Category Archives: Kellar Branch

Kellar Branch, Village of Peoria Heights

Peoria Heights interested in trolley idea for Kellar Branch

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Gomaco Trolley in PortlandWhile the City Council, Park District, Journal Star, and Recreational Trail Advocates scoffed at the idea of putting a trolley on the Kellar Branch line, there’s one key player who thinks the idea has some merit: the mayor of Peoria Heights.

A subscriber to the Peoria Rails Yahoo Group posted this message earlier today:

Look for a big splash in the paper tomorrow. Peoria Heights mayor Mark B. Allen at the Peoria/Pekin Urbanized Area Transportation Study (PPUATS) meeting today, said he wanted money for a look at a trolley line to link the new development at the old Cohen Warehouse to downtown Peoria. They want a replica street car to link the two areas to provide economic growth. With Peoria Heights on board so to speak, I would say that the rail line is safe for a while. I’d rather see a business with rail service in the old warehouse but any businesses that contributes to economic growth rather than drain taxes for a trail is a good thing.

Just think, if they built the trail next to the track, they could walk or bike the trail one way and ride the trolley the other. They would also support jobs. That’s a win win win for everyone.

This is significant because the bulk of the section the Park District wants to convert to a trail runs through Peoria Heights, not Peoria. In fact, Peoria Heights owns the portion of the Kellar Branch that passes through their village and could decide to sell it or lease it without having to get any approval from the Peoria City Council. That’s only fair, since Peoria has been unilaterally making decisions about the line up to this point in time.

The Kellar Branch saga continues.

UPDATE: Here’s the Journal Star’s first article on this story.

Kellar Branch

The starry-eyed dreamers are trail advocates, not rail proponents

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So the predictable Journal Star editorial on the Kellar Branch today says this:

From where we sit, reports on the viability and cost of dual use of the corridor are too unreliable for that choice to be on the table now.

This was the most shocking quote in the whole editorial because the editors, for the first time in recent memory, did not just repeat the Park District’s numbers as though Moses carried them down from the mountain. No, they’re now “unreliable.”

Then, another shocking statement: “We generally acknowledge the economic development potential of railroads and other transportation infrastructure.” Good, good. They’re recognizing the obvious now. Any hope that they were coming to their senses was soon dashed, however:

But with regard to the Kellar branch specifically, two decades of trying with little success make us dubious. Whatever the excuses – and rail proponents cite several – the line has not delivered.

You gotta love self-fulfilling prophecies. For about 13 years of the last two decades the city has been trying to shut down the line, and the western spur was only completed less than a year ago. These are just “excuses”? Why, I could just as easily say that after two decades, the Park District has failed to make good on their promise to convert this to a hiking path and raise property values. Whatever their excuses — and trail advocates cite several — the Park District hasn’t delivered.

Here’s another little gem:

If the Kellar is such a can’t-miss economic development asset, why unload it at a loss?

Au contraire, if the Kellar Branch is worth $1.2 million dollars, why should the city lease it to the Park District for $1/year just so they can tear it up and build a trail on the corridor with at least six million more taxpayer dollars, not including on-going maintenance? Is that good stewardship of taxpayer money? What’s the return on that investment for the taxpayers? When will that investment break even? How? Most of the track in question is located in the Village Peoria Heights, not the City of Peoria. How does this benefit Peoria taxpayers?

It’s a wonder Councilman Gary Sandberg, City Hall’s most vocal skeptic of public subsidies for private businesses, has never complained about the significant subsidy for past users of this rail line; they got something for nothing courtesy of local taxpayers.

Suppose for a moment that we accept the Journal Star’s logic here. What do you think would be the reasonable solution to this?

  • (a) Start charging more to lease the line to rail carriers
  • (b) Reinstate the $175-per-car fee the city levied in the 1980s that made the line uncompetitive
  • (c) Sell the line so that a private owner can pay taxes on the line, thus removing the supposed “subsidy”
  • (d) A and B combined
  • (e) Lease it to the Park District for $1/year so it remains off the tax rolls, remove the $1.2 million (their figures) rail line, and instead of subsidizing tax-paying, job-creating businesses (like we do everywhere else in Peoria, including Junction City where they were just given enterprise zone status), start subsidizing bikers and joggers who already have nearly 9,000 acres of park land and miles of sidewalks and residential streets on which to exercise.

Naturally, the Journal Star picks the most nonsensical option: (e). Add to that the $100,000+ in legal fees the city has been paying to secure this $1.2 million corridor for the benefit of the Park District and, to paraphrase the illustrious editorial board, some folks, I dare say, are just caught up in the romance of trails. But there’s a price to that passion, and Peoria has been paying it too long for too little return.

City Council, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Pioneer Railcorp ups Kellar Branch offer to $750,000

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Below is the text of the latest letter from Pioneer Railcorp to the Mayor and council members regarding the Kellar Branch. They’ve raised their $565,000 offer to $750,000. Tomorrow night, the city will decide if they want to pursue this three-quarters-of-a-million-dollars offer or continue paying legal fees out the nose for the benefit of the park district. It’s not like the city needs the money or anything.

February 16, 2007

Dear Council Member ——-:

Thank you for allowing me to speak at your meeting Tuesday night. I am writing to encourage you to support the selection of our Company to provide competitive rail service to the Peoria area, via the Keller Branch, and to reaffirm our commitment to share the railroad right of way with a trail, and work to develop a trolley/commuter service on the line to help local business and tourism.

Our sister Company Keokuk Junction Railway Co. is willing to purchase the Kellar Branch/”western connection” for $750,000. This is our last, best and final offer. I am confident that this offer is more than generous, especially since it is likely the City has already received a significant payback of its original investment from previous surcharges that were collected. Putting the Kellar Branch back in private hands will put it back on the tax rolls, allow us to make necessary investments in the track, and obviate the worsening weed/brush situation, which CIRY refuses to address.

Selling the railroad to our Company would facilitate the quickest and easiest means to build a trail, and will once and for all put an end to a problem that has festered for over 10 years. Please consider the fact that it is an unanswered question as to how much of the underlying real estate is actually owned by the City, if any. Aside from the rail issues, construction of a trail could be significantly delayed if it turns out that the property reverts to the adjoining landowners, if the Keller Branch were to be removed. This would not be an issue if the railroad remains intact. I am confident that a way to fund the construction of the trail will be found, once the decision has been made to keep the Keller Branch intact, just as it was for the trail between East Peoria and Morton along Highway 150. As I mentioned Tuesday, shared right of ways are being used all over the country and I would like to point out that the City already has a trail on railroad right of way along the downtown riverfront! Resolving this issue once and for all would allow the City to turn its attention to more pressing issues, such as reducing crime and increasing economic development. To date the City has wasted in excess of $100,000 of taxpayer money on legal fees alone on this issue, not to mention untold hundreds of thousands of dollars in staff and council time. Without immediate closure, this problem will be ongoing for many more years.

In regard to comments made concerning the importance of a rail carrier having a good relationship with the Union Pacific, please be assured that Pioneer Railcorp subsidiaries perform millions of dollars of business with the Union Pacific Railroad, all over the country, including handling 10,000 cars a year for the Union Pacific in Fort Smith, Arkansas and delivering 1 million tons of coal from the Union Pacific in Central Illinois. Of course, none of this would be possible if we were not able to work with the Union Pacific, as some have falsely claimed.

We have been the only company able to operate the Keller Branch at a profit, and anticipate significant growth in usage of the Keller Branch in the coming years. In addition, both current users of the line, including O’Brien Steel, have told the Council our Company provides excellent service. CRY has never provided reliable or dependable service to Carver Lumber, and I have concerns that CRY employees are not actually performing railroad services for O’Brien Steel, and instead believe the handling of O’Brien Steel rail traffic is being performed by O’Brien employees directly. If this is accurate, it is a potential liability exposure the City cannot afford to have. Mr. O’Brien’s company, contrary to the information he presented the Council, has historically been a moderate user of the Keller Branch. Please see the table below:

O’Brien Steel Rail Usage

Year Railcars
1998 95
1999 30
2000 76
2001 66
2002 74
2003 81
2004 116
2005 82
Total 620

In addition, it is my understanding that O’Brien received at least 45 cars in 2006. I think it is a safe assumption to make that O’Brien Steel would not have used rail it was not the most cost effective way to receive its product.

