[red]Since we’re in a railroad forum, what does the group think it would take to organize a nationwide fund raising drive to secure the legal fees estimated to be a maximum of $200,000 necessary to acquire the line by an experienced not for profit railroad group??
If you have a way of restoring the line (the portion that is not currently being operated by Missouri Central) to the point where trains can run on it, of providing enough business to keep it going, and attracting someone with knowledge to run it, I will quit my job right now and do all of the legal work pro bono.
Gabe
This subject is of interest to me for more than one reason.
AMEREN owns quite a bit of the trackage - UP some others. MoCentral ain’t no more, but there is a “situational” freight operator, contacted by Ameren, to run freight between St. Louis and Union, MO. This information comes from one of the Ameren VP’s who my former group was in discussion with in attempts to arrange for a demonstration run of DMU’s between Chesterfield and St. Louis.
There have been several attempts to do the very thing you speak of. Unfortunately, there’s far too much going on behind the scenes to make it happen.
The right of way west of Union is in poor to very poor condtion, from what I’ve seen and been told.
What would it take? Only money and lots of influence - big time influence.
Most of that line was too far gone back in 1981 for Southern Pacific to rehabilitate.
Union Pacific was operating about 20 miles on the west end (Leeds-Mt. Pleasant ?)
The Central Mo. RR is running it now, run by the same people that run the Indiana Railroad, theres 2 IRR GP16’s down there but only one runs. They are based in Lackland. The Rock ran some violet hour coal trains on this line and it beat it into the ground. The Rock stoped ruinning trains on it in 1979 but the agent in Eldon was there till the end(march 1980). SP ran an inspection train on this line in 1981 and the reports on this line said SCRAP on them. It would take a HUGE amout of money to get the line up to even class 1 or class 2 track. Much track has been removed in towns that had roadway inprovments with out permission of the railorad , requiring the state to replace the track at no charge to whom ever tries to restore service. UP owns the Pleasant Hill-KC section and wants to keep the row for a future main track if the need should arise. Ameren owns the rest of the line from Vigus to Pleasant Hill for a future power line but as for rail traffic a shortline would have a hard time. The Rock scared off alot a business at the end as well as SP hiking the rates when they took it over to do in and business left so tey wouldnt have to open the line back up. SP would have abandon the line but a technicality in the abandonment papers; SP had served a customed on a section of track west of Union that was up for abondonment and wrote down the wrong mile post number causing it to have to keep the line. There probably will never be service on this line west of Union . I got a ton of info on this line if you have more questions, just ask. Long Live The Rock!!!
Scott