Business View Magazine - May 2016 55
was on the tracks and when the railroad went bank-
rupt, his elevator had no way to ship his corn. So he
decided to buy that little section of railroad from Aro-
ma Park to Sheldon.” Over the ensuing years, several
other sections of track in the area were being aban-
doned by the Class 1 railroads. “Opportunities came
and he decided to buy,” Stroo continues. “This section
went bankrupt, and then he bought this section. He
got some low-interest loans from the State of Indiana
to buy some of the lines. He pretty much winged it. He
did what he had to do to get everything going and he
learned on the fly.”
As the years went by, the KBSR became another one
of Orr’s successful businesses. “My dad worked for
him at an elevator,” says Stroo, “and as the railroad
got bigger and bigger, he moved my dad down onto
the railroad.” By the time Orr died in 1997, at age 85,
the patched-together railway had grown to 155 owned
and 166 operated miles of track. Today, its equipment
includes six 2000 HP locomotives and 284 covered
hoppers.
“My dad took over for him when he passed away and
then, my dad passed away in 2009. Now my brother
and I run it. We have ten employees and that includes
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
The Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern Railroad
WHAT:
A short line railroad in Illinois and Indiana
WHERE:
Iroquois, Illinois
WEBSITE
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