Port Harbor Railroad crew members posing on unit No. 3086, an SD40-2 diesel electric locomotive built by the Electro Motive Division of General Motors.
(Scottn941, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
PORT HARBOR RAILROAD
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. 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. 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.
Customers
PHRR serves several industrial businesses in Granite City, including:
- Mattingly Lumber
- Abengoa
- APC Transload
- Rivers Edge Chemicals
- Airgas
Motive power
The motive power roster for the PHRR consists of 10 EMD locomotives, two of which have a notable history. Unit No. 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 No. 1800, unit No. 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 Railway and arrived between July and August 2013.
- Respondek SW9 No. 14 originally Florida East Coast 227
- Respondek SD40-2 No.1000 originally C&NW 6813
- Respondek Slug No. 1015. Slug converted from Canadian Pacific SW7 No. 6713.
- Respondek GP9m No. 1602, Arrived mated to Slug 1015.
- Respondek GP8 No. 1800 ex Alaska Railroad 1801
- Respondek SW1200 No. 1239 ex-TRRA
- Respondek GP40 No. 2064 ex CP (SOO).
- Respondek SD40-2 No. 3086 originally C&NW 6923 (in service)
- Respondek GP40 No. 4615 ex CP (SOO) originally MILW 2035 (in service in full CP Paint, to be re-lettered in 2014)
- Respondek SW1200RS No. 8166. Ex-Canadian Pacific 8166. (stored serviceable)
Overview
Headquarters: Granite City, Illinois
Reporting mark: PHRR, RRC
Locale: Illinois
Technical
Track gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length: 5.2 miles (8.4 km)
Other
Website: https://www.portharborrailroad.com/
