CENTRAL COLUMBIANA & amp; PA. Ohio Central Railway remains on track to purchase Valley line

Port authority chief says the suitor is a good match.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
EAST LIVERPOOL -- Columbiana County Port Authority officials are awaiting a final decision from Ohio Central Railway on its purchase of the Central Columbiana & amp; Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
The Coshocton-based railway is well-suited to take over the Central Columbiana & amp; Pennsylvania Railroad Co., Tracy Drake, port authority executive director, said Tuesday.
"Ohio Central owns railroads all over the state and has the resources to handle the Central Columbiana," Drake said. "It can be profitable with the right TLC [tender loving care]."
Drake said Ohio Central is one of seven railroads that expressed serious interest in the Central Columbiana after Arkansas Shortline Co., the Russellville, Ark., company that runs the line, filed a bankruptcy declaration in June in federal court in Arkansas.
Imperiled money
The bankruptcy imperils nearly a half-million dollars of port authority money.
The Central Columbiana is a single-line railroad that stretches through Columbiana and Mahoning counties. The 37-mile-long railroad has struggled financially despite its being used by about 10 businesses that are served by nearly 5,000 rail cars annually.
The Central Columbiana, a subsidiary of Arkansas Shortline Co., operates the railroad for the port authority as part of a 20-year lease that requires the rail company to pay the port authority $9,000 monthly and to help keep the line operational.
The Central Columbiana missed lease payments and borrowed $450,000 from the port authority to subsidize the line's operation, Drake said. He said the port authority also provided cash to get the railroad line operating again after two derailments this past spring.
Restoration
He said the line, which was formerly the Youngstown & amp; Southern Railroad, restarted about three years ago after being mothballed for years.
The railroad had deteriorated and needed a lot of work to become operational again. The port authority secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to restore the line, but the Central Columbiana was expected to put up money, too, Drake said.
He said money spent subsidizing the railroad is money that could have financed other port authority projects, but the authority thought it was imperative to keep the line operating and to keep it safe.
tullis@vindy.com