The Kankakee, Beaverville, and Southern Railroad
In the current state of the railroad – the Kankakee, Beaverville, and Southern Railroad operates 166 miles of trackage. They are a small, independent short line railroad, that runs on old Conrail tracks purchased as it was to be abandoned. Originally, the railroad was founded by Fey Orr, a lumberyard owner who would loose rail access by the planned abandonment of the ex-Penn Central tracks serving his yard in 1977. As opportunities arose, KB&S would purchase more and more trackage and scale operations accordingly over the years until it reached its current size and operating potential.
Diving into the history of the Kankakee, Beaverville, and Southern Railroad is just like a refresher course in the beginnings of the Consolidated Rail Corporation, or Conrail, for short. The lines Fey Orr purchased between Kankakee, IL and Sheldon, IL was operated most recently by Penn Central. Fey had a lumber business and a agricultural products industry there [1]. Penn Central was a name you may be familiar with when we discuss the downsizing and demise of American railroads after boom of the second world war. Penn Central and other railroad failures at the time, sparked legislation to form Conrail in the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 (3R Act). The followed legislation of President Ford’s Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (4R Act) lead Conrail to evaluate its lines and branches for inefficiencies and lack of profitability. This evaluation lead to the planned abandonment of the afore mentioned line, while maintaining the remainder of the line from Sheldon, IL to Lafayette, IN [1, 3].
Rather interestingly, over the years Fey Orr had proved that the line was lucrative if you spent the time to tend to it. KB&S began operations December 1st ,1977 [1]. Railroad giant Milwaukee Road filed for its third bankruptcy in 42 years on December 19th, 1977 [2]. This lead to the bankruptcy trustee’s to sell and abandon unprofitable or “marginally unprofitable” lines. In 1980, this lead to the abandonment of the Milwaukee Road’s “Southeastern Line”, of which KB&S purchased 60 miles worth from North Hopper, IL to Danville, IL. [1]. At this time, the company opened it’s current headquarters and shop area at Iroquois Junction where the Milwaukee Road used to cross the New York Central along US route 52 between Donovan, IL and north of Iroquois, IL.
In 1990, Conrail would be looking to sell trackage it barely ran on between Sheldon, IL and Swanington, IN (just about 26 miles northwest of Lafayette, IN and about 8 miles north of Templeton, IN). KB&S would purchase the trackage and begin leasing ex-Nickel Plate Road trackage from Norfolk Southern between Cheneyville, IL and Templeton, IN in 1989. Come 1991, KB&S would outright purchase trackage between Lafayette, IN and Swanington, IN and the previously leased line from Norfolk Southern between Cheneyville, IL and Templeton, IN [1].
In 1997, Fey Orr passed away. Today Tyler Stroo is President of the KB&S Railroad with Neil Stroo as Vice President. A full list of their team can be found at www.kbsrailroad.com/our-team [4].
Diving into the history of the Kankakee, Beaverville, and Southern Railroad is just like a refresher course in the beginnings of the Consolidated Rail Corporation, or Conrail, for short. The lines Fey Orr purchased between Kankakee, IL and Sheldon, IL was operated most recently by Penn Central. Fey had a lumber business and a agricultural products industry there [1]. Penn Central was a name you may be familiar with when we discuss the downsizing and demise of American railroads after boom of the second world war. Penn Central and other railroad failures at the time, sparked legislation to form Conrail in the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 (3R Act). The followed legislation of President Ford’s Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (4R Act) lead Conrail to evaluate its lines and branches for inefficiencies and lack of profitability. This evaluation lead to the planned abandonment of the afore mentioned line, while maintaining the remainder of the line from Sheldon, IL to Lafayette, IN [1, 3].
Rather interestingly, over the years Fey Orr had proved that the line was lucrative if you spent the time to tend to it. KB&S began operations December 1st ,1977 [1]. Railroad giant Milwaukee Road filed for its third bankruptcy in 42 years on December 19th, 1977 [2]. This lead to the bankruptcy trustee’s to sell and abandon unprofitable or “marginally unprofitable” lines. In 1980, this lead to the abandonment of the Milwaukee Road’s “Southeastern Line”, of which KB&S purchased 60 miles worth from North Hopper, IL to Danville, IL. [1]. At this time, the company opened it’s current headquarters and shop area at Iroquois Junction where the Milwaukee Road used to cross the New York Central along US route 52 between Donovan, IL and north of Iroquois, IL.
In 1990, Conrail would be looking to sell trackage it barely ran on between Sheldon, IL and Swanington, IN (just about 26 miles northwest of Lafayette, IN and about 8 miles north of Templeton, IN). KB&S would purchase the trackage and begin leasing ex-Nickel Plate Road trackage from Norfolk Southern between Cheneyville, IL and Templeton, IN in 1989. Come 1991, KB&S would outright purchase trackage between Lafayette, IN and Swanington, IN and the previously leased line from Norfolk Southern between Cheneyville, IL and Templeton, IN [1].
In 1997, Fey Orr passed away. Today Tyler Stroo is President of the KB&S Railroad with Neil Stroo as Vice President. A full list of their team can be found at www.kbsrailroad.com/our-team [4].
Source: kbsrailroad.com
References
[1] “Years of Service”. Kankakee, Beaverville, and Southern Railroad, www.kbsrailroad.com/copy-of-about. Accessed 27 May 2024. Referenced to help frame out article by providing pivoting points in KB&S railroad history.
[2] “Milwaukee Road”. Milwaukee Road – Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Road. Published 16 May 2024. Accessed 27 May 2024. Referenced for information on Milwaukee Road’s reasoning and financial condition during abandonment of the Southeastern Line.
[3] “Conrail”. Conrail – Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrail. Published 18 May 2024. Accessed 27 May 2024. Referenced for the historical relevance of Conrail’s formation and to provide accurate date and legislation information to this article.
[4] “Railroad Personnel.” Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern Railroad, www.kbsrailroad.com/our-team. Accessed 27 May 2024. Referenced for current administration of KB&S railroad.
[2] “Milwaukee Road”. Milwaukee Road – Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_Road. Published 16 May 2024. Accessed 27 May 2024. Referenced for information on Milwaukee Road’s reasoning and financial condition during abandonment of the Southeastern Line.
[3] “Conrail”. Conrail – Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrail. Published 18 May 2024. Accessed 27 May 2024. Referenced for the historical relevance of Conrail’s formation and to provide accurate date and legislation information to this article.
[4] “Railroad Personnel.” Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern Railroad, www.kbsrailroad.com/our-team. Accessed 27 May 2024. Referenced for current administration of KB&S railroad.