Thank you for your consideration of my request. Please be assured we want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. If you have any questions you would like answered please contact me anytime at […].

Respectfully,

J. Michael Carr
CEO and President

By the way, do you think rail and trail can’t coexist? Well, it does in South Elgin, Illinois. I guess they’re just more creative than we are here in Peoria:

Fox River Trail with Rail

Kellar Branch

(Disclaimer: No one is paying me to criticize Elaine Hopkins)

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Former Journal Star reporter Elaine Hopkins has a new blog (disclaimer: no one is paying me to advertise her new blog) in which she makes sweeping assertions about how wonderful Peoria will be if only the Kellar Branch is converted to a recreational trail (disclaimer: no one is paying me to make sarcastic comments about Hopkins’ blog).

That’s not news (disclaimer: no one paid me to write that last sentence). What is interesting about her article (disclaimer: no one paid me to be interested in anything Hopkins has written) is this paragraph (disclaimer: no one paid me to reproduce or comment on this paragraph) in which she talks about nameless blogs that oppose the Kellar Branch conversion:

The blogs drone on endlessly, but never proclaim their independence from Pioneer Rail Co., the company behind the litigation and other stall tactics. Are these bloggers getting financial support from Pioneer? They should declare their independence, if they can do so.

Think about the implications of that statement (disclaimer: no one is paying me to ask you to think). Normally, if there’s a conflict of interest, you state it up front; if you don’t state it, it’s assumed that you have no conflict of interest unless there is some evidence that will prove otherwise — you know, the whole “innocent until proven guilty” thing (disclaimer: no one is paying me to point out the obvious). But Hopkins turns that on its head. Apparently, she believes that you have an obligation to “declare [your] independence” in order to be free of suspicion about a possible conflict of interest (disclaimer: no one is paying me to demonstrate the logical conclusion of such an argument).

Can you imagine all the ink that would need to be spilled if every story had to include independence disclaimers? (Disclaimer: no one is paying me to put these irritating disclaimers all over the place to make a point.)

It’s also worth noting that she doesn’t declare her independence from the Park District or other trail supporters (disclaimer: no one is paying me to turn Hopkins’ cynicism back on herself). Are we to assume, by her standards, that she’s getting a check for her support? (Disclaimer: no one is paying me to scoff at Hopkins.)

Just for the record, four days before Ms. Hopkins’ post, I said right here on my blog, “The first thing [Khazzam] asked me was if I was being paid by Pioneer Rail in any way, shape, or form. He could hardly believe me when I said I wasn’t.” And three days before her post, I added in a follow-up comment, “No, my opinion on this issue hasn’t been bought. I’ve come to my conclusions honestly and after thoughtful independent research. I’ve never received any money from Pioneer, and that’s a fact.” (Disclaimer: no is paying me to say Pioneer isn’t paying me.)

So, put up or shut up, Ms. Hopkins. Do you have any evidence that bloggers are being paid off by Pioneer Railcorp? Let’s see it. The onus is on you. (Disclaimer: no one is paying me to challenge Hopkins.) Feel free to leave your evidence in the comments section of my blog; I’m not afraid to let people comment on my posts (disclaimer: no one is paying me to take a jab at Hopkins’ not allowing comments on her post).

City Council, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

My first address to the City Council

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Tonight, I addressed the Peoria City Council regarding the Kellar Branch issue. It was my first time addressing the council on any topic, and while I didn’t mentally feel nervous, physically I got cotton mouth and ended up speaking too fast. I guess that just goes to show I don’t have a future in public speaking. You can read my prepared remarks below by clicking the “Show More” link. I stuck pretty close to them, but I did ad lib a couple of times.

