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The nearly century-old Apache Railway survived the Depression and more recently the loss of its main client, but leaders in the small central Arizona town of Snowflake are worried the railroad is approaching the end of the line, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The railroad, while profitable, was put into bankruptcy protection in May after town leaders failed to find funding to repay a $7.2 million loan owed to an investor group that gave them a three-year reprieve. Now, Snowflake's mayor and other elected officials are trying to persuade a bankruptcy judge to keep lenders from foreclosing on the railroad — the region's economic lifeline — until they find out if the project qualifies for a loan through a $2.2 billion U.S. Department of Agriculture program for rural towns.

In 2012, Hostess, the iconic American bakery giant behind Ding Dongs, Ho Hos and Twinkies, was bankrupt, with plans to slash more than 18,000 jobs and close its doors for good amid a crippling nationwide strike, the Washington Post reported today. Then, in 2013, the Missouri-based sweets maker was bought for $410 million by a partnership between private-equity giant Apollo Global Management and C. Dean Metropoulos. Now, the iconic dessert titan is resurgent, selling its golden, cream-filled Twinkies across the world under the name Hostess Brands and turning down $2 billion offers from a pack of hopeful buyers. On Tuesday morning, the company reached its latest peak when Reuters, citing anonymous sources, suggested Hostess would head to Wall Street with an initial public offering that would value the company at around $2.5 billion.

A bankruptcy judge yesterday granted a request from Fort Worth, Texas-based Quicksilver Resources seeking more time to complete its chapter 11 reorganization plan, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported today. U.S. District Judge Laurie Silverstein signed an order extending the deadline to Oct. 13 to allow Quicksilver officials more time to work out various issues, including how to handle leases on its downtown Fort Worth headquarters and other nonresidential properties. Silverstein also signed an order granting Quicksilver the authority to use its cash management system and to honor certain pre-bankruptcy petition obligations.

Primera Energy's embattled owner Brian Alfaro remained defiant during a bankruptcy court hearing where he was under oath when he fired back against lawyers asking questions about the company's finances, the San Antonio Business Journal reported today. Alfaro appeared for a "341 creditors meeting" before Jim Rose with the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee's Office at San Antonio's federal courthouse yesterday. Alfaro filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 3, which was one day after a state district court judge put his company into receivership and under the control of San Antonio attorney Lamont Jefferson. Bankruptcy court filings show that Primera Energy owes more than $7.2 million to at least 14 creditors ranging from the bank that financed its North San Antonio headquarters to companies that provided services out in the oil field. The filings show that the company claims that it has more than $14.2 million in assets.

Walter Energy Inc.’s most senior lenders are pushing the unprofitable coal miner to slash worker pay, reduce pension expenses and idle plants as part of a bankruptcy plan that they will present the company this week, Bloomberg News reported today. The creditors, including Apollo Global Management LLC, Blackstone Group LP’s GSO Capital Partners, Fidelity Investments and KKR & Co., are seeking the cuts in exchange for support of a restructuring plan in bankruptcy court that would grant mining unions an equity stake in the company. The lenders, which own Walter’s first-lien bonds and loans, want to take ownership of the company as part of the reorganization. The steering committee representing Walter’s creditors has shifted in the last three months. It now comprises at least six investment firms: Ares Management, Apollo, Caspian Capital Management, Fidelity, GSO and KKR.

Walter Energy Inc.’s senior-most creditors are entering confidential talks with the coal miner to reorganize it in bankruptcy court and hand ownership to the lenders, Bloomberg News reported today. The group, which owns the company’s first-lien bonds and loans, will submit a draft plan to the company that calls for converting their debt into equity. Walter, which last generated an annual profit in 2011, has been discussing a reorganization since April as it struggles with a $3.1 billion debt load amid the worst downturn for coal in decades. Prices of metallurgical coal have been undermined by excess supply and slowing demand from China.