BURLINGTON, Iowa — Burlington Junction Railway welcomed more than 100 employees and family members to a recent event in Burlington to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the short line in 1985.
The railroad began when Steve and JoEllen Hoth of Burlington began with a single locomotive, 3 miles of track, and three employees. The company has now grown to include more than 250 miles of track in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri with 100 employees and 50 locomotives, and services 85 customers ant 15 locations, serving customers on BNSF, Union Pacific, Canadian National, and Norfolk Southern.
“We continue to be excited about future growth at BJRY and how we can benefit the communities we serve,” Peter Hoth, Burlington Junction principal-corporate development, said in a press release. “Our customers and Class I railroad partners are essential to that growth. We are dedicated to providing our ‘white glove’ rail switching services to our customers and transload partners.”
The company’s operations in Burlington were featured in a Train-Watching article in the June 2022 issues of Trains Magazine.
More about Burlington Junction is available at its website.
I enjoy reading about the success of short lines. They get it.
A remarkable milestone…
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
I continually admire these “last mile” companies who actively complement the larger railroads in servicing customers. Dedicated, innovative, hard-working with a high level of on-time car deliveries and pickups. Great companies as inspirations for small, modern model railroad layouts.
Also nice to see some new switcher models instead of just old rebuilt EMDs.
I have always thought their operation in Quincy, IL would make an excellent model railroad. It has numerous industries, interesting motive power, and varied scenery with city, industry, and rural all in a few miles. One interesting aspect is a spur track into a mined-out portion of a lineside bluff that is used for cold storage I believe. It almost screams “hidden staging yard”. The operation is so compact that you could almost model it mile for mile in N scale.