Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railroad

Last updated
Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railroad
PREX 3054, an EMD GP20 locomotive.jpg
Pioneer Railcorps' PREX 3054, an EMD GP20 locomotive shortly after being painted in the company's colors.
Overview
Headquarters Defiance, Ohio
Reporting mark NDW
Locale Ohio, Indiana
Dates of operation2012–
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length58 miles (93 km)
Other
Website patriotrail.com/rail/napoleon-defiance-western-railway-co-ndw/

The Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railroad (NDW) (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Michigan Southern Railroad) is a Class III railroad in the United States owned by the Patriot Rail Company that operates between Woodburn, Indiana and Napoleon, Ohio and comprises a reported 58 miles of track. [1]

Contents

Interchanges

Operations

The railroad normally operates Monday through Saturday with trains typically moving railcars from the interchanges with CSX at Defiance, Ohio and Norfolk Southern at Woodburn, Indiana to customers located along the line and returning cars back to the interchanges. Some customers also require switching service to move railcars for loading and unloading. The railroad also operates over 3 miles of track that runs south from Cecil, Ohio to the Lafarge North America (Paulding Plant). This section of track was originally part of the Cincinnati Northern Railroad and is owned and maintained by Lafarge.

In past years, the section of the line between Cecil and Defiance was largely inactive due to a lack of customers and poor track conditions. As the track conditions have improved, trains operating through this section have been more common. The restoration of this section has given customers the option to route their traffic through more than one interchange, potentially reducing their shipping costs.

The section of the line that served Liberty Center, Ohio was taken out of service in 2016. [2] [3] While that portion of the line has not been officially abandoned, the rails have been removed from a point immediately west of US-24 and continuing east through Liberty Center. That portion of the line had been primarily used for car storage.

The railroad's main yard is located between 5th Street and Davidson Street in Defiance. The railroad's headquarters is located at 817 5th Street in a restored Wabash Railroad-era freight house adjacent to the main yard. The railroad does not have a dedicated engine house and it's not uncommon to find locomotives tied down at various locations on the line.

Customers

Since taking over operations of the line from the Maumee and Western Railroad, the owners of the Napoleon, Defiance & Western have steadily increased the number of customers served by rail and the volume of traffic operating over the line. The current list of customers served include:

Napoleon, Ohio

Okolona, Ohio

Defiance, Ohio

Paulding, Ohio

Woodburn, Indiana

History

The railroad line was originally a main line on the Wabash Railroad 5th District from New Haven, Indiana, to Toledo, Ohio. Subsequent owners included the Norfolk and Western Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway, the Indiana Hi-Rail Corporation and the Maumee & Western Railroad. The line was purchased by Pioneer Railcorp on December 28, 2012 for $5.4 million. [4] In 2019, Pioneer Railcorp was acquired by BRX Transportation Holdings and renamed as Pioneer Lines. [5] In September 2022, Patriot Rail Company LLC purchased Pioneer Lines from BRX Transportation Holdings. [6] In 2023, the railroad was named "Shortline of the Year" by "Railway Age". [7]

"Worst Railroad Tracks in America"

When it purchased the rail line, Pioneer described it as being "in dire need of rehabilitation," [4] Prior to Pioneer's purchase, the line had been dubbed by some as being the "Worst Railroad Tracks in America" due to its poor track conditions. The track conditions were the result of decades of underinvestment in maintenance. The poor conditions were also attributed to the fact that the line had been run through a portion of the former Great Black Swamp and the underlying wetland soils made it difficult to maintain the railroad in good condition.

The conditions were so poor that the entire line was classified as "excepted", the lowest possible track classification. That classification limited track speed to 10 MPH although trains often operated at even slower speeds to limit the number of derailments, which happened frequently. It also limited the height, length and type of cars that could move over the line. Much of the track was old, lightweight 80 pound rail, which restricted the weight of the carloads that could operate over the line.