I got to meet Alexis Khazzam. We had a nice talk about the Kellar Branch issue. He’s often described to me as “energetic,” and after having met him in person, that’s a very accurate description. The first thing he asked me was if I was being paid by Pioneer Rail in any way, shape, or form. He could hardly believe me when I said I wasn’t. He was very nice and, even though we disagree on the Kellar Branch thing, he didn’t hold it against me personally.

In contrast, I also got to meet David Maloof who said exactly nothing to me. Barbara Van Auken introduced me to him and he somewhat reluctantly shook my hand. I’m not sure what to think of that. Maybe he’s just shy.

Former Mayor Dick Carver was actually a lot fairer than I thought he would be in discussing the issue. That was a pleasant surprise. I still think he’s overly optimistic about service via the western spur. He stressed the importance of having a carrier who has a good working relationship with the Union Pacific railroad in order for service from the west to work. That’s a perfect example of why service via the Kellar Branch is superior — competitive rail service is not dependent upon the benevolence of Union Pacific.

There were surprisingly few people who spoke. My guess is that there will be a lot of people speaking next week. I decided to speak tonight because I felt, while it’s unlikely my speech will change anyone’s mind, it would be more likely to change their minds this week when they’re not under pressure to vote right away.

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City Council, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

City stacks deck against rail supporters

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Three weeks ago, Pat Nichting (5th District) asked the council to grant the privilege of the floor to Mike Rucker of the Recreational Trail Advocates. Rucker proceeded to hand out binders full of information to each council person and give a 10-minute presentation on why the council should continue to support the trail.

On Tuesday’s agenda, the first item is, “PRESENTATION by FORMER MAYOR RICHARD CARVER and Communication from the City Manager and Corporation Counsel Regarding REPORT on ALTERNATIVES AVAILABLE Regarding the KELLER BRANCH RAIL LINE with a Request for Direction from the City Council.” Carver is, of course, on the Peoria Park District dole to help facilitate the conversion of the Kellar Branch to a recreational trail. He’ll probably have all the time he wants.

Meanwhile, rail supporters — e.g., Michael Carr of Pioneer Railcorp, former mayor Richard Neumiller — will probably be told to limit their comments to five minutes each. Are trail proponents afraid they’ll lose the argument if they have to give equal time to rail supporters?

Alexis Khazzam is expected to produce some sort of expert testimony that a shared use of the trail with the rail line is impossible or too expensive, and there are some other presenters lined up to present how great of a boon this trail is going to be to our economy, raising property values and improving Peoria’s “quality of life.”

Be sure to bring your pooper-scooper on Tuesday. The RTA and Park District’s dog and pony show should be a memorable event. Most of the council members’ minds are already made up at this point, so this is all just a formality anyway. They’ll hear what they want to hear and vote like they planned to vote all along. If you want my take on the issue, you can read it by clicking here.

City Council, City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Trail advocates’ ignorance embarrassing

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There are two letters to the editor in today’s paper that are supportive of converting the Kellar Branch rail line to a recreational trail. They are full of inaccuracies and misleading statements. Let’s take a look.

First up is a letter from Janice Atkinson. She writes:

A trolley would be cute but an incredible waste of funds, and be used by far fewer people than a recreational trail. The trolley would block traffic and cause accidents at road crossings. It would operate on fossil fuels.

A few things:

  1. I don’t believe this would be a waste of funds, but even if it were, it would be private funds that would be wasted instead of public funds. No one is asking the city to foot the bill for a trolley — it’s a business venture. You know, the kind of businesses that pay taxes. Turning the line into a trail, on the other hand, would be an incredible waste of funds on which we would never see a return on investment.
  2. The number of people a trolley versus a trail would draw is irrelevant. The rail line would not only be used for trolley service, but also freight. The businesses that could be lured to the industrial sites along the line would provide a much bigger return on investment in taxes and jobs than a trail ever would.
  3. “The trolley would block traffic and cause accidents at road crossings”? This is the weakest argument I’ve heard yet. Yes, it would have to cross streets, so there would be a delay while the trolley passed, but considering it would be a single car and not a 100-car freight train, this “delay” would be no longer than a regular stoplight cycle. As far as it “causing accidents,” prove it. Show me the accident records for historic trolleys. I’ll bet you the number of people injured is less than the number of walkers who have been attacked on urban recreational trails.
  4. “It would operate on fossil fuels.” Wrong. It would operate on battery technology. If Ms. Atkinson drives a car, she will be putting far more pollutants in the air in one day than a trolley ever will.

