The Keokuk Junction Railway Co. , 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 ...

in the

U.S. 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

states of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. It is a subsidiary of

Pioneer Railcorp Pioneer Lines (formerly Pioneer Railcorp) is a holding company for a number of American short-line railroads. Other subsidiaries offer locomotive and freight car leasing to its own railroads and to third parties, and also freight car cleaning. Pio ...

History

The present company was incorporated in 1980 as the Keokuk Northern Real Estate Co., formed in May 1980 to purchase of the

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

yard track in

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

. The KJRY obtained that trackage in 1981. In December 1986, the KJRY bought, from the

Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

, of trackage consisting of the LaHarpe line and Warsaw line from Keokuk/

Warsaw, Illinois Warsaw is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,607 at the 2010 census, a decline from 1,793 in 2000. The city is notable for its historic downtown and the Warsaw Brewery, which operated for more than 100 years be ...

LaHarpe, Illinois La Harpe is a town in Hancock County, Illinois, Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,235 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 1,385 at the 2000 census. History During the 18th century, French explorers ...

, formerly owned by the Toledo, Peoria and Western.

filed with the

Surface Transportation Board The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is a federal, bipartisan, independent adjudicatory board. The STB was established on January 1, 1996, to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the Intersta ...

to acquire 66.62% of KNRECO, Inc. (the KJRY) from majority shareholder John Warfield, and purchased KNRECO in March 1996. The KJRY bought from LaHarpe to

Lomax, Illinois Lomax is a village in Henderson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 454 at the 2010 census, a decline from 477 in 2000. It is part of the Burlington, IA–IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Lomax is located in sout ...

plus assigned trackage rights from Lomax to

Fort Madison, Iowa Fort Madison is a city and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States along with Keokuk. Of Iowa's 99 counties, Lee County is the only one with two county seats. The population was 10,270 at the time of the 2020 census. Located along the ...

in December 2011; and from the Toledo, Peoria and Western from LaHarpe to

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

in February 2005. Brookhaven Rail Partners acquired Pioneer Rail corporation on July 31, 2019.https://pioneer-railcorp.com/2019/07/31/related-brookhaven-rail-partners-and-stephens-complete-acquisition-of-pioneer-railcorp-a-premier-owner-of-short-line-railroads-and-railroad-related-businesses/

Connections

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

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Bushnell, Illinois Bushnell is a city in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,970 at the 2020 census. Geography Bushnell is located at (40.551667, -90.507921). According to the 2010 census, Bushnell has a total area of , of which (or ...

, and

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

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* Illinois and Midland Railroad —

Iowa Interstate Railroad The Iowa Interstate Railroad is a Class II regional railroad operating in the central United States. The railroad is owned by Railroad Development Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. History The railroad was formed on November 2, 1984, u ...

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Norfolk Southern Railroad 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, ...

—

Pioneer Industrial Railway Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

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* Tazewell and Peoria Railroad —

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 Log ...

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Hollis, Illinois Hollis Township is located in Peoria County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,881 and it contained 768 housing units. The village of Mapleton Mapleton may refer to: Places Australia * Mapleton, Queensland, a rural town and ...

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 ...

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and

References

External links

*
A Tribute to the Keokuk Junction Railway
— information about the KJRY prior to 1996 purchase {{Iowa railroads Illinois railroads Iowa railroads Keokuk, Iowa Pioneer Lines Spin-offs of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Switching and terminal railroads