The Port Harbor Railroad (reporting mark PHRR) is a short-line railroad in Granite City, Illinois, serving an industrial port district known as America's Central Port.[1] PHRR began operations in 2004 as a subsidiary of the Respondek Railroad and connects with the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis at "WR Tower," a major railroad junction in Granite City.[2] PHRR transports everything from steel and aluminum products to foods, lumber, paper, chemicals, minerals, grains and other products. The railroad is classified as a Class III Common Carrier.[3]

Port Harbor Railroad
Overview
HeadquartersGranite City, Illinois
Reporting markPHRR, RRC
LocaleIllinois
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length5.2 miles (8.4 km)
Port Harbor Railroad crew members posing on unit #3086, an SD40-2 diesel electric locomotive built by the Electro Motive Division of General Motors.

PHRR serves several industrial businesses in Granite City, including:

  • Mattingly Lumber
  • Abengoa
  • APC Transload
  • Rivers Edge Chemicals
  • Airgas

Motive power

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The motive power roster for the PHRR consists of 10 EMD locomotives, two of which have a notable history. Unit #1800, a rebuilt EMD GP8, formerly served on the Alaska Railroad and starred as the third unit in the 1986 movie Runaway Train (film). And, while not as famous as the #1800, unit #2064 did briefly appear in the Jason Aldean music video for Fly Over States. The newest locomotives on PHRR's roster are two GP40's and a GP9/Slug set and a SW1200RS that were purchased from the Canadian Pacific Railroad and arrived between July and August 2013.

  • Respondek SW9 #14 originally Florida East Coast 227
  • Respondek SD40-2 #1000 originally C&NW 6813
  • Respondek Slug #1015. Slug converted from Canadian Pacific SW7 #6713.
  • Respondek GP9m #1602, Arrived mated to Slug 1015.
  • Respondek GP8 #1800 ex Alaska Railroad 1801
  • Respondek SW1200 #1239 ex-TRRA
  • Respondek GP40 #2064 ex CP (SOO).
  • Respondek SD40-2 #3086 originally C&NW 6923 (in service)
  • Respondek GP40 #4615 ex CP (SOO) originally MILW 2035 (in service in full CP Paint, to be re-lettered in 2014)
  • Respondek SW1200RS #8166. Ex-Canadian Pacific 8166. (stored serviceable)

References

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  1. ^ "Rail - America's Central Port". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
  2. ^ "Shortline Directory | BNSF".
  3. ^ "Reverse Phone Lookup".
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