She further says:

When the Kellar branch was in use, the train held up traffic at various points. The rails were not properly or regularly maintained. They remain an eyesore. […] Maintenance for a trail would be minimal in comparison to what a trolley route would require.

The track belongs to the city right now, which is responsible for its upkeep. Since they’ve been trying to shut it down and tear it out for a trail, obviously it’s poorly maintained. If the line were sold to Pioneer, they would upgrade the rail line and keep it in good working condition. Again, private dollars would be maintaining it, whereas a trail would be maintained with public dollars. And in any case, it would take far less maintenance to fix the rails than to tear them out for a trail.

Let’s move along to Joyce Blumenshine’s letter:

Any City Council member who follows Sandberg should consider the 82,000 users on the Rock Island Trail, and about $3 million in trail grants the Peoria Park District has waiting.

Whoa! Wait a minute! Did she say the Park District only has $3 million in trail grants? I have a quote here that says it will cost the Park District over $6 million to convert the rail line to a trail. Where is the extra $3+ million going to come from? Short of finding a matching grant, I guess the funds will come from the taxpayers in the form of a tax hike. Are higher property taxes a big draw for people to buy homes next to a trail?

The Kellar branch line belongs to the city and people of Peoria.

Yes, all of the people, not just trail advocates. And it was purchased by the city in 1984 to provide competitive rail service to Pioneer Park, not to make a linear park.

The city needs to renew its lease with Central Illinois Rail on the Kellar branch line. Any consideration of the city dealing with Pioneer Railcorp should be dead in the water. Pioneer has a proven track record of flagrant obstructions, blatant abuse of contract terms and broken promises. It is a company totally unworthy of consideration.

Ms. Blumenshine is wrong. The record-holder for obstructions, abuse of contract terms, and broken promises goes to Central Illinois Railroad Company (CIRY), which never fulfilled its contractual obligation to provide service to Carver Lumber while the western spur was being built, endangered the lives of Peoria citizens with a runaway train, and withdrew their petition to discontinue service on the Kellar Branch so they could serve new customers along the Kellar Branch. It is CIRY that has doublecrossed the RTA and Ms. Blumenshine, not Pioneer. Pioneer wants to help build a trail next to the rail line, an option that is constantly rejected:

Sandberg must know resurrection of the dual rail line and trail is a death sentence for the trail due to high cost and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

The “high cost” to which she refers is the park district’s estimate that it would cost over $29 million to build the trail side-by-side with the rail line. That estimate is a joke. What engineering firm provided the estimate? How did they determine the cost per square foot? How did they determine whether a trestle was needed or if the trail could follow the natural topography of the land?

On that last point, you’ll notice on the estimate that about $20.3 million of it is in trestles alone (not including the one at Versailles Gardens, which to my knowledge is undisputed) — 8,065 feet of trestles. Over a mile and a half of trestles. Apparently the park district believes (a) the trail must be perfectly flat or it won’t meet ADA requirements (which makes one wonder what they’re going to do with the steep grade where the rail goes up the bluff), and (b) the only way to bridge such gaps is to build a $180/ft² trestle. I’ll bet a real engineering study would uncover a much different solution.

Finally, I’d like to make just two comments about the Journal Star’s editorial today:

Pioneer may be a local business, but it also has helped ensure that the truly railroaded here have been local taxpayers.

Yes, the railroaded here have been local taxpayers, but not because of Pioneer. Rather, it has been because of the Peoria Park District. A district that, although it has nearlly 9,000 acres of park land and a number of existing trails, covets a little rail line through the center of town. They’re like Mr. Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the Kellar Branch is the lonely old Building and Loan that, try as they might, the park district just can’t get control of and it’s galling them.

