Peoria Station

The Surface Transportation Board decided Thursday, November 13, to reopen the Union Pacific’s petition to abandon its unused Elm Industrial Lead, which runs between Peoria and Middle Grove, and terminate the Offer of Financial Assistance (OFA) process. This action gives the Hanna City Trail Commission until May 12, 2009 to negotiate a deal with the railroad for interim trail use. If a deal is reached, then interim trail use can be implemented.

Today’s Peoria Journal Star reports on this. Unfortunately, railroad-orietented articles almost always contain  cliches and bad information. Case in point:

“…no traffic has chugged over the line for two years…”

Bad steam era cliche. Also, no traffic has used this line in about 16 or 17 years. Last reported use was for a special train carrying liquid natural gas to the then-CILCO terminal just east of Farmington. Those who saw it recall seeing the train or tank cars at the CILCO facility around Thanksgiving 1991 or 1992. Efforts to start garbage train service to the Spoon Ridge Landfill went nowhere, and the Keokuk Junction Railway withdrew its OFA August 30.

“…the rail acquisition, which originally was constructed in 1883…”

Incorrect. The Peoria Herald Transcript reported on November 22, 1881 that the Peoria & Farmington Railroad began operating two daily roundtrips between its namesake points the day before. Service extended to Abingdon on November 26, 1882. So the existing track was complete and in service before 1883.

KELLAR SAGA CONTINUES

At the bottom of the article is a little update on the continuing Kellar Branch controversy.

Meanwhile, a long-discussed side-by-side rail and trail project along the Kellar Branch rail line in the city of Peoria and Peoria Heights still is too costly to consider, city and park officials said last month.

Negotiations between the park district, city and the railroad companies along the Kellar Branch are still ongoing. A federal ruling earlier this year said local governments cannot force the railroad companies off the line.

What negotiations? The only “negotiations” must involve the following:

(1) The City of Peoria and Village of Peoria Heights accepts the Surface Transportation Board’s November 19, 2007 ruling which restored Pioneer Industrial Railway’s operating authority on the Kellar Branch. Non-negotiable.

(2) The City of Peoria and Village of Peoria Heights must enter into a long-term contract with one or both railroads with rights to use the line. Details to be negotiated.

(3) The City of Peoria must fully commit to marketing areas along City-owned track served by one or both railroads to prospective industrial and logistics companies that need rail service. This includes infrastructure such as roads and sewer and water lines for Growth Cell Two.

I’d be surprised if such a deal favorable to the railroads ever takes place, but if side-by-side trail construction is still “too expensive” at $18 million, then the trail should not be built. The Cities need to exploit the potential of existing infrastructure rather than destroy it and replace it with a costly, unnecessary, recreational-only “quality-of-life” project.

- David P. Jordan