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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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  • Re-Discovery

    Just about every weekend, Ron Natinsky mans the Model Train Garden, unofficially the OBGT (Our Big Garden Train), on a small plot a stone’s throw behind the Butterfly House at the Texas Discovery Gardens in Dallas. It has been his labor of love for four years, since agreeing to donate his time and what was left of his G-scale collection to create a public garden railroad experience. Each year, about 25,000 people visit the railroad at Fair Park.

     

  • Expanding a small oil company

    On the N-scale Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad, the Ozark Oil Co. has provided small-batch petroleum products for Whitehurst, Pine Ridge and Van Buren since 1961. Until recently, two small tanks were enough for Ozark to manage its customer base. But the arrival of Walthers’ Cornerstone Oil Storage Tank Kit signaled additional capacity to meet growing demand.

     – Cowcatcher Magazine

     

  • ‘Loose car’ deliveries

    Incorporating “loose car” deliveries is applicable for railroads large and small in modeling railroads in any era. An example is a small family-owned lumber company in Houston. The lumber transfer and storage facility near downtown is on the former Southern Pacific Sunset Route mainline and receives regular deliveries of centerbeam cars. It is a perfect fit for anyone looking to model a modern small industry served by a big railroad, either on a permanent layout or a module.

  • PLUS…

    The Rocky Mountain Train Show returned with gusto in early April after being sidelined in 2021 because of the pandemic. …

     

    Canadian railroads make the grade on Amtrak’s annual host railroad report card, but some U.S. freight railroads fell short. …

     

    The Monon’s Thoroughbred was the Hoosier Line’s racehorse and the “lifeline of Indiana” on the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway. …

     

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

     

  • Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad





    Visit the new N-scale Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad, the official model railroad of the Cowcatcher Magazine, and track progress. All aboard!
  • Product News & Review

    Athearn EMD SD70ACu Locomotive

     

     

    The Cowcatcher reviews Athearn Trains’ newly released HO-scale SD70ACu diesel locomotive in the March/April 2022 issue. The Canadian Pacific model sent for review is highly detailed and rugged, with plenty of gusto to pull a lot of cars.

     

    More product reviews!

     

    See product news!

     

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