Railroad Forums 

  • Hallam, Nebraska

  • Discussion relating to The Chicago & North Western, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road), including mergers, acquisitions, and abandonments.
Discussion relating to The Chicago & North Western, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road), including mergers, acquisitions, and abandonments.

Moderator: Komachi

 #21620  by Hoosierailnut
 
This weekend Hallam was pretty much wiped out by an F-5 tornado.. There was an aerial view that showed an entire hopper train derailed south of the silos that were destroyed.
I know its on the old RI line to Lincoln, Ne. but what is at the end of the line north of Hallam that uses rail service and who operates the line now?

 #21709  by zwsplac
 
I'm pretty sure that there is a powerplant along that line. Not 100 percent, but on Train Dispatcher's Marysville sib terrrrritory, coal trains would go up that line.

 #22468  by wess
 
There was a coal fired power plant there and that was pretty much why that section of line was retained. That over head shot of the town site with the wrecked elevator does show something interesting though. Those cars appear to be stored passenger cars and not hoppers. So I,m curious to know if there was a dinner train being run there or not
joe

 #36577  by dhaugh
 
My 2001-2002 map labels the line as MSPA, but my list of reporting marks doesn't have it in there, so I don't know what that stands for, or if they still operate the line.

 #38167  by 56-57
 
MSPA is either Midwest States Port Authority, or Midwest Shippers Port Authority. It's a track co-op, I believe, that had bought the track from the Rock estate around 1980. It could be state owned, or like I said, a co-op among shippers, I really not sure.

Mike

 #126667  by wess
 
Are they still based out of Phillipsburg? I have a question to present them directly but have no way of connecting with them. Any ideas?
wess
 #574427  by longtimeonUP
 
Guys,

The proper name is Mid States Port Authority. They own what is today operated as the Kyle Railway through Kansas.

If I'm not mistaken, isn't the line to Hallam operated by the UP via Fairbury? I don't have my CRI&P map with me and am going strictly from memory so I am probably wrong.
 #576264  by wess
 
the line from Belleville to the KS/NB border is still in place but not used to my knowledge. From there to Fairbury it has been pulled up. Fairbury on to Hallam it is operated by Union Pacific. From Hallam on it is likewise gone
 #726979  by trainmaniac07
 
The line does run from Fairbury and ends about a mile north of Hallam.
As stated above Union Pacific does operate the line now hauling coal
to Sheldon Station (Nebraska Public Power District power plant in Hallam)
about 2-3 times a month. When the tornado went through there was a mostly
empty coal train setting in town, maybe a few grain hoppers, and no passenger cars.

The old Rock Island yard in Fairbury is now used on a day to day by the old Marysville
local. When they started the relocation project in Marysville they moved the local to
Fairbury and it worked out a lot better for them so its now their permeant home.
 #762648  by Arbitr8
 
Hopefully by now much of Hallam is rebuilt, I worked at the Rock Island Depot in Hallam during the summer of 77 as the 2nd trick operator/depot agent.