Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad (

reporting mark A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects the name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equip ...

BNG) was a

short-line railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...

headquartered in Blackwell,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. It operated on tracks owned by the Blackwell Industrial Authority (BIA) and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT). The BNG was a replacement for the Blackwell and Northern Railway (BNR), which started service over the same line on November 4, 2002, and which was in turn the replacement for the prior operator, the

South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad is a short line railroad which operates of rail lines in Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri that used to belong to Missouri Pacific, Frisco and Santa Fe lines. SKOL is a unit of Watco. History Southeast Kansas Rai ...

. The rails were former Santa Fe trackage, with a portion around Blackwell originating with the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. The BNG was chartered in

on October 31, 2005, contracted to replace the BNR in late 2005, and began operating January 2, 2006. The BNG was an employer for the purposes of the Railroad Retirement Act. It operated 35.26 miles of line from Blackwell to

Hunnewell, Kansas Hunnewell is a city in Sumner County, Kansas, Sumner County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 44. History Hunnewell was founded in 1880. It was named for Boston financier ...

, with

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...

Wellington, Kansas Wellington is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Kansas, Sumner County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,715. History 19th century Wellington was platted i ...

. It interchanged with the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

at Wellington, and (via the BNSF) with

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

. It also generated revenue storing railcars for larger railroads. It had 8 employees as of 2017. When the region experienced flooding in May of 2019, the line was severely damaged in areas around Blackwell,

Braman, Oklahoma Braman is a town in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 217 at the 2010 census, a decline of 11.1 percent from the figure of 244 in 2000. History Braman was named for railroad developer Dwight Braman, when its post office was ...

, and

South Haven, Kansas South Haven is a city in Sumner County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 324. History South Haven was founded in 1872, and was named after South Haven, Michigan. The railroad reached South Haven ...

. The line was temporarily shut down while the affected areas were repaired. In October 2023, BNG filed to extend its leases on both the BIA and ODOT portions of its line. However, on February 2, 2024, the

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce railroa ...

(FRA) issued an Emergency Order shutting down the BNG due to public safety concerns regarding operations and maintenance of the line after new ownership and management took over in October 2023. The FRA instigated its investigation into the railroad following two derailments which involved unqualified individuals operating locomotives at the railroad. On February 18, 2025, Land Rush Rail Corporation (LRRC) filed a verified notice of exemption with the

Surface Transportation Board The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is an independent federal agency that serves as an adjudicatory board. The board was created in 1996 following the abolition of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and absorbed regula ...

(STB), declaring it had entered into a lease agreement with the BIA and ODOT to take over operations of the former BNG trackage.

References

External links

Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad

Blackwell Industrial Authority
Oklahoma railroads Kansas railroads {{Oklahoma-geo-stub