Any boost a sale would give the city’s operating budget shouldn’t be relevant, as it’s a one-time revenue source, not an ongoing revenue stream.

That’s right, Peoria. $565,000 for city coffers is irrelevant. But putting that aside, the Journal Star should do their homework. Pioneer’s offer to the city included the option of a long-term lease — and that would, in fact, provide a revenue stream to the city. Nevertheless, I believe it would be in the city’s best interest to get out of the railroad business altogether and sell the line. They could still retain the right of first refusal if Pioneer ever decided to sell or abandon it.

The City Council should do the right thing and sell the line to Pioneer. But most likely this will be deferred for another week. So, go to the meeting, but be prepared to have to wait another week.

City of Peoria, Kellar Branch

Council should sell the Kellar Branch to Pioneer.

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A couple of weeks ago, Gary Sandberg suggested the city should come up with a strategy for the Kellar Branch before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) tells the city what to do. Toward that end, the council agreed to ask staff to bring back their options and recommendations on what to do.

Well, that information is on the agenda for Tuesday night’s (2/6/07) council meeting. However, this communication from city staff omits important, germane facts that the council should be considering.

Here’s what the communication says:

Option 1 – Deferral: It is possible for the Council to defer this matter to February 13 because of the STB Continuance. Council could even continue this to February 20 if it looks as though a resolution may be reached. If this option is chosen, the Council may want to consider formally requesting positions from ClRY and PlRY for its consideration. Both have been invited to put their position in writing, but neither has done so as of February 1, 2007.

That is untrue. As I reported back in May 2006, Pioneer has had their “position” in writing since September 24, 2004. The president of Pioneer Railcorp, J. Michael Carr, explained his company’s position thus:

We are fighting this battle because Pioneer is a Peoria company, dedicated to the betterment of this community. Abandonment of the Kellar Branch would be an incredibly short-sighted move, for which this City would suffer for decades to come. We are determined not to let that happen.

This City Council has been able to put petty politics aside and make some hard decisions for the long-term benefit of Peoria. It is time to do that again. While it may not be popular with a few newspaper editors, bringing the saga of the Kellar Branch to an end is the right thing to do for the City. It will return almost a million dollars to the City immediately, and bring dividends for many years to come. I am hopeful the Council will exercise the statesmanship to act on this opportunity.

Did you catch that? They’re dedicated to the betterment of this community because they are a Peoria company. Many people forget that Pioneer is a local company (CIRY is based out of LaSalle and the Kellar Branch is the only interest they have in our area), and they also forget that its founder, Guy Brenkman, is not the President anymore — hasn’t been for years (not that it should matter, but it does to some people).

Pioneer’s offer still stands. (Read the full text here.) To put their money where their mouth is regarding commitment to the Peoria area, check out some of the things they’ve offered:

  • 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 (the Park District estimates this item alone would cost almost $400,000);
  • 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 (the Illinois Prairie Railroad Foundation has submitted a plan for providing this service recently);
  • 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.

What has CIRY offered to the area? Hmmm….. nothing. Next option from the city:

Option 2 -Sale of Kellar Branch: The City could choose to sell its ownership of the Kellar Branch which, of course, would have limited value without the Village of Peoria Heights agreeing to sell its portion of the Kellar Branch. In the past, PlRY has expressed interest in purchasing the Kellar Branch. The sale of the Kellar Branch would make the possibility of a recreational trail a more remote possibility. The sale would not require STB approval.

There are several problems with this. First, “PIRY [Pioneer] has expressed interest in purchasing the Kellar Branch.” In light of their offer, I’d say this is the understatement of 2007 so far. Also, saying that selling the branch “would make … a recreational trail a more remote possibility” is exactly the opposite of the truth. It makes it more of a possibility — a promise to cooperate, a promise to provide money and manpower, and a promise of signing a lease agreement. Not selling it and having CIRY run it would make trail usage more remote.

