KYLE 1757 undergoes repair at the Eastern Alabama Railway in Sylacauga, Alabama.
The Kyle Railroad (Reporting Mark: KYLE) is a regional railroad line that runs from North Central Kansas into Eastern Colorado. It is based in Phillipsburg, Kansas and runs on 556 miles (895 km) track, mostly the former Rock Island Railroad Chicago to Denver main line. The Kyle was owned by RailAmerica from 2002 to 2012. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. bought RailAmerica in late 2012.
History[]
The Kyle Railroad was formed for the 1982 northern Kansas harvest season by the Willis B. Kyle Organization, which consisted of several railroad properties, including the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, the Oregon, Pacific and Eastern Railway, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad. Included was about 243 miles (391 km) of trackage from Belleville, KS to Limon, CO, with trackage rights over the Cadillac and Lake City Railroad from Limon, CO to Colorado Springs, CO. Officially, on September 16, 1980, The Kyle Railroad signed with the MSPA (Mid-States Port Authority) a contract for the Hallam, NE to Limon, CO and Belleville, KS to Clay Center, KS line, as well as 90 miles (140 km) of trackage rights over the Union Pacific Railroad from Limon, CO to Denver, CO, totaling 455 miles (732 km). The Kyle Railroad acted as the MSPA's operator of these lines.
Recently the Kyle Railroad bought the tracks on which it operates from the MSPA.
Power for the trains initially consisted of former Burlington Northern Railroad ALCO Century 425s, most tracing their heritage to the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway. Kyle Railroad migrated to General Electric U30C and U33C power by the mid-2000s. After RailAmerica purchased Kyle, the legacy GE power was dropped in favor of EMD power, including former Burlington Northern SD40-2s and Southern Pacific SD40T-2s. The railroad also used to have an ex-Southern Pacific EMD SD45T-2, # 9362. With the purchase by Genesee and Wyoming, a number of MK5000C's provided by the Utah Railway (a fellow subsidiary of Genessee & Wyoming) now operate on the Kyle Railroad.
Traffic[]
The railroad handles mostly agricultural commodities, although limited amounts of construction materials are carried. KYLE transported around 20,000 carloads in 2000.
Locomotives[]
This is a list of locomotives that the Kyle Railroad operates.[1]
| Photograph | Unit | Build date | Model | Manufacturer | Former Nos. | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frameless | #101 | January 1954 | EMD GP9R | Electro-Motive Division | SD&AE #101
MKCX #101 #SQVR 101 WRIX 1761 |
|
| Frameless | #104 | July 1957 | EMD GP9R | Electro-Motive Division | SD&AE 104
SQVR 1764 |
|
| Frameless | 803 | February 1967 | EMD GP40 | Electro-Motive Division | CSX #6720
SBD #6720 SCL #1565 SAL #650 |
|
| Frameless | 804 | January 1970 | EMD GP40 | Electro-Motive Division | CSX #6746
SBD #6746 SCL #1591 |
|
| Frameless | #1125 | October 1966 | EMD SW1000 | Electro-Motive Division | DRGW #146 | |
|
|
#1757 | May 1954 | EMD GP9 | Electro-Motive Division | T&NO #406 | |
| Frameless | #2128 | February 1969 | EMD GP38-3 | Electro-Motive Division | AZER #3892
AZCR #3801 B&O #3705 |
|
|
B&P #3319 | August 1978 | EMD SD40-2 | Electro-Motive Division | AZER #3471
RCPE #6444 ICE #6444 UP #3812 MKT #603 |
|
| Frameless | B&P #3333 | 1970 | EMD SD40-3 | Electro-Motive Division | QGRY #6076
GCFX #6076 CN #5148 |