Category Archives: Kellar Branch

City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Source: Carver Lumber asks STB to keep Kellar Branch

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On April 25, the Surface Transportation Board ruled that the city couldn’t tear up the Kellar Branch for at least another 90 days so Carver Lumber had time to evaluate the service they receive from Central Illinois Railway (CIRY) over the new western spur. Carver and CIRY were expected to report back to the STB at the end of that time, and that time has come.

It’s not posted on the STB’s website yet, but I’ve heard from a reliable source that Carver has submitted their report, and it’s not a good one. Their freight costs have doubled and their service has deteriorated, thus they want service via the Kellar Branch restored. I’ll have more specifics to report once I see the actual filing.

It’s unlikely that the STB would side with the city after getting such a report from an active shipper. This could be the death knell for the city’s plans to replace the Kellar Branch rail line with a hiking/biking trail. On the other hand, Pioneer Railcorp has had a standing offer for the past two years to help build a trail next to the rail line in exchange for letting them purchase or lease the Kellar Branch.

If the city were smart, they’d take Pioneer’s deal now, before the STB’s decision. Selling or leasing the line would provide some much-needed cash to a city looking at big budget holes, plus they would still get their beloved trail to boot. What do they have to lose?

Caterpillar, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Caterpillar to acquire Progress Rail

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PEORIA, Ill. – Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) has reached an agreement to acquire Progress Rail Services, Inc. (Progress Rail) for $1.0 billion in cash, stock and assumption of debt. Progress Rail is majority owned by One Equity Partners, a private equity affiliate of JP Morgan Chase & Company, Inc.

Based in Albertville, Alabama, Progress Rail is a leading provider of remanufactured locomotive and railcar products and services to the North American railroad industry. With 2005 sales of $1.2 billion, the company has one of the most extensive rail service and supply networks in North America. It operates more than 90 facilities in 29 states in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with about 3,700 employees.

Wouldn’t it be great if a new facility were to open in Peoria, say maybe in Growth Cell 2?  As long as Peoria keeps trying to kill the Kellar Branch and rely solely on Union Pacific service from the west, it ain’t gonna happen.

City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Shocker: Carver Lumber rail service poorer over western spur

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If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you’ve heard me say many, many times that the Kellar Branch provides neutral access to eight rail lines, whereas the western spur only has access to one — Union Pacific — and that this means service over the western spur will always be more expensive because there’s no competition.  So this letter to the editor from Carver Lumber Co. should come as no surprise:

We receive deliveries only two days per week, a 60 percent reduction from when the Kellar branch was operating.

It takes two to four times longer to get cars delivered from Downtown to our yard than it did over the Kellar branch.

Because the Union Pacific is not required to publish a rate, our suppliers must use its general tariff rate for forest products, which adds $1,000-$1,500 per car over Kellar line rates.

Carver goes on to hope that the city will help negotiate a better arrangement with UP.  That’s not going to happen.  First of all, the city has demonstrated that it’s not concerned about Carver at all (not enforcing its contract with DOT Rail, wanting to tear up the Kellar Branch before verifying Carver has comparable service via the west, etc.), and even if they were concerned, they have no bargaining power with UP.

The city should immediately start negotiating with Pioneer Railcorp to sell the Kellar Branch line.  If they want to continue pursuing the trail, they should build it side-by-side with the rail line.

City Council, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Pioneer’s offer to buy Kellar Branch and help build trail next to it still stands

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After reading the details of Pioneer Railcorp’s offer to purchase the Kellar Branch rail line from the city and help the Park District construct a trail next to it, one has to wonder why in the world the city wouldn’t jump at the opportunity. There’s no reasonable explanation for this offer to be rejected.

