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Toledo, Peoria & Western Tried, Proven & Willing By Paul Stringham Soft Cover
Toledo, Peoria & Western Tried, Proven & Willing By Paul H. Stringham
Softbound 149 pages
Copyright 1993
Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Introduction vii
Peoria & Oquawka 1
Peoria & Oquawka Eastern Extension 7
Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw 11
TP&W Again Heads Westward
The Mississippi & Wabash Railroad 15
Toldeo, Peoria & Western -
"Railroad" to "Railway" 27
The Chatsworth Wreck 33
Into a New Century 37
The Armstrong Years 41
The Decline Continues 47
McNear Takes Over 49
The Coulter Era 69
TP&W Expands 89
TP&W - A New Beginning 103
A Trip Over the Line 107
Appendix A: Equipment Rosters 117
Appendix B: Detailed Corporate History 133
Appendix C: TP&W Time Table No. 11, DeCember 6, 1931 139
Appendix D: Bibliography 145
Index to Photographs 147
About the Author 149
Introduction
The Toledo, Peoria & Western is an unusual railroad with a long and complicated history. It has had more ups and downs than most transcontinental lines, and most of its difficulties were caused by the manipulation of the line by other railroads.
The TP&W of today, which stretches 284.2 miles from just west of Fort Madison, Iowa across north central Illinois to Logansport, Indiana, began in 1849 as the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad, chartered to build a line from Peoria to Oquawka, Illinois. In 1852 the charter was amended to permit building a line east from Peoria to the Indiana border. Not unlike other early railroads, the Peoria & Oquawka had amassed a large debt that was difficult to repay. In 1859 the first of several foreclosures, reorganizations and sales of the line took place.
The name Toledo, Peoria & Western was first used in 1879. The name, with-minor variations (such as with and without the words "railroad," "railway," and "corporation"), was used through several reorganizations and incorporations of the line. Though the name disappeared when the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe bought the line in 1983, it reappeared in 1987 when the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway Corporation was formed to purchase the old TP&W line from the Santa Fe. In 1989 the Toledo, Peoria & Western was reborn.
Today the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway Corporation owns most of the line as it was in 1983; however, its trains leave the western terminus using 13.9 miles of trackage rights from the Santa Fe. Near the midpoint at Peoria they use 9.7 miles from the Chicago & North Western and Peoria & Pekin Union. The final 6.1 miles, from Kenneth to Logansport, Indiana, are traveled on trackage rights from the Winamac Southern.
Over the years the TP&W's steam locomotives ran the gamut from 0-4-0 switchers to 4-8-4 freight locomotives. Its first diesels were E M D F-3's, an A and a B unit. Then came an assortment of ALCO road switchers, several types of Geeps and four switchers from E M D, as well as three switchers from Lima Hamilton. The latest addition, bought in 1992, is an F-7.
In the early years most of the TP&W's traffic was generated by mining and agriculture. After a connection with the main line of the Santa Fe was established in 1927, the TP&W became a bridge line handling a wide variety of freight, which it continues to do today. The line's track is in good condition, with much welded rail and ballast of gravel and stone. Its rolling stock is in good condition. Though much of the line's business comes from large contracts, and its Hoosier Lift near Remington, Indiana is an important piggyback trailer and container freight transfer facility, the TP&W is still willing to serve small shippers. The TP&W is indeed "Tried, Proven & Willing," and for a railroad that ceased to exist for six years, it's doing pretty well.
The line is friendly to railfans, but does request that anyone visiting the yards report to the office for a permit.
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