Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railroad
CO&E Railroad System Map
("Herrin District" above, "Marion District" below) |
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| Reporting mark | COER |
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| Locale | Southern Illinois |
| Dates of operation | May 28, 1973–Present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 8.5 mi (13.7 km) Marion District 5 mi (8.0 km) Herrin District |
| Headquarters | Marion, Illinois |
 Railroad Picture Archives: Image – A 1974 photograph of both CO&E steam engines. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – The CO&E's #5 outside the Marion depot in 1974. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – CO&E's 2-4-2 steamer at work in 1978. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – The #17 steam engine at a grain elevator in 1981. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – COER #17 switches cars in 1982. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – COER #17 in steam-powered piggyback service. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – A 1980 photograph of a piggyback trailer owned by the CO&E. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – COER #1136 working in the Herrin district in the early 1990s. |
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RailPictures.Net: Image – COER #1161 working through a Winter 2006 snowstorm in the Marion district. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – COER #6, The Six, outside the engine house. |
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RailPictures.Net: Image – COER #1136 in the Herrin district. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – COER #1161, Marion Ross, in January 2006. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – COER #1, Rosi-Clare, during July 1984. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – COER #5 2-4-2T steamer during 1983. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: Image – COER #17 2-8-0 steamer during 1980. |
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PBase: Image – COER #1147 hauling coal through the Marion district. |
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Railroad Picture Archives: COER – Photographs of the Crab Orchard & Egyptian Railroad |
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| Video | |
 YouTube: Crab Orchard & Egyptian 2-8-0 #17 – A short video from the 1980s featuring CO&E's #17 steam engine in service. |
The Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railway (reporting mark COER) (formerly American Rail Heritage, Ltd. d/b/a Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railroad Company) is a Class III common carrier shortline railroad that operates between the cities of Marion and Herrin in the Southern Illinois region. It is most historically recognized by the FRA for being the last U.S. railroad of any kind to use steam locomotives exclusively in regular revenue freight service up until 1986.
The present-day shortline currently operates a total of 13.5 miles (21.7 km) of track across the industrial centers of Williamson County in two separate railroad districts with a fleet of two diesel switcher engines. One line being known as the "Marion District", which is the railroad's main working division with roughly 8.5 miles (13.7 km) of track; and the other division being the "Herrin District", which mostly serves the city's manufacturing industries along a 5-mile (8.0 km) stretch of track.
It also has three different interchange points with two Class I railroads. Near their main offices in downtown Marion, the railroad has a junction with Union Pacific's Marion Subdivision; another interchange is located in the nearby Marion suburb of Bainbridge with BNSF Railway's Beardstown Subdivision. A second BNSF connection with the same line is also present in the Herrin district. Most of the CO&E Railroad's revenue freight products primarily consist of coal, lumber, petroleum, grain, steel, paper, chemicals, manufactured goods, and railcar repair service.
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