But the most baffling part of the comment is the first part: that owning the City’s portion of the Kellar Branch “would have limited value without the Village of Peoria Heights agreeing to sell its portion of the Kellar Branch.” If that’s true, then why did the city sell part of the line to Peoria Heights in the first place? The city bought the line in 1984, but then according to the STB, “the City subsequently transferred to the Village [of Peoria Heights] an ownership interest in the portion of the Branch located within the Village’s corporate limits.” So, is city staff saying it made a mistake in selling a portion of it?

But putting that aside, I don’t see how that is pertinent to this communication. It wouldn’t be “of little value” to the city, only to the purchaser. Is city staff suddenly concerned about Pioneer’s welfare, whether they will get their money’s worth out of the line? That’s not really the city staff’s job, is it? The line would bring over a half-million dollars into city coffers if they act on Pioneer’s standing offer. That’s of great value to the city. The city needn’t worry about Pioneer; they’ll be just fine.

Moving on to the next option:

Option 3 – Operating Agreement with CIRY: The next alternative is to enter into an operating agreement with ClRY and continue to seek involuntary discontinuance of PIRY’s STB operating authority. ClRY remains committed to making service from the West viable. They are working with the Union Pacific, over whose tracks service from the West must travel, to reduce the cost of service from the West. They are also committed to improving service from the West. ClRY believes that the Kellar Branch can be used to help finance service from the West until such time as there are sufficient users in Pioneer Park and/or Growth Cell 2 to create an economy of scale. ClRY has verbally advised us that they would spend $150,000 to improve the Kellar Branch tracks to a point north of the concrete company and would be able to, therefore, serve any user in the southern area over the old Kellar Branch. They would use excess trackage for storing piggyback rail cars and would use the money earned from this to attempt to make service from the West more viable. They are willing to address the weed problem along the tracks when it is economically feasible to do so. This and the exact placement of storage cars would have to be negotiated with CIRY. It should be noted that the largest rail user on the Kellar Branch, O’Brien Steel, would prefer to do business with ClRY rather than PIRY. ClRY is also committed to working with Carver Lumber to attempt to address their concerns with service from the West.

By it’s sheer length, we don’t have to read to the end of the communication to see which option city staff favors. The city speaks a lot of CIRY’s “commitment” to do this and that, but there is no evidence of it. Is it like their commitment to deliver cars to Carver within 24 hours of their placement for pickup (which they haven’t lived up to)? Or is it like their commitment to work with the city to discontinue service on the Kellar Branch so it could be converted to a trail (which they axed by withdrawing their discontinuance request with the STB)? Or is it like their commitment to provide service to Carver Lumber over the Kellar Branch until the western connection was built (which they never did)?

It’s interesting that city staff saw fit to tell the council that CIRY verbally committed $150,000 in track upgrades for the lower part of the Kellar Branch, yet they didn’t forward Pioneer’s standing written offer to upgrade all of the track to Class I standards. And how expensive is it to ride a hi-rail truck up the line and spray the weeds, anyway? They can’t do this until it’s “economically feasible”? They must not be in too good of shape financially.

It’s also interesting that they mention here that O’Brien Steel — which would be unaffected by the Kellar Branch being abandoned — prefers CIRY. But the fact that Carver Lumber — the company that is affected and continues to lose money because of the city’s actions and CIRY’s inaction on the Kellar Branch — doesn’t like CIRY and would prefer Pioneer gets cursory treatment.

Finally, the fourth option:

Option 4 – Operating Agreement with PIRY: The fourth alternative would be to enter into an operating agreement with PIRY and to voluntarily withdraw the application for involuntary discontinuance of PIRY’s rail service. PIRY has previously told the STB that they are ready, willing and able to upgrade the track so that it is usable and provide service to Pioneer Park. Any operating agreement with PIRY would also need to address the weed issue which has traditionally been addressed by having the carrier mow the weeds within fifteen feet of the centerline of the track. This alternative would create operating rights in both the ClRY and PIRY to areas in Pioneer Park. Multiple carriers on the track could create operational and safety issues as well as make the line financially less viable.

“PIRY has previously told the STB….” Yes, and the city. The silence about Pioneer’s offer is deafening. As far as “this alternative…creat[ing] operating rights [for] both the CIRY and PIRY,” that’s a matter of debate. The contract is with DOT Services, the former parent company for CIRY. CIRY now is owned by Central Illinois Railroad Holdings, LLC. The contract, as far as I know, was never transfered. Thus, CIRY may not have a contract with the city at all.

