Port of Muskogee Railroad

The Port of Muskogee Railroad^[a] (reporting marks PMKX, PMR), formerly known as the Muskogee City-County Port Railroad (reporting mark MCCP), is a shortline railroad that operates at the Port of Muskogee in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The railroad began its operations on January 22, 1971, transporting freight between the industries at the Port of Muskogee, and from the Port of Muskogee to the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern & Santa Fe railroad lines. In the 1990s, Johnston's Terminal—one of the industries the railroad served—had owned several of their own locomotives until the Port of Muskogee bought their own locomotives.

The Port of Muskogee Railroad is connected with the Union Pacific (UP) and the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad lines.^[1] The railroad connects to the UP via the Midland Valley branch line.^[2] The branch line begins at a junction with a UP mainline, crosses Oklahoma State Highway 16, and continues east to the PMKX marshaling yard—known as the Port Muskogee Marshaling Yard, or the McLemore Marshaling Yard^[3]—which is east of the Muskogee Turnpike.^[4] The railroad line continues east from the marshaling yard, underneath the Muskogee Turnpike, to the industries at the Port of Muskogee.^[4] The PMKX shunts freight cars between the industries at the Port of Muskogee, and between the Port of Muskogee and the UP.

The tracks operated by the railroad were built as early as 1970, being composed of rails weighing 85 to 115 pounds (39 to 52 kg). When the tracks were built, the curve radii ranged from 8.5° to 16°.^[4] The railroad began its operations on January 22, 1971. When the railroad began its operations, the railroad track was 7,000 feet (2.1 km) long, and connected to the Texas Pacific Railroad.^[5] In 1976, the railroad operated two locomotives on twelve miles of track.^[6]

Most of the freight was to and from the barges at the Port of Muskogee.^[7]: 20 In 2012, the railroad operated 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of track;^[7]: 18 in 2018, the railroad operated 5.5 miles of track.^[8]: 57 Throughout the 2010s, the railroad operated over 9 miles (14 km) of track.^{[8]: 4 [7]: 20} The railroad had acquired 39 miles (63 km) of abandoned track from the Missouri Pacific Railroad.^[7]: 20 In May 2012, the railroad proposed to build a wye and 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) of track running south, connecting to the BNSF railroad line.^{[7]: 22–23} Since 2018, the railroad connects to BNSF.^[8]: 106

The railroad moves freight between the ports at the Port of Muskogee and the UP railroad line.^[9]: 83 The UP accesses the railroad with four-axle locomotives; the curve on the junction between the UP mainline and the Midland Valley branch line is too tight for the standard six-axle locomotives operated by the UP.^[10] In 2014, 9,700 feet (3.0 km) of track was constructed to allow six-axle locomotives owned by the UP to access the Port of Muskogee, as well as to increase the railroad's capacity.^[11][12]

Following the 2019 Arkansas River floods, the railroad's track had to be repaired and rebuilt.^[13] In 2024, the railroad hauled 2,140 freight cars, which totaled 184,890 short tons (165,080 long tons).^[14] The most transported materials were steel coils and pipe.^{[14][7]: 18} On May 28, 2025, OmniTRAX took over operations for the Port of Muskogee Railroad. In the early 2020s, the railroad continued to operate 5.5 miles (8.9 km) of track;^[15][1] under the new operator, the railroad was 8.1 miles (13.0 km) long.^[14]

Johnston's Terminal (JT), now owned by Bruce Oakley, is a facility that loads and transfers freight between barges, trucks, and freight cars alongside the PMKX at the Port of Muskogee. JT operates at the port's terminal under a contract with the Muskogee City-County Port Authority.^[17] JT has owned several of their own locomotives, including one Baldwin S-12, JT 007, and three Baldwin AS-616 locomotives, JT 52–54.^[18] Since 2002, the ports owned by JT are connected to the PMKX.^[9]

JT 007 was built in October 1953, with the serial number 75922. JT 007 operated as Southern Pacific (SP) 1547, Metropolitan Stevedore 2, and Willbros 5683 before it became JT 007.^[19][20][18] The locomotive was acquired from Metropolitan Stevedore from Long Beach, California, and operated as Willbros 5683 before it was JT 007. In March 1986, the S-12 was painted blue, and retained its Willbros lettering before it was lettered and numbered as JT 007.^[18][21] The locomotive was sold in 1995 to SMS Rail Lines (SLRS);^[19] the locomotive's engine block had been cracked in 2001, and was stored until 2002, when it was moved to SLRS.^[22]

The three AS-616 locomotives originally worked for the Trona Railway before they were sold to JT.^[23][24][18] JT 54 was built in June 1952, with the serial number 75357. JT 54 operated as Kaiser Steel 1012B, Rayonier 14 in 1973, Trona 54 in 1986, and JT 54 in 1993.^[22] The three AS-616 locomotives had been leased to the Trona Railway by the SP; the Trona Railway retired the AS-616 locomotives, and sold them to JT.^[24][20] In January 1993, JT 54 was shipped from the Trona Railway to JT.^[20] On May 23, 1993, JT 52–54 arrived at the Port of Muskogee.^[16] JT 007 was in service when JT 52–54 arrived.^[20] JT 52 entered service on May 25. On June 10, JT began repainting the locomotives in their livery.^[16] In 1995, JT 52–54 were sold to SLRS.^[18][22] JT 54 was moved to SLRS in 1995; JT 52 and 53 remained at Johnston's Terminal until 1998.^[25][22]

Consolidated Grain & Barge (CG&B) No. 10 is an ALCO T-6 built in October 1959, with the serial number 83385. The locomotive operated as Norfolk and Western 43 until November 1985, when it was traded into General Electric in March 1986. The locomotive was sold, and operated as Maryland and Delaware 14 and later Arkansas & Missouri Railroad (A&M) 14. The locomotive was then sold to the BTR Terminal, where it worked as BTR 10.^[18] By 1998, the locomotive had remained in its A&M livery, with only its lettering repainted.^[25] The locomotive was later moved to CG&B, where it operated as CG&B 10.^[18] Since 2022, the BTR Terminal is operated by Bruce Oakley at JT, and the CG&B terminal is no longer in service.^[4]

PMKX had owned a GE 45-ton switcher in 1992.^[19] In May 1995, two Southern Pacific EMD GP9 locomotives—which originally worked for the Southern Pacific—arrived at the Port of Muskogee. The GP9 locomotives were to replace the AS-616 locomotives; in the same month, the AS-616 locomotives were seen for sale.^[26] Since 1995, the Port of Muskogee Railroad owns two 1,750-horsepower (1,300 kW) EMD GP9R locomotives: PMKX 3349 and 3361.^[27][28]

PMKX 3349 and 3361 were built as EMD GP9 locomotives in February and April 1956 respectively, with the serial numbers 21336 and 21374.^[28][18] PMKX 3349 and 3361 were operated as SP 5643 and 5681, and renumbered to SP 3476 and 3514 in 1966. PMKX 3349 and 3361 were rebuilt on May 1 and August 1, 1972. PMKX 3349 was sold to Southwest Car Parts in October 1987. PMKX 3349 and 3361 were both sold to R&L Company in August 1992, and then sold to the Port of Muskogee.^[18] The locomotives were later converted to EMD GP9R locomotives, and are inspected every 92 days by the Port of Muskogee.^[14][28][3]