Farmrail sells interest in Marquette Rail to RailAmerica
July 3, 2012 / Updated August 29, 2012
Short Line Railroads
Farmrail recently sold its interest in Marquette Rail to RailAmerica. – Courtesy Ron Roman
Oklahoma-based Farmrail and the six other owners sold their interests in Marquette Rail to RailAmerica in May. RailAmerica, which owns and operates 45 short-line and regional freight railroads in North America and Canada, reportedly paid $40 million for MQT.
MQT serves West Michigan and operates approximately 126 miles of railroad. The primary rail route extends from connections with CSX and Norfolk Southern/Grand Elk at Grand Rapids northward to Ludington and Manistee. These lines, formerly part of the Pere Marquette Railroad network that covered most of the state’s Lower Peninsula, have been in continuous operation since 1874.
Marquette Rail serves about two dozen online customers in six West Michigan counties, transporting chemicals, paperboard, grain, salt, petroleum products and other commodities.
Marquette Rail also serves as a storage agent for fleet owners requiring convenient accommodations for seasonally inactive or off-lease rolling stock. Capacity is in excess of 500 railcars. Connections with both major Eastern trunk lines make Marquette a preferred source for box car, hopper and tank storage accessible to the upper Mid-West. All car types are routinely received and delivered on short notice, and inspection, running repairs and testing services can be provided upon request.
In other Farmrail news, the Federal Railroad Administration issued in June a temporary waiver allowing Farmrail movements of 10-car blocks of crude oil and up to 20 empties over excepted FMRC track between Sayre and Elk City, OK.
North American railroads have hauled coal in quantity ever since the anthracite roads were built on the East Coast. Decades later and despite many changes that have diminished production, coal remains a top (but declining) commodity. While it has weathered shifts in power generation and other factors leading to its decline, coal still accounts for 28 percent of total rail tonnage and 12 percent of revenue. Watch a coal trains roll by and you’ll notice that most cars are painted a stripe or block of color on one end. The color doesn’t matter, but the painted end has a rotary coupler, the non-painted end a solid drawbar. Learn how this combination of couplers enable railroads to move coal efficiently.
Manufacturers roll out the red carpet at January's Amherst Railway Society's Railroad Hobby Show in Springfield, MA. The show set an attendance record of 27,535 at what has become the big daddy of train shows. Several manufacturers came out in full dress to tout their latest products and announce new runs. At times it appeared to be a battle of the booths, something show chairman John Sacerdote anticipated leading up to the show. Lionel and Walthers did not disappoint.
After almost 20 years of top-line service, the Pennsylvania Railroad's St. Louisan and New Yorker were rechristened Spirit of St. Louis after the custom-built Ryan monoplane in which Charles Lindbergh made the first transatlantic flight. PRR’s advertising and publicity forces wasted no time capitalizing on transatlantic frenzy. The Spirit’s christening was celebrated June 15, 1927, less than a month after Lindbergh’s May 21 landing in Paris. Take a ride on the train in the Cowcatcher's ongoing series, "The Golden Age of Passenger Travel."
CN rolls out a medium horsepower hybrid locomotive that will be deployed this year across several of the railroads's yards and branch lines. Watching trains circle a layout adds a warm touch to modeling and relieves stress, say modelers. And more!