Nevertheless, their conclusion is faulty: “Multiple carriers on the track could create operational and safety issues as well as make the line financially less viable.” I always thought multiple carriers would provide competition and thus lower rates for users of the line. But given the city’s beliefs about the western spur, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at the city’s conclusion. The only safety issue on the line has been allowing CIRY to operate it — in the seven years Pioneer ran the line, there was never a major safety incident; CIRY’s first try at taking lumber up the branch with insufficient locomotive power resulted in a runaway train that endangered the lives of Peoria’s citizens. Their contract should have been terminated immediately.

The only reason city staff is recommending CIRY is this:

While there has been much discussion of the possibility of co-locating a trail with rail, the Park District, the only entity with any funding to build a trail, has consistently rejected the possibility of co-locating on the trail. Because ClRY is committed to making service from the West viable and because ClRY apparently has a better working relationship with the Union Pacific, an operating agreement with ClRY would appear to be the best opportunity for the City to be in a position to use the portion of the Kellar Branch between Springdale Cemetery and Pioneer Park for a recreational trail.

I find it comical that the city believes an agreement with CIRY would “be the best opportunity” for the city to pursue its dreams of a recreational trail when it was CIRY’s poor service to Carver Lumber and withdrawal of their discontinuance request before the STB that has completely derailed (no pun intended) the conversion plan!

The council should reject city staff’s advice and take Pioneer’s offer to purchase the line. That, and only that, is the only sure way to get a trail. I know the Park District will scream bloody murder, but I guarantee you they would miraculously find grant money to make a side-by-side rail with trail scenario work, and for a lot less than $29 million. Even if they didn’t, the council would be doing the right thing for Peoria by keeping the rail line for economic development instead of tearing it out for a money-losing trail.

Kellar Branch

Trolley service proposed for Kellar Branch line

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Gomaco Trolley in PortlandWhile the Recreational Trail Advocates are stepping up their efforts to get the Kellar Branch rail line converted to a hiking/biking trail, there is another plan on the table that calls for keeping the rail line for passenger service.

Sharon Deckard, President of the Illinois Prairie Railroad Foundation, has put together a proposal for offering commuter and tourist trolley service along the Kellar Branch. The service would provide transportation from downtown, through shopping areas such as Junction City and Peoria Heights, and up through Pioneer Park to a proposed “park and ride” station. A trolley would be used from the Gomaco Trolley Company which builds replicas of historic trolley cars, but with modern train technology. They could build a replica of one of Peoria’s old street cars or an Illinois Traction interurban. (Of course, the new cars would be self-propelled, so no need to restring electric wires for power.)

Deckard has personally delivered her proposal to each Peoria City Council member and the Mayor of Peoria Heights. You can see her full proposal here: Trolley-Proposal-Full.pdf (warning: large file! 8.8 MB PDF).

If you don’t want to download the large PDF file, here is the main text of the proposal:

Using what we already have to benefit
TODAY and TOMORROW

All across the country cities are finding the need to go to commuter rail. This is a service that allows them to come from their suburban bedroom communities into the city to their jobs and businesses.

The stop and go commute, parking problems, fuel emissions in the air and a host of other things including the most important “time”, is causing these cities to install commuter rail. This ranges from park n rides to full length light rail through larger downtowns.

They are finding that providing this access to their cities is encouraging residents and businesses alike to relocate near these amenities.

The biggest problem in establishing this program for commuters is that they find it cost prohibitive and it takes many years to accomplish it. They have to buy the land, clear it, install the tracks and buy the equipment, as well as run it so that it is beneficial to itself and the community.

We, here in Peoria are way ahead of the game. We have the rail, in place and waiting. We have eliminated 90% of the cost before we start.

Peoria is a very unique community in that it has a complete ring road of trackage around the entire city. There are eight railroads that currently serve Peoria. This gives a foot in the door to numerous benefits for this community.

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