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The Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad Company is a
Class III railroad In the United States, railroad carriers are designated as Class I, II, or III, according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With annual adjustments for inflation, the 2019 thresholds were US$5 ...
serving agricultural communities in east-central Illinois and west-central Indiana.


History

In December 1977, Conrail was set to abandon of their ex-
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...
trackage between Kankakee and
Sheldon, Illinois Sheldon is a village in Sheldon Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,070 at the 2010 census, down from 1,232 at the 2000 census. Geography Sheldon is located in eastern Iroquois County at . U.S. Route 24 runs ...
, when instead it was purchased by Beaverville businessman Fey Orr to service his lumber and agricultural products industry based there. Eighty miles of the
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experience ...
's trackage from just north of Donovan and Danville were purchased in 1981. These two lines cross near
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
. The
Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...
abandoned its ex-
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of New York, Pennsylvan ...
trackage between
Cheneyville, Illinois Cheneyville is an unincorporated community in Grant Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, Grant Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, Vermilion County, Illinois. History Cheneyville was founded in 1871 and platted in 1880. It was named for J. H. ...
(north of Danville)
Boswell, Indiana Boswell is a town in Grant Township, Benton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 778 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town of Boswell was first laid out by Charles ...
and
Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...
, which KBSR purchased in 1991. Several other abandonments occurred in the area by
Class I railroad In the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, st ...
s which the Kankakee, Beaverville were able to capitalize on. Currently, the KBSR operates about of trackage in a vaguely triangular shape between Kankakee, Danville, and Lafayette, with numerous sidings. On July 16, 1997, company founder Fey Orr died at 85. Vice President Kevin Stroo then took over as President of the KB&S until his death in 2009. Current President is Tyler Stroo. Vice-President is Neil Stroo.


Operations

The Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern is privately owned, and serves the various small communities it passes through and their primarily agricultural industries. In recent years it was considered unusual in that it continued to roster
Alco The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...
diesel locomotives decades after their builder's demise, and became all the more popular amongst railfans for it. However, in December 2003, the KB&S received a group of six EMD GP38-2M locomotives rebuilt from ex-
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...
GP40s. The railroad named each of these engines after employees. The KB&S makes numerous connections to other railroads: *
Bee Line Railroad The Bee Line Railroad is a short-line railroad operated by the Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad, serving agricultural communities in northwestern Warren County and southwestern Benton County in Indiana, USA. It joins the Kankakee, Be ...
- at Handy, east of Ambia, Indiana * Canadian National Railway - at Kankakee * CSX Transportation - at Danville and Lafayette *
Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...
- at Danville, Kankakee and Lafayette *
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. TP&W has trackage rights between Galesburg, Illinois, and Peoria, between Lo ...
- at Webster and Sheldon *
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
- at St. Anne, Illinois Locomotive maintenance is conducted at the road shops at Iroquois Junction.


External links


Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern Railroad

Kankakee Beaverville and Southern
Unofficial Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kankakee Beaverville Southern Railroad Illinois railroads Indiana railroads Transportation in Iroquois County, Illinois Transportation in Kankakee County, Illinois Transportation in Vermilion County, Illinois Transportation in Benton County, Indiana Transportation in Newton County, Indiana Transportation in Tippecanoe County, Indiana Spin-offs of Conrail