Jump to content

Keokuk Junction Railway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from KJRY)
Keokuk Junction Railway
No. 1752 in black and yellow "Peoria & Western" livery
Overview
HeadquartersPeoria County, Illinois; Keokuk, Iowa[1]
Reporting markKJRY
LocaleCentral and western Illinois; Keokuk, Iowa
Dates of operationMay 1980 (1980-05) (current company)–
Technical
Track gaugeStandard gauge
Length126 miles (203 km) operated + 15.5 miles (24.9 km) trackage rights[2]
Other
Websitepatriotrail.com/rail/keokuk-junction-railway-co-kjry/

The Keokuk Junction Railway Co. (reporting mark KJRY), is a Class III railroad in the U.S. states of Illinois and Iowa.[3] It was formerly a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp,[2] but now operates as a subsidiary of Patriot Rail Company.[4]

History

[edit]

The present company was incorporated in 1980 as the Keokuk Northern Real Estate Co.,[5] formed in May 1980 to purchase 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P) yard trackage in Keokuk, Iowa.[6] In September 1981, the KJRY obtained the trackage, and they quickly commenced operations.[1][7] In December 1986, the KJRY purchased 28 miles (45 km) of trackage between Keokuk and La Harpe, Illinois, from the Santa Fe Railway,[1][6] formerly owned by the Toledo, Peoria and Western (TP&W).[5][7] The KJRY began serving a corn-processing plant in Keokuk owned by Roquette America, which became the railway's primary source of income.[7]

In 1995, when the Santa Fe merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) to create BNSF, the KJRY requested trackage rights over BNSF to interchange with Norfolk Southern (NS) in Hannibal, Missouri, and the Southern Pacific (SP) in West Quincy, Missouri, but they were denied by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).[7] In March 1996, the Surface Transportation Board (STB), the ICC's successor, approved Pioneer Railcorp's purchase of 66.62% of the KJRY's shares from majority shareholder John Warfield, making the KJRY their subsidiary.[6][8]

The KJRY subsequently expanded their operations with additional trackage acquisitions; in February 2005, they purchased the TP&W's 76-mile (122 km) western section between La Harpe to Peoria, Illinois; in December 2011, the KJRY purchased 12.1 miles (19.5 km) of trackage between La Harpe and Lomax, Illinois, and they were granted trackage rights between Lomax and Fort Madison, Iowa.[1][6] On July 31, 2019, Brookhaven Rail Partners acquired Pioneer Railcorp, gaining ownership of the KJRY in the process.[9]

Connections

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Keokuk Junction Railway Company KJRY #365". Short Line Railroad Directory. Union Pacific. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Keokuk Junction Railway Co". Peoria County, Illinois: Pioneer Railcorp. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  3. ^ Surface Transportation Board Decision, STB Finance Docket No. 34397: Keokuk Junction Railway Company–Alternative Rail Service–Line of Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway Corporation, decided October 31, 2003, page 1
  4. ^ "Keokuk Junction Railway (KJRY)". Patriot Rail Company. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  5. ^ a b Pioneer Railcorp (1996-02-20). "Form 8-K (current report), document 0000796374-96-000003". Washington, D.C.: Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  6. ^ a b c d "Keokuk Junction Railroad Co. (KJRY)" (PDF). Rail Transportation Bureau, Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d "Meanwhile, on the KJ". Trains. Vol. 57, no. 3. Kalmbach Publishing. March 1997. p. 60. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Williams, Vernon (1996-03-26). "Pioneer Railcorp; Acquisition of Control Exemption; KNRECO, Inc., d/b/a/ Keokuk Junction Railway" (PDF). Federal Register. 61 (59) – via GovInfo.
  9. ^ "Related, Brookhaven Rail Partners, and Stephens Complete Acquisition of Pioneer Railcorp, A Premier Owner of Short-Line Railroads and Railroad Related Businesses". Pioneer Railcorp. 2019-07-31. Archived from the original on 2020-11-23.
[edit]