The offer, detailed in a letter to the city council dated September 24, 2004, can be read in its entirety by clicking here. I’d just like to bullet out a summary of applicable parts of the offer here. Pioneer is offering to:

  • Purchase the Kellar Branch and western spur from the City of Peoria for $565,000, or accept a long-term lease on the lines;
  • Grant the Park District a 999-year lease on a portion of the right-of-way for the use of a trail;
  • Donate up to $100,000 in in-kind services (railcar usage, train service, equipment use, flagging and other labor services) to the Park District to assist in the construction of said trail;
  • Work with the Park District to provide for joint use of the right-of-way, including the joint use of existing bridges;
  • Provide the labor, materials and equipment to construct a trestle for the trail to traverse the section behind Versailles Garden where the track elevation has caused the Park District the most concern;
  • Upgrade the Kellar Branch track to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) “Class I” standards;
  • Aggressively seek new business in Pioneer Park and Growth Cell Two;
  • Develop a “dinner train” as a tourist attraction for the city (similar to a successful dinner train Pioneer runs on their Gettysburg & Northern Railroad);
  • Develop, in cooperation with the city, tourist/commuter service from downtown;
  • Pursue the establishment of a “railroad academy” in partnership with Illinois Central College and/or other appropriate partners, to train students in train operation and maintenance, using Pioneer’s equipment and facilities; and
  • Give the city right of first refusal to repurchase the line if another entity wants to buy it from Pioneer.

According to Pioneer Railcorp, this offer still stands. Look at those items above again. The city gets $565,000. The rail line gets upgraded to Class I standards at no expense to the city. The trail is built beside the rail line, so the Rock Island and Pimiteoui Trails will be connected. And Pioneer will agressively seek new business along the line, which could bring in more higher-paying manufacturing jobs to Peoria.

Why isn’t the City taking this offer?

City of Peoria, Kellar Branch, Peoria Journal Star

Journal Star: Trail at any cost

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The Journal Star has another editorial on the Kellar Branch today. I’m surprised it took them this long to write it, considering all their editorials on this issue follow the same boilerplate. Once again, it’s time to set the record straight:

Recall that Carver was the Kellar branch’s only customer, and that the city of Peoria built the company a $2 million extension so it could continue getting deliveries.

This is revisionist history. Peoria did not “buil[d] the company a $2 million extension.” The resolution which passed on May 15, 2001 stated explicitly the reason for extending the spur was “to retain long-term cost effective, direct rail service to Pioneer Industrial Park and future rail service to Growth Cell #2….” It was not just to benefit Carver Lumber, unless the council was lying about their reason for building it. (Insert cynicism here.)

It’s also worth noting that there were several other businesses on the Kellar Branch before the city started their attempt to de-rail it. So the fact that Carver is the “only” customer now is to the city’s shame. Is the Journal Star happy they’ve run these businesses out of town for the sake of a trail?

And the $2 million cost did not come out of Peoria’s coffers. Most of that was a grant, just like the $4 million in grants that the Park District wants to use to build the trail. The Journal Star likes to think of grants as free money when it comes to building a trail, but for rail service it’s seen as a liability. More hypocrisy. The city only spent $175,000 out of the capital improvement fund for the spur.

Carver’s number-crunching ought not interfere with the trail conversion. At this point, they are two separate issues. There must be a way to walk and chew gum – to help Carver and build the trail – at the same time.

They are not two separate issues. Getting Surface Transportation Board (STB) approval is part of the process precisely so that rail line owners can’t do what Peoria is trying to do: take a line out of service without any regard for the businesses using that line. The process is working the way it was intended.

If the city and Park District were really willing to “walk and chew gum,” they could have had this trail completed years ago — by putting it side-by-side with the Kellar Branch.

Does the STB think the Kellar branch would magically reopen overnight and, poof, Carver’s problem would be solved? Parts of the line are in disrepair. It cost $350,000 for the city of Peoria to rehab a just small swatch of track in Pioneer Park. Multiply that by 8 1/2 miles and you get an idea of the prohibitive price tag.

This is a red herring. First of all, the tracks should not be in disrepair, and if they are, then it was due to a breach in contract with DOT Rail (d/b/a Central Illinois Railway), and Peoria should take legal action against them to pay for the repairs.

According to the city’s April 27, 2004, contract with DOT Rail, the city is only responsible for “maintenance of roadways and street crossings (excluding rails, ties and signal devices on roadways and streets) under the jurisdiction of the city.”