Rehabilitating the Napoleon, Defiance & Western

Starting with Pioneer taking ownership of the line and with funding assistance from Ohio and Indiana and the federal government, extensive efforts have been made to address the decades of deferred maintenance and to improve the overall state of the railroad. This work started on day one of operations with a focus on replacing decayed ties, broken rails, clearing brush and trees from the railroad right-of-way, putting down ballast and upgrading railroad crossings. In recent years, the work has shifted to replacing the 80 pound rail with more robust rail that can support heavier car loadings.

The pace of improvements accelerated after the purchase of Pioneer RailCorp by BRX Transportation Holdings. The new CEO of Pioneer Lines, Alex Yeros, set a goal to upgrade all of the track owned by Pioneer Lines railroads, to at least Class 1 standards. [8] The current owner, Patriot Rail, has continued the efforts to upgrade all of the main line to Class 1 standards.

The list of improvements include:

2013

  • Phase 1 - Sidings and Track Rehabilitation
    • New sidings east of Cecil and on the east side of Napoleon
    • Track rehabilitation of the section of the line between Cecil and Defiance
    • Funding: $450,000 grant from Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) and $290,000 from NDW
  • Lafarge
    • Lafarge added a storage track in their right-of-way north of their Paulding plant to accommodate additional rail traffic to and from their facility.

2014

  • Phase 2 - Defiance Yard and Track Rehabilitation
    • Rehabilitate Defiance Yard (work completed in 2019)
    • Track rehabilitation on the west end of line and of high traffic sections
    • Funding: $450,000 grant from ORDC and $1 million loan from ORDC
    • Loan repaid in full in 2019 as part of BRX Transportation Holdings acquisition of the railroad

2016

  • Railroad crossing closures
    • Removal of rails and crossing equipment at 7 crossings including US-24 and east along the line into Liberty Center
    • Funding: ORDC
  • Track Upgrades
    • Improvements to the tracks on the system to compensate for ending services to Liberty Center
    • Funding: ORDC
  • Transload Facility - Napoleon
    • Construct a transload facility in Napoleon to serve customers on the portion of the line to Liberty Center that is being taken out of service. This facility also can serve new customers in need of a transload facility.
    • Funding: $285,000 grant from ORDC and $285,000 from NDW

2020

  • Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant (Critical Safety Improvements)
    • Replacement of 10 miles of rail with 132 pound rail from 80 pound rail and replacement of 29,000 ties on 29 miles of track between Woodburn and Defiance
    • Upgrade track from "excepted" to "Class 1" status
    • Funding: $4.1 million from U.S. Department of Transportation, $3.8 million from NDW and $250,000 from ODRC
    • Video highlighting track improvements funded by NDW CRISI Rehabilitation Project

2021

  • Rail Replacement Project
    • Replacement of 3 miles of 80 pound rail with 112 pound rail east and west of Okolona (Milepost 40 to Milepost 43)
    • Relay rail provided by Pioneer Lines from another Pioneer-owned railroad
    • Funding: $687,000 from ORDC, $192,000 from NDW and $495,000 from NDW/Pioneer from in-kind materials

2022

  • Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Rail Crossing Safety Upgrade
    • Install flashing lights and gates at West High Street grade crossing in Defiance County
    • Funding: 80% from Ohio State Grade Crossing Protection Fund and 20% from NDW, up to a total of $285,000
  • APackaging Group
    • Grant towards rail siding access at new facility in Defiance
    • Funding: $100,000 from ORDC and $628,000 from APackaging Group
  • Tessenderlo Kerley
    • Grant towards rail siding access at new Tessenderlo Kerley facility in Defiance
    • Funding: $75,000 from ORDC with remainder of costs covered by Tessenderlo Kerley.

