CITY SELLS MOST OF SHORTLINE RAILROAD CHILLICOTHE, MO -- The city of Chillicothe, Missouri is selling the majority of the Chillicothe-Brunswick Shortline Railroad to a company for nearly $1 million. The contract was signed by Montoff Transportation Company and returned to the city on Thursday along with a check for $97,600, which is 10 percent of the total purchase price. Montoff Transportation, LLC, a three-man partnership based in Seattle, Wash., has agreed to buy a section of the 37-mile railroad - a section which has been embargoed for the last couple of years - for $976,000. The city is retaining ownership of the rail line through the industrial park and to a point east of town for future development. City officials offered the contract to Montoff Transportation in October after the council approved the sale with a 5-0 vote taken in executive session. Information about the contract and city vote were released yesterday. The city bought the shortline railroad just three years ago from Green Hills Rural Development for $32,500 and has spent, in all, about $349,000 in railroad-related expenses, according to City Auditor Theresa Kelly. Since the city acquired the railroad, revenues paid to the city from the railroad's operator as well as from the sale of small parcels of land along the line have been $148,302. During the last couple of years, the city has sold a small portion of the line to Ray-Carroll Grain and small portions of land which abut the railroad right-of-way. Although expenses have exceeded revenues, the city is getting a sizeable return on its investment, according to Mayor Todd Rodenberg. City officials spent many hours discussing the future of the railroad, realizing that most of the line was deficient. It was estimated that it would take $10 million to bring the entire rail line up to safety standards which, according to the mayor, would not be a viable option. - Catherine Stortz Ripley, The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune
