Effingham Railroad Company summary
The Effingham Railroad Company (EFRR) is a short line railroad operating in its namesake town of Illinois. It’s owned by Regional Rail LLC, a holding company that manages multiple shortline railroads throughout the United States and Canada. A total of 9 miles of standard-gauge track is used to serve the Effingham Industrial Park, located in the southwest section of the diamond where CSX Transportation and the Canadian National crosses over each other.
History
The Effingham Railroad Company was started in 1996 by brothers, Charlie and Walt Barenfanger after purchasing a cross-dock location at the industrial park in Effingham. The purchase originally included additional property totaling 400 feet of track. With backgrounds in railroad business since 1978, the Barenfanger brothers generated both turnaround and growth for the short line. This also included both the industrial park and community the railroad resides in. Since acquiring the previous owner of the EFRR, Agracel Rail Holdings, Regional Rail has owned the Effingham Railroad since December 2022.
Operations
With a 4.5-mile “main line” from end to end, the remaining trackage reaches to four on-site customers and a transload facility, while also providing storage-in-transit. Plastic is the main customer for the Effingham Railroad’s SIT yard as the commodity arrives from CSX and then shipped to 23 states. Transloading on the railroad is in partnership with Mid-Illinois Concrete who uses the site’s gravel radial stacker unloading gantry and pit. Aggregates for the facility arrives on the CN from the Lehigh Quarry near Kankakee. The entire operation sits on private property with the only access to the EFRR being by rail.
The Effingham Railroad rosters two EMD diesel switchers. SW1200 No. 2716 serves as the main motive power, while wearing the railroad’s red and maroon color scheme inspired by the former Chicago Great Western Railway. Former Union Pacific Railroad MP15 No. 1452 provides backup. Both locomotives are stored and maintained as the short line’s modern enginehouse.
Interchanges are made with both Class I railroads near the Effingham diamond. The EFRR connects with CSX at the north end of the short line near the transload yard while the CN connection is located on the south end by the SIT yard.
Read more about the Effingham Railroad Company in Trains’ December 2021 issue.
