Ottawa Northern Railroad
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad |
| Headquarters | Baldwin City, Kansas |
| Reporting mark | ON[1] |
| Locale | Douglas and Franklin counties, Kansas, United States |
| Dates of operation | 2023–present |
| Predecessor | Midland Railway |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 17 miles (27 km) |
| Other | |
| Website | ottawanorthernrailroad |
The Ottawa Northern Railroad (ONR, reporting mark ON[1]) is a class III shortline railroad and excursion railroad based in Kansas. It operates 17 miles (27 kilometres) of track running north from Ottawa, Kansas.
As a subsidiary of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it primarily serves the region by interchanging freight with the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) Transcontinental.
History
On March 9, 2023, the Ottawa Northern Railroad filed notice with the Surface Transportation Board that it was acquiring the line, and replacing the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston Railroad (LLGR), doing business as the Baldwin City and Southern Railroad Company (BCSR) as the common carrier service provider on it.[2]
The notice indicated in part that there were currently no customers on the line, and accordingly, no shippers to notify.[2] As of April 2024, the Ottawa Northern Railroad indicates on its website that it completed the acquisition, and that plans are in the works to bring back the excursion trains.[3]
Locomotive fleet
| Locomotive | Build date | Builder | Model | Purchased | Condition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MKT 142 | June 1951 | ALCO | RS-3m | 2023 | Operational | |
| LTEX 310 | August 1985 | EMD | F40PHR | 2023 | ||
| BUGX 401 | February 1953 | F7 | 2024 | Stored | ||
| BUGX 402 | December 1949 | |||||
| SPTX 4079 | April 1962 | EMD | GP20 | 2023 | Operational | |
| RILX 4613 | January 1962 | GP10 | 2025 | Operational |
References
- 1 2 "FindUs.Rail search results for ON". findusrail.railinc.com.
2 ON OTTAWA NORTHERN RAILROAD LLC
- 1 2 "Ottawa Northern Railroad LLC—Acquisition and Change in Operator Exemption—Midland Historical Railway Association" (PDF). Surface Transportation Board, Federal Register. March 9, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
- ↑ "Ottawa Northern Railroad". RockIslandRail. Retrieved April 5, 2024.