| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Sturgis, Kentucky |
| Reporting mark | WKRL |
| Locale | WesternKentucky |
| Dates of operation | 1995–2010 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge |
TheWestern Kentucky Railway (reporting markWKRL) was ashortline railroad inKentucky, that connectedcoal mines withCSX Transportation atProvidence. The lines were part of theIllinois Central Gulf Railroad until March 1982, whenCostain Coal, Inc. bought the trackage and set up theTradewater Railway (reporting markTWRY) to operate it. In January 1995, theRail Management and Consulting Corporation acquired the property and transferred it to the new Western Kentucky Railway.[1][2]Genesee & Wyoming Inc. acquired it from the Rail Management Corporation in 2005. In 2010, WKRL abandoned all of its remaining lines north of Providence, and the rails were removed shortly after. The only remaining tracks that were originally owned by WKRL are operated by Martin Marrieta Aggregates'Fredonia Valley Railroad fromPrinceton toFredonia.
When created in 1995, the Western Kentucky Railway owned lines from Providence to a junction atBlackford, and from Blackford north toWaverly and south to thePaducah and Louisville Railway atPrinceton.[1] Most of the north–south line, once the main line of theOhio Valley Railway (anIllinois Central Railroad predecessor) was abandoned in 1995 and 1996, leaving only the piece between Blackford andDekoven.[3][4] (TheFredonia Valley Railroad later acquired the section from Princeton toFredonia.[5])The rest of the line was then abandoned in 2010 and removed from Providence to Wheatcroft and the surrounding mines.