2023

  • Railroad Crossing Improvements
    • Funding: $40,000 from Indiana Department of Transportation
  • Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant
    • Replacement of rail from Napoleon to Okolona and Jewell to Defiance and associated improvements
    • Funding: $9.2 million from U.S. Department of Transportation, $3.7 million from NDW and $264,000 from ODRC

Current locomotive fleet [9]

ManufacturerModelYear of ManufactureRoad NumberEngine
Electro Motive DivisionGP20u19612026EMD 567D2 16 cylinder 2000 hp
Electro Motive DivisionGP20u19612045EMD 567D2 16 cylinder 2000 hp
Electro Motive DivisionGP20u19603001EMD 567D2 16 cylinder 2000 hp
Electro Motive DivisionGP20u19613054EMD 567D2 16 cylinder 2000 hp

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York and Atlantic Railway</span> Short line railroad

The New York and Atlantic Railway (NY&A) is a short line railroad formed in 1997 to provide freight service over the tracks of the Long Island Rail Road, a public commuter rail agency which had decided to privatize its freight operations. A subsidiary of the Anacostia and Pacific Company, NY&A operates exclusively on Long Island, New York and is connected to the mainland via CSX's line over the Hell Gate Bridge. It also interchanges with New York New Jersey Rail's car float at the 65th Street Yard and US Rail of New York in Yaphank, New York. Its primary freight yard is Fresh Pond Junction in Queens. The NY&A officially took over Long Island Rail Road's freight operations on May 11, 1997. The initial franchise was for 20 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad</span>

The Southwest Pennsylvania Railroad is a shortline railroad that operates in southwestern Pennsylvania. The SWP uses rail branches that were acquired from CSX Transportation and Conrail. All of the track used by the SWP is in either Fayette or Westmoreland counties. SWP provides local service to many customers in the area, connecting them to the outside world via interchanges with Norfolk Southern, Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad, and CSX. SWP has been vital in the location of several new industries to Fayette and Westmoreland Counties in recent years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama Railroad</span> Former American railway

The Alabama Railroad was a class III railroad as reported by the Association of American Railroads. The ALAB was owned and operated by Alabama Railroad LLC. The railroad operated 48 miles (77 km) of railroad from Flomaton, Alabama to Peterman, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paducah & Louisville Railway</span>

The Paducah & Louisville Railway is a Class II railroad that operates freight service between Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky. The line is located entirely within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keokuk Junction Railway</span>

The Keokuk Junction Railway Co., is a Class III railroad in the U.S. states of Illinois and Iowa. It is a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp.

Pioneer Lines was a holding company for a number of American short-line railroads. Other subsidiaries offered locomotive and freight car leasing to its own railroads and to third parties, and also freight car cleaning. Pioneer Lines also had interests in real estate and newsletter publishing. It was previously owned by BRX Transportation Holdings starting in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana Northeastern Railroad</span> Railway line in the United States of America

The Indiana Northeastern Railroad is a Class III short line freight railroad operating on nearly 130 miles (210 km) in southern lower Michigan, northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio. The Indiana Northeastern Railroad Company began operations in December 1992 and is an independent privately owned company. As of 2017 the railroad hauled more than 7,000 carloads per year. Commodities moved by the railroad include corn, soybeans, wheat and flour. It also handles plastics, fiberboard, aluminum, copper, coal, perlite, stone, lumber, glass, rendering products, as well as agricultural fertilizers and chemicals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Southern Railway</span>

The Minnesota Southern Railway was a shortline railroad in the states of Minnesota and South Dakota in the United States.

The Dakota Southern Railway is a railroad that until late May 2021 ran 189.7 miles (305.3 km) between Kadoka, South Dakota, and Mitchell, South Dakota, and which continues to service the approximately 10 miles (16 km) of remaining active track of the Napa Junction–Platte Line in southern South Dakota. It connects with the BNSF Railway in Mitchell and Napa Junction respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R.J. Corman Railroad Group</span> American railroad company

R. J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC is a privately owned railroad services and short line operating company headquartered in Nicholasville, Kentucky, with field locations in 22 states. It was owned by Richard J. Corman, who established the company in 1973, and ran it until his death on August 23, 2013. The company owns nineteen short-line railroads spanning Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.

The West Michigan Railroad is a shortline railroad in southwest Michigan. It began operations in 1995, replacing the bankrupt Kalamazoo, Lake Shore and Chicago Railroad on an ex-Pere Marquette Railway line between Hartford and Paw Paw, Michigan. That company had taken over operations in 1987 from CSX Transportation.

