User:Mainlinerat/Columbia Terminal Railroad

Columbia Terminal Railroad (COLT)

Reporting mark CT Locale	Columbia, Missouri Dates of operation	1987– Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)

Headquarters	Columbia, Missouri

The Columbia Terminal Railroad (reporting mark CT) is a short-line railroad headquartered in Columbia, Missouri. The COLT, as it is known, operates 21.5 miles of line from Columbia, Missouri to Centralia, Missouri. The railroad interchanges freight cars with Norfolk Southern Railway at Centralia. Operations are based out of the COLT Transload Offices in Columbia, MO. All of COLT’s freight customers are located in Columbia. Traffic generally consists of coal, plastic, wax, steel, lumber, stearic acid, wallboard, brick, vegetable oil and machinery. Trains run on an as needed basis, with a maximum track speed of 25 mph.

History of the Columbia Terminal Railroad (COLT)

Railroading in Columbia, Missouri began when the Boone County & Jefferson City Railroad Company was incorporated on January 30, 1857. The company was chartered to build a line of railroad from a connection with the North Missouri Railroad in Boone County, to the Pacific Railroad at Jefferson City, Missouri. However, work on the proposed rail line would have to wait until after the Civil War. On March 12, 1866, survey work began under the direction of George C. Pratt. Construction of the railroad was completed on October 29, 1867 at a cost of $512,500. The rail line ran from a connection with the North Missouri Railroad in Centralia, Missouri to the intersection of 10th and Ash in Columbia, and was leased to and operated by the North Missouri Railroad. Over the years, the rail line has changed names including: Boone County & Booneville Railroad; St. Louis, Wabash & Pacific Railway; Wabash Railroad; Norfolk & Western Railroad, and Norfolk Southern Railway. This same line of railroad is still in operation, currently under the ownership of the City of Columbia, Missouri as the Columbia Terminal Railroad (COLT).

The COLT had it’s beginnings in the middle 1980s when Norfolk Southern Railway, then owner of the Columbia Branch, determined that it no longer could operate the line profitably, and began proceedings to abandon the line. The City of Columbia, worried about losing its remaining rail service, (the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway branch from McBaine, Missouri had been dismantled about 10 years earlier) took an active role in trying to preserve rail service for the city. Efforts were made to find a private firm to acquire and operate the line, but none came forward. The City of Columbia then decided to acquire and operate the railroad. The Water & Light Department was chosen to own & operate the rail line, since a reliable source of transportation for coal to the city-owned Power Plant was deemed essential.

The City of Columbia took title to the Columbia Branch on October 2, 1987, with three new railroad employees and a single locomotive. That first year the COLT carried a total of 602 carloads of freight. Railcar loads on the Columbia Terminal continue to be in the 1500 – 2500 carloads per year range, depending on the economy of local businesses. The COLT has carried more than 20 different commodities for more than 30 different customers. Some of the products carried include: coal, plastic, wax, steel, lumber, scrap paper, grain, paper, stearic acid, fertilizer, wallboard, brick, vegetable oil and machinery. The COLT’s locomotive fleet now consists of two units, an EMD SW1200, and an EMD GP10. The railroad operates with a staff of four full-time railroad employees and three seasonal or part-time employees.

In January 2004, Columbia Transload, (now called COLT Transload) opened its doors. The facility lies in a 15-acre parcel of land in north Columbia, owned by the Columbia Water & Light. The building features over 83,000 square feet of space, an overhead crane, forklifts, truck bays, and rail spurs inside and outside the building. Railcars of materials are brought to the COLT Transload by the Columbia Terminal Railroad, where the railcars are unloaded and their materials either stored or transferred to trucks. This facility allows the transportation of materials brought in by the COLT to reach customers in the mid-Missouri area not directly located near the rail line. The facility and transportation services that can be provided are designed to combine the economic efficiencies of railroad transportation with the flexibility of trucks. Rail traffic is expected to grow significantly as the COLT Transload facility develops.

Passenger service

The Columbia Star Dinner Train started up in July of 2011. The Columbia Star will be offering dining on-board vintage 1930's and 40's passenger cars pulled by 1950's streamlined passenger locomotives in a Wabash paint scheme, on a 3 hour journey between Columbia and Centralia.