Founded in August 2005, the railroad commenced its first operations on January 1, 2006, when P&L Transportation, formerly Four Rivers Transportation, the parent company of both the Evansville Western and Paducah & Louisville railroads, leased 124.5 miles (200.4 km) of mainline track, ties and track equipment between CSX's Howell Yard in Evansville, Indiana, and the end-of-track at Okawville, Illinois, from CSX Transportation. (The EVWR is headquartered here in Mt. Vernon, IN.) This line was once part of the Louisville & Nashville's former Saint Louis Subdivision route that previously terminated in the metro-area of East St. Louis, Illinois, before being embargoed and slightly shortened under CSX ownership during the fall of 1993. CSX Transportation retains title to the real estate comprising the right of way on which the railroad operates, but has leased it to EVWR for an initial period of 20 years.
Parked in the late afternoon adjacent to what appears to be an old freight station are Evansville Western GP38-2 3834 (ex-Paducah & Louisville 3834, originally Phelps Dodge 4), GP39-2 3836 (ex-Helm Leasing 3952, née-Kennecott Copper Company 711) and GP38M-2 3835 (ex-PAL GP38M-2 3600, ex-VMV GP38M-2 3600, ex-PAL GP35 2543, ex-Illinois Central Gulf GP35 2543, originally Gulf Mobile & Ohio GP35 646). (Mount Vernon, Indiana – September 28, 2017)
