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Category: Short Line Railroads

OmniTRAX to manage Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad, develop new industrial park

Jul 4th, 2014

DENVER – OmniTRAX announced in June that it will manage the Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad, a short line railway based in Brownsville, TX.  OmniTRAX will also develop a large-scale industrial park on land owned by the Brownsville Navigation District (BND) of Cameron County, the parent governmental body of the Port of Brownsville. The Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad will continue to be led by President & COO Norma Torres, and OmniTRAX expects to retain all personnel. The strategic partnership between the BND and OmniTRAX covers a 30-year period and will deliver significant economic development for the Rio Grande Valley. “This is a great opportunity for OmniTRAX, the Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad and the people of Brownsville to bring in new industries, create new jobs, increase the tax base and boost the local economy,” said Kevin Shuba, OmniTRAX CEO. “We are honored to be selected for…

  • News / Short Line Railroads

Watco debuts PSU locomotive

Oct 19th, 2012

  Watco Companies debuted today WAMX No. 3834, a GP38-3 that’s painted in Pittsburg State University’s colors to recognize the university during its homecoming week. The locomotive rolled into Pittsburg, KS this morning and was parked near downtown for a short ceremony before university and Watco officials, and the school’s mascot, a gorilla. Onlookers and students were allowed on the locomotive, which was painted at Watco’s Coffeyville, KS shops. After the ceremony, No. 3834  was moved to a siding southwest of town where it will remain until Saturday. The locomotive will be brought back into town and parked on Broadway Street for the school’s football game. “Watco has a great relationship with Pittsburg State University and many of our team members are alums of Pitt State,” said Tracie VanBecelaere, Watco communications director. “We thought this would be the perfect way to let everyone see just how proud we are of…

  • Short Line Railroads

Watco to roll out locomotive honoring Pittsburg State University

Oct 10th, 2012

From staff reports Watco Companies, LLC is bucking the recent trend by railroads to honor their predecessor roads by painting locomotives in heritage schemes. In the last few years, Class Is Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern have painted locomotives to recognize roads that they absorbed. Norfolk Southern honored its predecessors for its 30th anniversary in 2012 by painting 20 new locomotives in commemorative schemes. At Watco, which operates 23 short lines, painting its locomotives to honor an educational institution in a town that the company services is becoming a routine public relations move much closer to home. Watco plans to roll out a GP38 painted in Pittsburg State University’s red and gold scheme in time for the Kansas school’s homecoming football game Oct. 20. WAMX No. 3834 will be the fourth locomotive that Watco has painted to recognize either a university or high school. The unit is expected to arrive…

  • Short Line Railroads

Acquisition of RailAmerica complete

Oct 8th, 2012

From news releases Genesee & Wyoming Inc. announced earlier this month that it has completed the acquisition of RailAmerica, Inc. and entered into a new five-year Senior Secured Credit Facility comprised of a $1.875 billion term loan and $425 million revolving credit facility. Among railroads that RailAmerica operates is the Dallas, Garland & Northeastern, KYLE Railroad, Texas Northeastern Railroad, Missouri & Northern Arkansas and Kiamichi Railroad. Immediately following the closing of the acquisition, control of RailAmerica was placed into a voting trust with R. Lawrence McCaffrey appointed as trustee. The trust will remain in effect until the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) issues its decision on GWI’s application to control RailAmerica and its railroads, which decision could be as early as the fourth quarter of 2012 or as late as the first quarter of 2013. During the period that RailAmerica is held in trust, GWI will account for its ownership…

  • Short Line Railroads

Genesee & Wyoming acquires RailAmerica, Patriot Rail Corp. reaches deal to sell

Aug 2nd, 2012

From News Releases Two of the rail industry’s larger regional and short line railroads are getting new owners. RailAmerica announced in July that it had entered an agreement to sell to Genesee & Wyoming, and Patriot Rail Corp. was acquired in June by a San Francisco-based investment and asset management services company. GWI is acquiring RailAmerica for an all-cash purchase price of $27.50 per share. GWI’s acquisition of RailAmerica will combine the two largest short line and regional rail operators in North America, strengthening GWI’s ability to serve its industrial customers and Class I railroad partners. GWI expects to fund the transaction and the simultaneous refinancing of its existing debt with approximately $2.0 billion of new debt and approximately $800 million of equity or equity-linked securities. RailAmerica operates 45 railroads in 28 states and three Canadian provinces with approximately 7,500 miles of track. Among its affiliates are the Kiamichi Railroad; Chicago, Fort Wayne…

  • Short Line Railroads
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    INSIDE THIS ISSUE

  • General Purpose

    Nearly 75 years after the first General Purpose locomotive rolled off the assembly line at General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division, the workhorse diesel is still doing the job it was meant to do. The four-axle “Geep” is making main line moves, switching industries and doing short road work on mostly secondary railroads. Introduced in 1949 as the “ugly duckling” GP7, it has settled into a comfortable role and is always in demand, whether by lease or purchase. The Cowcatcher looks at the locomotive’s rise and some of its popular variations.

  • NRail Celebrates 50 Years

    NTRAK is a household name in model railroading and has something to celebrate. NTRAK and T-TRAK organizations within NRail have blossomed in the last 50 years to become the glue or common thread of modular model railroading and promote N scale in most areas of the U.S. and Canada and other countries.

     

     

  • M.T.H. Regaining Footing

    Its future once uncertain, O model maker M.T.H. Electric Trains is moving forward with a new business plan making new model train products sold exclusively within the company’s dealer network.

     

  • PLUS…

    Columnist Michelle Kempema goes behind the scenes with an O-scale model railroad club looking to change its image. …

     

    BNSF goes BIG on intermodal plans to build a massive facility in Barstow, CA, to expedite container shipments. …

     

    The Rock Island’s Memphis-Californian went west to El Paso and took a lot of good company. …

     

     

    THESE STORIES AND MORE, PLUS A FULL CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS AND THE BUSINESS PULSE OF THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY!

     

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  • Product News & Review

    InterMountain HO ADM Corn Syrup Car

     

    The Cowcatcher reviews InterMountain Railway Co.’s newly released HO-scale Trinity Industries 19,600-gallon corn syrup car. The tank car is one of several in the company’s second release.

     

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  • Railroad in Focus

    Cowcatcher Magazine routinely features short lines and regional railroads that roam the Midwest and Southwest. Features include color photographs and maps, but an overview of operations and latest business trends.

     



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