PEORIA HEIGHTS -- Pioneer Industrial Railway, the company that not so long ago filed a SLAP suit against recreational trail advocates, has issued its latest threat: it will seek to store unslightly and perhaps dangerous train cars along the Kellar Branch, in revenge against the attempt by Peoria Heights to get it off the obsolete rail line.
Here's an email that Pioneer president Mike Carr sent on April 17 to Heights mayor Mark Allen:
Do what you want Mark, but understand we WILL use the line until the STB tells us not to. We have a lot car storage business inquiries so we will make certain the track in the Heights can handle the potential influx of storage cars.
Carr sent the email after Allen sent him the following:
Dear Mike: Regarding your demands that we take immediate steps to "kick" CIRY off of the line:
1. We are addressing the issues of which firm is running a car through the
Village of Peoria Heights. That is all we can address. At this time, CIRY is not
running a car or engine through Peoria Heights. Therefore, we do not feel that
they are using the Kellar Branch line through the Village, thus we will not
address the STB decision of allowing them to use the line.
2. If, for any reason, CIRY uses the line as it goes through Peoria Heights, we
will address the issue then.
3. The City of Peoria has a different interpretation of what the lease entials
with Pioneer. In the end, any interpretation of the lease will have to end up in
Illinois courts for a final ruling. However, at this time, we feel the lease is
valid, and that Pioneer has not owned up to its end of the lease.
4. Your reference to "minor wash outs" being the only problems Pioneer has
ignored on the Kellar Branch is far too small in scope. The rail ties, cut weeds
and brush, everything that is blocking, or has destroyed the drainage tiles will
have to be removed, as well. Every broken drainage tile will have to be
replaced. In other words, everything that has been caused by the rail through
the last several years, that has impeded or destroyed the proper drainage will
have to be fixed. Your "minor wash outs" repairs will not suffice. We will walk
the area again after June 3, and if every drainage problem has not been
corrected, we will proceed with having a resolution drawn up to remove Pioneer
from the rail line.
Allen earlier had announced that Pioneer must live up to its contract or the Heights will file a petition with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to have it removed from the rail line. The Heights wants the line converted into a hike and bike trail (see posts below). Doing the required work would likely cost Pioneer a large sum of money.
At the news conference Carr said Pioneer has only one customer on the line, Carver Lumber, and no prospects for other customers.
Now Pioneer apparently hopes to store train cars on the line, as Central Illinois Rail has done on Peoria's section of the Kellar line.
It remains to be seen how storing train cars has any connection with Pioneer's failure to live up to the contract.
Will other railroad companies allow Pioneer to store train cars on a line that has been deemed unsafe, and has eroded sections that could collapse?
Perhaps Pioneer's threat is hollow, like the SLAP suit it lost in court against trail advocates. It also had to pay their legal fees. Stay tuned.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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