DOT Rail, on the other hand, “shall assume the responsibility for all maintenance of tracks, crossing protection, and roadbed including weed, brush, snow and ice control thereon, all drainage control maintenance, and all weed and brush control on the remainder of the right-of-way, following the guidelines set forth by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).”

Granted, this particular contract expired 60 days after the western spur was completed, but the spur was completed in February, which means the contract expired in April, just last month. If there are tracks in need of repair, that means DOT Rail was in breach of contract. Of course, since they never made a single delivery over the Kellar Branch, they were in breach of contract the entire time that Carver Lumber had to haul their lumber via truck at tremendous expense.

The decision to close Kellar has been made.

No, Journal Star Editorial Board, the decision hasn’t been made. It’s up to the STB, and they’ve said it can’t be closed yet. The Journal Star’s statement is a bald-faced lie.

Serious money has been spent on an alternative. It would be crazy to tap local taxpayers for even more millions to have two competing branches – one of which is old and rickety and interrupts traffic at several major intersections. Service to Carver would probably be faster by rickshaw, on a bike path.

Again, taxpayers would not be tapped for anything if the Kellar Branch were reopened. In fact, Pioneer would probably still be interested in buying it, in which case, rather than costing the taxpayers, the City of Peoria could rake in over a half-million dollars instead!

Also, the branches wouldn’t be “competing” with each other. The UP has access to both ends of the Kellar Branch (sole access at the western spur and neutral access downtown via the TZPR). So this is another nonsense statement.

There’s talk of getting a short-haul operator to run cars over UP’s line. But these are logistical matters that can be sorted out without derailing the trail.

Sure. And there are just a few logistical matters with getting pigs to fly, too. By all accounts from every railroad worker and enthusiast I know or have read, there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that UP is going to let a short-haul operator run cars over its mainline.

The level of Carver’s rail service is not a little “logistical matter.” It’s the difference between them staying in business in Peoria or either moving out of Peoria or going out of business. This is a business that has been in this area over 60 years. But it’s apparently just collateral damage to the Journal Star, the City of Peoria, and the Peoria Park District, who continue to fight for a hiking trail at any cost.

City of Peoria, East Bluff, Kellar Branch, Peoria County, Peoria Disposal Company, Peoria Park District, Peoria Public Schools, Peoria Regional Airport

A taxing weekend

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Yesterday I got my property tax bill.

Looking it over, I see that over half my taxes go to Peoria Public School District 150. They’re going to have another forum on the future plans for Glen Oak and White schools, this time just for parents of kids who attend those schools. Superintendent Ken Hinton said, “It’s important to me to hear the voice of the parents.” Okay, I’ll take him at his word, but he’d be a whole lot more convincing if he had listened to their voice before deciding the site of a new school.

I have the same concerns about the format as other people, so I won’t repeat that here. But I would like to make another point: I think it’s important to listen to the parents of kids who attend there, but this decision doesn’t just affect them. Alterations to Glen Oak Park affects all of Peoria. Replacing the Glen Oak School site with a park, public housing, or a vacant building affects all of the East Bluff. Let’s just suppose, for the sake of argument, that the parents of kids at Glen Oak and White right now are indifferent to the location of a new school. That should be taken into consideration, but shouldn’t trump overall neighborhood and city concerns.

Also on my bill, I see I’m paying a good amount to the “Pleasure Driveway PKD,” aka the Peoria Park District. The park board was just slapped with a lawsuit this weekend by neighborhood activists Karrie Alms and Sara Partridge. According to the Journal Star, the suit “alleges closed meetings held by the board on March 8 and 22 violated the state’s Open Meetings Act by discussing plans to replace Glen Oak School when that wasn’t appropriate.” If the court finds that the board met illegally, and if the decision to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with District 150 was made in one of those meetings, one possible remedy would be to nullify the agreement that was made in secret.

I’m glad somebody cares enough to act on this. People complain about back-room deals and shady politics, but more often than not nobody does anything about it. Here are a couple of people who are willing to hold the Park Board accountable for their actions. Kudos to Karrie and Sara!

