenue profit of $13.4 million and hauled over 59,000 freight carloads and intermodal units. In 1999, DO sold the TP&W to RailAmerica for $24 million.[5] In late 2012, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. acquired RailAmerica, gaining ownership of the TP&W.

Keokuk Junction Railway purchases

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Further information: Keokuk Junction Railway

The Keokuk Junction Railway (KJRY) now owns portions of the old TP&W line, including the Western Illinois and Keokuk section of TP&W (Fulton, McDonough and Hancock counties in Illinois). In December 1986, the KJRY purchased 33.5 miles (53.9 km) of former TP&W trackage (then owned by the Santa Fe) between Keokuk, Warsaw, and La Harpe. On October 28, 2004, the KJRY's feeder line application with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to acquire the assets of the west end of the new TP&W was granted. On February 11, 2005, the KJRY completed the acquisition, adding 76 miles (122 km) from LaHarpe to Peoria, the old TP&W main line west of Peoria.

Accidents and incidents

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  • In 1887, a TP&W passenger train was involved in the Great Chatsworth train wreck in Chatsworth, Illinois.
  • On June 21, 1970, an eastbound TP&W freight train No. 20 derailed mid-train in Crescent City, Illinois. One of the tank cars punctured, with the released propane igniting and engulfing the other tank cars, and the majority of the business district and several homes were consequently destroyed, while 64 people were injured.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Frailey, Fred W. (June 2010). "RailAmerica's Empire". Trains. Vol. 70, no. 6. Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 23–29. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Drury, George H., The Train Watcher's Guide to North American Railroads, Kalmbach, 1990, p.190
  3. ^ "HEAD OF RAILROAD, HIT BY STRIKE, SLAIN". The New York Times. March 11, 1947. pp. 1, 19. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  4. ^ Lennon, J. Establishing Trails on Rights-of-Way. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of the Interior. p. 48.
  5. ^ "Scanner - Regionals - Toledo, Peoria & Western". Trains. Vol. 59, no. 9. Kalmbach Publishing. September 1999. p. 19. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  6. ^ Lon H. Ferguson; Dr. Christopher A. Janicak (27 April 2015). Fundamentals of Fire Protection for the Safety Professional. Bernan Press. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-1-59888-712-9.

Further reading

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