Kyle Railroad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kyle Railroad
Reporting marks	KYLE
Locale	Kansas
Dates of operation	1982–Present
Track gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Phillipsburg, Kansas

The Kyle Railroad (KYLE) (AAR reporting marks KYLE) is a short railroad line that runs from North Central Kansas into Eastern Colorado. It is based in Phillipsburg, KS and runs on about 600 miles worth of mostly former Rock Island Railroad's Chicago to Denver main line. The Kyle has been owned by Rail America since about 2002.

[edit] Start-Up Operations

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 Railroad, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad. Included was about 243 miles 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 of trackage rights over the Union Pacific Railroad from Limon, CO to Denver, CO, totalling 455 miles. The Kyle Railroad acted as the MSPA's operator of these lines.

Power for the trains consisted of former Burlington Northern Railroad ALCO C425s, most tracing their heritage to the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway.