Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad

Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Railroad
Predecessor	Peoria and Oquawka Railroad
Founded	1849
Headquarters	United States
Area served	Illinois, Indiana
Key people	Gordon Fuller (former president)
Products	Freight rail transport
Owner	Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
Parent	Genesee & Wyoming Inc.

The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway—once colloquially known as the "Tip-Up"—is a shortline railroad that operates approximately 228 miles of track connecting Mapleton, Peoria, Illinois, and Logansport, Indiana. TP&W maintains interchange connections with several regional railroads and possesses trackage rights across routes linking Peoria to Galesburg, Illinois, Logansport to Kokomo, Indiana, and from Reynolds, Indiana to Lafayette, Indiana. As of 2024, ownership of TP&W lies with Genesee & Wyoming Inc.

Company formation and expansion

The railroad’s beginnings can be traced to the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad, established in 1849 with the goal of linking the Illinois River at Peoria to the Mississippi River. By 1857, the line extended from Peoria to East Burlington, Illinois. Despite its designation, it bypassed Oquawka, Illinois due to resistance from local residents.

By 1860, the line reached the Illinois-Indiana border at Effner, Illinois, where it connected with the newly formed Logansport, Peoria and Burlington Railroad (LP&B). After financial setbacks led to receivership by 1859, it was absorbed by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q). The Peoria-Effner segment was sold in 1861 to LP&B, which reorganized as the Toledo, Peoria and Warsaw Railway (TP&W) in 1864.

Although "Toledo" appears in its name, the railway never extended to Toledo, Ohio. In 1868, TP&W purchased the Mississippi and Wabash Railroad’s line between Peoria and Warsaw, Illinois. By 1871, two important routes were inaugurated: a main line crossing the Mississippi River between Hamilton, Illinois and Keokuk, Iowa, and a branch running from La Harpe, Illinois to Lomax, Illinois, facilitating interchange with CB&Q. Additionally, TP&W secured trackage rights over CB&Q’s branch from Lomax to Burlington, Iowa.

Financial difficulties in the late 1870s resulted in reorganization in 1880 under the name Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad (TP&W). The line was leased by the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway until 1884. On March 28, 1887, the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway was incorporated anew to continue operations. In 1893, control passed to the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), granting PRR access westward to Keokuk and interchange capability with CB&Q at Lomax. Subsequently, ownership of TP&W was jointly held by CB&Q and PRR.

George McNear ownership and disputes

By the early twentieth century, Peoria had become a key junction for several class I railroads such as CB&Q and PRR. Due to declining traffic volumes causing financial losses, TP&W entered receivership during the mid-1920s. Passenger numbers dropped as paved state highways paralleled its routes. Both CB&Q and PRR sought to acquire TP&W; however, in 1926 George P. McNear Jr., a former executive with New York Central and investor, purchased the railroad for $1.3 million.

As president of TP&W, McNear ended receivership by liquidating assets valued at $500,000—including selling a terminal to the Peoria and Pekin Union Railway—and issued bonds worth $800,000. He discontinued an excess CB&Q connection in favor of establishing a new link with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The railway positioned itself as an alternative route circumventing congested rail corridors around Chicago and St. Louis, gaining popularity among neighboring railroads.

McNear modernized equipment and accelerated freight services while ceasing passenger and mail operations. In 1937, TP&W purchased six ALCO H-10 class 4-8-4 steam locomotives—the lightest of their kind in North America. Under McNear’s guidance during the Great Depression era, TP&W was among few U.S. railroads that remained profitable.

Nonetheless, McNear’s individualized labor policies generated resistance from thirteen unions affiliated with TP&W leading to several unsuccessful strikes. A major strike erupted in December 1941 following wage scale announcements but concluded in March 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt placed TP&W under federal control for wartime support efforts appointing John W. Barriger III as federal manager.

Post-World War II control reverted to McNear in 1945 but sparked a nineteen-month-long strike marked by violent incidents including shootings at Gridley, Illinois. Federal injunctions compelled resumption of operations. On March 10, 1947 McNear was fatally shot near his residence in an unsolved case believed connected to labor conflicts. Trustees assumed management afterward with Frisco Railway executive J. Russell Coulter named president.

By May 1947 Coulter reinstated most former labor agreements ending the strike. Despite losing half of its traffic volume and some executives during labor unrests, TP&W returned to profitability by early 1950s under Coulter’s leadership. He spearheaded dieselization through acquisition of ALCO and EMD locomotives completed by October 1950. The railway strengthened its role as a bypass route and originator for Peoria traffic while expanding interchange partnerships with PRR, Santa Fe, CB&Q, Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway, Nickel Plate Road, and New York Central.

PRR and Santa Fe management

In January 1960, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and Santa Fe jointly purchased the TP&W from the McNear estate, each holding a 50% stake. Throughout the 1960s, TP&W experienced a downturn in traffic volumes as key interchange partners were lost: Minneapolis and St. Louis was taken over by Chicago and North Western (C&NW) in 1960; the Nickel Plate Road (NKP) and Wabash Railroads merged into Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) in 1964; and PRR combined with New York Central (NYC) to create Penn Central (PC) in 1968.