Let’s see, what else is on my tax bill? There’s Illinois Central College and the Peoria Library. Don’t have much to say about those except that I think the library here in Peoria is under-utilized. There’s a wealth of information and expertise down there — I’ve learned more about Peoria from the library than one could ever learn online.

The Greater Peoria Mass Transit District, aka CityLink, makes an appearance on my bill. They do a pretty good job of moving people around the city — a tough job when the city is as spread out as it is. On the Peoria Rails Yahoo group, several people have been throwing around the idea of using the Kellar Branch for a light passenger rail system instead of a walking/biking trail:

The expansion of Peoria population into the far northwest part of the city, the growth of shopping in that area, and greatly increased fuel costs might make light rail service feasible. The Kellar branch could up upgraded and extended over Rt 6 to a parking and depot area behind or near the Grand Prairie. Interconnecting bus service there, downtown, and perhaps at a stop or two along the way would make public transportation quicker and more user friendly. The light rail service could terminate at the old Rock Island Depot and the light rail unit could be run in the push/pull – Chicago METRA style. A shuttle bus could take passengers to and from the CITYLINK terminal on Adams St.

Not a bad idea, especially given the cost of gas these days. However, there are two things not mentioned that would have to happen for it to be successful: (1) the speed limit for this light rail system would have to be faster than the 10 mph city code dictates for trains, and (2) part of the upgrade of the Kellar Branch would have to be better signals at grade crossings and fences along the tracks where the tracks pass through neighborhoods.

CityLink isn’t the only transportation entity on my tax bill. There’s also the Greater Peoria Regional Airport Authority. They have a new skipper (Ken Spirito from Gulfport, Mississippi), and part of his mission is to “redevelop and redo this terminal building. […] I want it to be a ‘wow’ impression. I want to ‘wow’ them,” according to the Journal Star‘s May 1 article. At least one person doesn’t like that idea. Polly Peoria, usually an advocate of tearing down old buildings, likes this one, so it can stay. I haven’t flown since before 9/11/01, so I honestly have no idea what kind of condition Peoria’s airport is in. If remodeling can bring in more business though, I say go for it. It’s not like that terminal was built to be a hallmark civic building.

What’s left? Let’s see, Peoria County, which recently voted down an expansion to the hazardous waste landfill. Now there’s a public board that listened to the public. District 150 and the Park Board could learn a few things from them. I’ve already blogged about this issue at length, so I’ll move on.

Finally, there’s the City of Peoria and Peoria Township. Why we need both I don’t quite understand, and yes, I have read the Journal Star’s special series on this issue. It’s an interesting read, but given what services the township now provides, it seems like they could just as easily provide it as part of city services and eliminate redundant government bodies.

As usual, my wife and I will pick a day to go down to the courthouse, eat at the pushcarts, listen to the Arts in Education bands play, enjoy the beautiful weather (hopefully), and pay our property taxes. Doing it that way lessens the pain of all the money we’re paying.

City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Response to George Burrier and the RTA

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“This issue has dragged on long enough,” said George Burrier, president of both Recreational Trail Advocates and Friends of the Rock Island Trail.

He wonders why Carver Lumber Co. doesn’t withdraw its complaint and cooperate with the city, which has constructed a $2 million rail line to the company’s site from the west.

Customers of the Kellar line enjoyed city-subsidized service for years, Burrier said, because the city leased the line for $1 a year.

“And what is the definition of ‘adequate’?” asked Burrier, a retired lawyer.

That quote is from today’s Journal Star. I’d like to answer Mr. Burrier’s questions.  First of all, Carver won’t withdraw its complaint and “cooperate with the city,” because it tried that route once already and it cost them $60,000.  The city promised in writing that service would continue over the Kellar Branch until the western spur was completed. That service did not continue, and Carver had to truck its lumber for several months at great expense.  That’s what they got for their “cooperation.”  They’re not complaining out of spite, but to protect their business and the jobs of their employees.