The Vandalia Railroad is a shortline railroad subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp, providing local service from a CSX Transportation connection in Vandalia, Illinois. The line part of the original main line of the Illinois Central Railroad, completed in the 1850s between Cairo and Galena. Successor Illinois Central Gulf Railroad abandoned the portion through Centralia in 1981, and in December 1983 the newly created Vandalia Railroad reactivated a short piece. Pioneer Railcorp gained control in October 1994. Vandalia Railroad is still in use as of 2023 but less than previously since CSX rarely stops there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Northwest Corridor</span> Higher-speed rail corridor in the United States

The Pacific Northwest Corridor or the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor is one of eleven federally designated higher-speed rail corridors in the United States and Canada. The 466-mile (750 km) corridor extends from Eugene, Oregon, to Vancouver, British Columbia, via Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region. It was designated a high-speed rail corridor on October 20, 1992, as the one of five high-speed corridors in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohi-Rail Corporation</span> Train line railroad

Ohi-Rail Corporation was a short line railroad that ran from Minerva, Ohio to Hopedale, Ohio, United States, with the reporting mark "OHIC". Interchanges were with Columbus and Ohio River Railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway. In March 2020, operations were taken over by Genesee & Wyoming's Mahoning Valley Railway.

Patriot Rail Company LLC is a holding company for a number of shortline railroads across the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi Central Railroad</span> Railroad in Mississippi, USA

Mississippi Central Railroad is a short line railroad that operates three disconnected tracks: 51 miles from Oxford, Mississippi to Grand Junction, Tennessee; 11 miles in Iuka Mississippi, and 46 miles from Corinth, Mississippi to Red Bay, Alabama. It was formerly owned by Pioneer Railcorp, which was acquired by Patriot Rail. The railroad's principal commodities are aggregates and food products. The MSCI offers connections to the BNSF Railway in Holly Springs, the Norfolk Southern Railway in Grand Junction, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City in Corinth.

The Thermal Belt Railway is a Class III shortline railroad that operates for freight service on an irregular schedule on a former CSX line from Bostic to Forest City and on a former Norfolk Southern line from Forest City to Alexander Mills, North Carolina. Total mileage is 8.5 miles (13.7 km). Connections are made with CSX at Bostic. Rail is 85 pounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salem Branch</span>

The Salem Branch is a rail freight line in the southwestern part of New Jersey in the United States between the Port of Salem and Woodbury Junction where it and the Penns Grove Secondary converge with the Vineland Secondary, approximately 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south of Pavonia Yard in Camden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg and Northern Railroad</span> Short-line Railroad based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

The Gettysburg and Northern Railroad is a short-line railroad located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The railroad operates a 25-mile (40 km) long line running between Gettysburg in Adams County and Mount Holly Springs in Cumberland County. The Gettysburg and Northern Railroad is owned by Pioneer Lines.

References

  1. ↑ "Patriot Rail - Napoleon Defiance and Western Railway". patriotrail.com. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  2. ↑ "Michigan Southern Railroad Company, d/b/a Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railway-Discontinuance of Service Exemption-in Henry County, Ohio" . Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  3. ↑ "Michigan Southern Railroad Company, d/b/a Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railway - Discontinuance of Service Exemption - in Henry County, Ohio - Decision of the Surface Transportation Board" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  4. 1 2 "Pioneer Railcorp Purchases Rail Line from Maumee & Western Railroad" (Press release). 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  5. ↑ "Pioneer Railcorp Enters into Merger Agreement to be Acquired by BRX Transportation Holdings for $18.81 Per Share in Cash" (Press release). Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  6. ↑ "Patriot Rail Completes Acquisition of Pioneer Lines". 14 September 2022. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  7. ↑ "Railway Age's 2023 Short Line and Regional Railroads of the Year: NDW, AMIC Railway". 10 February 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  8. ↑ "Under new ownership and management, Pioneer Railcorp has gained a new lease on business growth" . Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  9. ↑ "Napoleon Defiance & Western roster". www.thedieselshop.us. Retrieved 2023-08-24.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.