Santa Fe constructed a bypass near Streator, Illinois, facilitating a direct interchange connection with NYC. TP&W obtained trackage rights over Santa Fe’s line between Lomax and Fort Madison to preserve interchange flexibility. By 1970, TP&W operated 239 miles of its own track within a total network of 323 miles and reported hauling 520 million ton-miles of revenue freight.

In February 1970, an accident involving a barge tow caused the collapse of TP&W’s bridge over the Illinois River at Peoria. Unable to afford rebuilding the structure, TP&W secured trackage rights utilizing the nearby Peoria and Pekin Union Railroad bridge. With the establishment of Conrail in 1976, TP&W acquired the former PRR segment between Effner and Logansport to maintain access to eastern connections.

Santa Fe purchased PRR’s share of TP&W from Conrail in 1979, converting TP&W into a wholly owned subsidiary. After Conrail closed the Logansport interchange in 1981 following provisions of the Staggers Rail Act, TP&W suffered further traffic reductions.

To mitigate these declines, Santa Fe launched intermodal container services along TP&W’s lines. In 1983, the Hoosierlift Intermodal Terminal was installed near Remington, Indiana. Although initially facing competition from Santa Fe’s Chicago terminal, TP&W’s intermodal operations eventually turned profitable. On December 31, 1983, TP&W was fully integrated into Santa Fe’s Illinois Division, which allowed for abandonment of most of the Pekin Branch.

Activity after Santa Fe ownership

On February 3, 1989, Santa Fe sold the former TP&W right-of-way along with nineteen EMD GP20 locomotives to TP&W Acquisition, led by SeaLand service director Gordon Fuller, thereby restoring TP&W as an independent railroad. This leveraged buyout resulted in debt owed to investment firms including Toronto-Dominion Bank; however, Fuller assumed presidency and focused on directing profits toward debt repayment.

Fuller headquartered TP&W in Bound Brook, New Jersey, strategically located near major shipping firms. The railroad established interchange agreements with CSX Transportation at Watseka, Illinois Central at Gilman, and Southern Pacific at Chenoa. For a short period, unit coal train exchanges were operated with CSX before losing that contract to C&NW.

By the mid-1990s, intermodal container traffic accounted for 55% of TP&W’s volume, mainly transporting automotive components for major clients such as Isuzu in Lafayette, Mitsubishi in Normal, and Caterpillar. The railroad also regained traffic around Logansport through collaboration with Winamac Southern Railway on abandoned Conrail lines. Some locomotives were repainted in gray New York Central colors as a tribute to Fuller’s early railroad career.

Following Santa Fe’s merger with Burlington Northern to form BNSF Railway in 1995, TP&W obtained trackage rights over BN routes between Peoria and Galesburg. In May of that year, Fuller sold a 40% interest in TP&W to New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) for $2.25 million; by 1996 Delaware Otsego Corporation (DO), NYS&W’s parent company, gained full ownership. Fuller became an executive vice president at DO while continuing to manage TP&W operations.

Under DO control, TP&W functioned as a western terminus for NYS&W’s intermodal services originating from New York City. The headquarters relocated to DO’s Cooperstown, New York facility for centralized dispatching. Nine GP20 locomotives were refurbished and painted in NYS&W’s yellow-and-black livery and occasionally operated on NYS&W tracks. By 1998, TP&W reported revenues of $13.4 million and moved over 59,000 freight and intermodal trains annually.

During this timeframe, NYS&W faced financial challenges due to declining intermodal volumes. In reaction to Conrail’s planned division between CSX and Norfolk Southern announced in 1997, DO CEO Walter Rich coordinated a joint acquisition of DO shares alongside these railroads. Subsequently, in August 1999 DO sold TP&W to RailAmerica for $24 million.

By 2010, TP&W’s traffic had shifted predominantly toward agricultural commodities—including raw and processed grains—chemical products, and finished tractors; intermodal services had ceased entirely. In December 2012 Genesee & Wyoming Inc. acquired RailAmerica, thereby gaining ownership of TP&W and repainting its locomotives with G&W’s orange-and-black color scheme.

Transfer of trackage to the Keokuk Junction Railway

On December 24, 1986, the Santa Fe sold a 28-mile segment of the TP&W route stretching from La Harpe to Keokuk to the Keokuk Junction Railway (KJRY), which had been formed to manage former Rock Island tracks in the Keokuk area. KJRY commenced operations serving a corn-processing facility owned by Roquette America. In March 1996, Pioneer Railcorp acquired KJRY as a subsidiary. Later, on February 11, 2005, KJRY expanded its network by purchasing the western portion of TP&W’s line between La Harpe and Peoria, adding an additional 76 miles.

Notable accidents and incidents

August 10, 1887: The Great Chatsworth train wreck occurred when a TP&W excursion train derailed on a compromised bridge near Chatsworth, Illinois, resulting in the deaths of 80 passengers.
June 21, 1970: A TP&W eastbound freight train derailed in Crescent City, Illinois. The derailment caused a propane tank car to rupture and ignite, devastating much of the local business district along with several residences; 64 individuals sustained injuries.

Bibliography

Ottesen, Mark (March 1997). "The new Toledo, Peoria & Western". Trains. Kalmbach Publishing. 57 (3): 56–61.

External links

Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway (TPW)