Burrier’s claim of city-subsidized service shows a profound ignorance of the history of the city’s involvement in the rail line.  The city paid $856,000 for the rail line in 1984.  To recoup that investment, the city charged user fees of $175 per car, plus every business on the line had to pay a special assessment, whether they used the line or not.  The city eventually dropped the per-car user fee when one of the companies on the line went out of business.  Businesses along the line have not had a free ride, as Mr. Burrier implies.

As for the definition of “adequate,” we need only read the city’s very own contract with DOT Rail (parent company of the Central Illinois Railway which replaced Pioneer Industrial Railway).  This contract was signed June 26, 2000, and says in Article 2 (emphasis mine):

DOT shall use all commercially reasonable efforts to [secure] an interchange agreement with UP [Union Pacific] under terms that will not materially increase the rates charged the Rail Line’s customers or significantly alter the service level presently provided over the Kellar Branch.  Commercially reasonable efforts shall include, if necessary, the duty to pursue all available remedies through the Surface Transportation Board (“STB”) (or other regulatory agency or body having jurisdiction) to obtain such interchange agreement.

It’s only reasonable that the new service over the western spur be tested to make sure it meets these requirements before the Kellar Branch is removed. Remember, Carver has access to eight major rail lines via the Kellar Branch, but only one (UP) via the western spur.  If UP charges them an exorbitant tariff to provide service to the spur, they will have little or no recourse.

Burrier’s statements indicate he is either ignorant of the complexities surrounding this issue, or that he is apathetic to the plight of Carver Lumber.

City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

You be the judge: is this a news report or an editorial?

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The Journal Star has posted a midday report on the Surface Transportation Board decision from two weeks ago (reported here on April 25).

The headline says “Rails staying on trail for at least 90 days.” I know reporters don’t write headlines. I’m sure the person who wrote it was looking for a clever turn of phrase. However, it reveals the newspaper’s bias — notice they already consider the Kellar Branch a trail. The rails, which have been there for over 100 years, are made to sound like an evicted tenant who refuses to leave his apartment.

If you read the whole story, you’ll notice a couple of other little biases. While they interview George Burrier, president of both the Recreational Trail Advocates (RTA) and Friends of the Rock Island Trail, and Bonnie Noble, executive director of the Peoria Park District, they don’t interview Carver Lumber Company. Isn’t that interesting?

They talk about the grants the Park District has had on hold for twelve years waiting to build the trail, but don’t mention the $55,000 Carver Lumber had to spend on additional transportation costs when the city broke their promise to provide uninterrupted rail service via Central Illinois Railway.

They talk about trail advocates (like the RTA) being unhappy, but don’t mention rail advocates (like the Illinois Prairie Railroad Foundation) being thrilled.

In short, it’s an editorial masquerading (poorly) as an unbiased news report.

UPDATE 5/6/06: They’ve run a lengthier article in today’s paper that does interview Carver Lumber and has a different headline (“Trail delays drag on“). This article is much better than the original one in the “midday report.”

City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Surface Transportation Board rules in Carver Lumber’s favor

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The Surface Transportation Board (STB) ruled today that the city can’t tear up the Kellar Branch for at least another 90 days so Carver Lumber has time to evaluate the service they receive from Central Illinois Railway (CIRY) over the spur connecting to the Union Pacific (UP) line to the west. This is exactly what Carver Lumber requested — time to evaluate whether this service would be adequate before the Kellar Branch is irreversibly turned into a hiking/biking trail. I’m sure it was sweet vindication for Carver to read the STB’s statement: “Carver Lumber’s request for time to evaluate the service options that the shipper may now have is reasonable in the circumstances presented here.”

During the 90 days between now and July 24, CIRY has to prove its service over the western spur will be adequate and comparable to service Carver used to receive from Pioneer Industrial Rail (PIRY) over the Kellar Branch, and both CIRY and Carver have to report their findings to the STB so it can make a final ruling. Also, PIRY will have an extra 20 days (until August 14) to respond to CIRY and Carver’s filings.

Expect an editorial sometime in the next week to decry the loss of grant money for the Kellar Branch rail-to-trail conversion. Boo hoo hoo.