Short Line/Regional

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Short Line/Regional

Railmark Sells Michigan Railroad

November 18, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WALLED LAKE, Mich. — Railmark Holdings announced that it sold its Michigan Air-Line Railway Co. to Nebraska-based Browner Turnout Co. The Oakland County Michigan railroad serves the communities of West Bloomfield, Commerce Township, Walled Lake and Wixom and is the home of the iconic Star Clipper Dinner Train, the first dinner train in North America, now in its 25th season. Browner Turnout Co. becomes the fifth owner of the rail line in 123 years. The price and terms of the sale are not being disclosed by the Company, however, Railmark is using the transaction to eliminate its long-term debt, redeem
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BNSF

BNSF Honors Three Shortline Railroads for Partnership Excellence

November 17, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway Co. recognized three shortline railroads for their tremendous success and partnership over the past year with a BNSF Shortline Achievement Award at this year’s 14th Annual Shortline Conference on Oct. 19, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. The Plainsman Switching Company (PSC), Yellowstone Valley Railroad (YSVR), and Burlington Junction Railway (BJRY) were chosen because of their ability to increase the volume and development of new customers and for being good stewards in their communities. “BNSF is proud to recognize these three shortline railroads,” said Pete Rickershauser, BNSF vice president, Network Development. “Each shortline has greatly
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Short Line/Regional

CN Growing ‘Green’ Wood Pellet Traffic at Double-Digit Rates

November 5, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
MONTREAL — North America’s largest mover of forest products is on track to haul more than 800,000 tons of wood pellets this year and sees more opportunities in the future for this “green” source of heating energy, CN officials said. “Since 2005, we have experienced a 16 percent compounded annual growth in our wood pellet traffic, and we see growing potential for this business in domestic and international markets,” said James Foote, executive vice-president, Sales and Marketing. “Wood pellets are a renewable resource, right in our backyard,” Foote added. “Our network has direct access to wood pellet production areas and
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Short Line/Regional

Michael Norkus Elected to Genesee & Wyoming Board of Directors

October 23, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
GREENWICH, Conn. — Genesee & Wyoming Inc. announced the election of Michael Norkus to its board of directors, effective Oct. 22. Norkus will serve on GWI’s Governance Committee. Mr. Norkus is the founder and president of Alliance Consulting Group, which specializes in developing growth strategies for companies in consumer goods, manufactured products, commercial services, high-tech and retail industries. He was previously a partner and director with The Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Norkus currently serves on the board of directors of Overland Storage, Inc., where he chairs the Nominating and Governance Committee and serves on the Audit and Compensation Committees. He
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BNSF

NTSB Releases Info on Fatal Iowa Wreck

October 2, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — In its continuing investigation of a freight train accident in July in Iowa, killing two, the NTSB has developed the following factual information: — At approximately 2:08 a.m. CDT on July 14, 2009, a southbound Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DME) train consisting of two locomotives and 83 freight cars collided with railcars that had been placed on a track on the west side of the Bettendorf rail yard (located in the city of Bettendorf, Iowa) by a BNSF train crew. Both of the crewmembers on the DME train, an engineer and a conductor, were fatally injured in
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Short Line/Regional

Patriot Rail, Temple, Texas, Announce Rail Partnership

September 12, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
TEMPLE, Texas — Patriot Rail Corp., a short line and regional freight railroad holding company, and the city of Temple Texas announced that Patriot’s newly-formed rail subsidiary, Temple & Central Texas Railway, has been awarded an exclusive long-term license agreement to provide rail switching and other services to customers at Central Pointe Rail Park located in Temple, Texas. Central Pointe Rail Park, owned by the City of Temple, is a 3,500-acre industrial park with more than 50 tenants. Located in central Texas midway between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, the Park has rail service, utilities, developed streets and its own
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BNSF

AAR Reports Rail Traffic Continues to Register Gains

September 4, 2009 Railfanning.org News Wire
WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported that rail traffic continues to register incremental gains on a week-to-week basis, but remains down year over year. Rail carloadings were at their highest level since the week ended Dec. 13, 2008. For the week ended Aug. 29, 2009, U.S. railroads reported originating 285,580 cars, down 16.2 percent compared with the same week in 2008. Regionally, carloadings were down 16 percent in the West and 16.6 percent in the East. Intermodal traffic of 202,553 trailers or containers on U.S. railroads was down 15.6 percent from the same week last year. Container