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Trackwork Is Top Priority as Maumee & Western Is Sold to Pioneer
THE LONG-SUFFERING MAUMEE & WESTERN was known for having some of the worst track since Penn Central and the Rock Island, but relief was on the horizon when on December 28, 2012, the railroad was purchased by Pioneer Railcorp and renamed the Napoleon, Defi- ance & Western. The short line operates 51 miles of former Wabash trackage between Woodburn, Ind., and Liberty Center, Ohio, with op- erations based out of Defiance, Ohio. The railroad connects with Nor- folk Southern at Woodburn and CSX at Defiance. ND&W crosses Gene- see & Wyoming’s Indiana & Ohio at grade between Liberty Center and Napoleon, but there’s no connection between them. Rehabilitating the Defiance to Cecil trackage and the easternmost Napoleon to Liberty Center segment was the first order of business after replacement motive power was brought in. Stacks of new crossties, along with inserters, tampers, and other maintenance of way machinery appeared along the right of way almost immediately and brush cutters were deployed to beat back the “tree tunnels” that had lined the track. MAW had used the main track between Defiance and Cecil and east of Napoleon for car storage, which isolated the west end of the railroad. Once the entire line has been rehabilitated, all cus- tomers will be able to route their traffic by NS or CSX. Pioneer president J. Michael Carr said, “[Our] initial rehab focus is to get the wide gauge under control, as this was the main cause of most of the derailments. Using ties and gauge rods, we have significantly improved the reliability of the line and our goal is to eventually rehab the entire line to [FRA] Class 1. To date, we have used our own capital for the project but are exploring state programs, [which] when utilized with our matching dollars, will go a long way to expediting the process of improving . . . reliability.”
Texas-New Mexico
OIL BUSINESS TAKES OFF: A second crude oil loading facility has opened along Iowa Pacific’s Texas-New Mexico Railroad near Lovington, N.M., as the new LogiBio LLC terminal shipped its first unit train on
On January 19, 2013, a freight behind GP20M No. 3054 carefully
picked its way west (top), as it passed track equipment and new ties dropped at Napoleon. The locomotive and a stack of ties appeared to be trying to avoid each other near Okolona (above) as the train slowly lurched its way toward the CSX interchange at Defiance.
February 4, 2013. On January 23, Genesis En- ergy dispatched the first unit train over TNMR from its bulk oil terminal at Wink, Texas, the railroad’s first such facility. Then on February 28, Atlas Oil opened a loading facility at Monahans, site of the TNMR-Union Pacific interchange. A total of
five companies ship crude over TNMR, includ- ing Itero Energy and Pacer Energy. The railroad has spent about $25 million over the past three years to upgrade track, in- stall sidings, and build a new locomotive shop in support of the new oil business, an invest- ment which is beginning to pay off.
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TWO PHOTOS: MICHAEL D. HARDING
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