Interchange - 125th Anniversary Edition

G&W

INTERCHANGE

For much of its first century, Genesee & Wyoming was a 14-mile railroad serving a single customer in upstate New York.

History

Rock Salt

Looking Back and

Jack Hellmann Executive Chairman

2

18 Rochester & Southern Railroad

Q. What legacy do you think G&W has created in its first 125 years?

n The third exciting transaction was our sale to Brookfield and GIC. Not only did this transaction crystallize the value we created over two decades as a public company, but it set the stage for our long-term growth, as our customers are investing heavily in facilities on multiple G&W railroads and our shareholders are providing the track and equipment investments that will enable us to provide world-class service for the decades ahead.

Q. What are some of your best memories from your time as CEO?

22 Heritage

Volume 30, Number 1, 2024 G&W Interchange

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Recycled paper. Genesee & Wyoming is committed to using resources wisely

Cover: Locomotive 2-6-0 # 16 at Retsof, New York, in May 1947.

H.K. Porter # 6455, Built February 1920

A. Building on our small-business roots from 1899, G&W’s economic legacy is as an entrepreneurial force that helped revitalize a struggling U.S. rail industry and took its best practices to the world to enhance the efficiency of freight rail on four continents. G&W’s corporate legacy is a culture of integrity, safety, customer service and hard work that enables us to consistently fulfill our Core Purpose of being the safest and most respected transportation service provider in the world.

Q. What was the most exciting thing to happen during your 25 years at G&W?

A. Other than the birth of my three children, I’d say that three exciting transactions were foundational to today’s G&W:

n The first transaction was the creation of the Australian Railroad Group in 2000, a highly complex transaction that required the formation of a 50-50 joint venture with Wesfarmers, a successful bid for the privatization of Westrail in Western Australia, the sale of 50% of our South Australian operations, the separation of our Mexican operations from our North American bank group to the World Bank, as well as a private placement of Convertible Preferred Stock with Brown Brothers Harriman. This transaction put G&W on everyone’s radar screen.

A. All of my fondest memories relate to time spent with our people. We have outstanding people at G&W, as railroaders, as business colleagues and as human beings. A handful of my memories include:

n Safety celebrations on our railroads: flipping pancakes on the Indiana & Ohio Railway, eating MoonPies on the St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad, presenting an Apple watch to a colleague with 40 years of injury-free service on the Portland & Western Railroad, a safety dinner on a riverboat in Savannah, another at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore and yet another at Crewe Hall in England.

n Hi-rail trips and excursion trains to particularly beautiful locations on our railroads: the Wasatch Range in Utah, the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, the approach to Quebec City along the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Great Plains & Missouri River on the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad, and the swamps and wetlands along Arkansas Louisiana & Mississippi Railroad.

n Celebrations of our business success: ringing the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange, completing more than 100 acquisitions, playing cornhole in the hotel lobby with customers at our TPC event, and receiving our first Harriman Award in Washington, D.C.

“The arrows in the G&W logo were designed to represent a nod to our past and present...remembering our history while moving forward.”

— Mortimer B. Fuller III

n The second exciting transaction was the acquisition of RailAmerica in 2012. Not only did it double the size of G&W’s North American footprint, but it also gave us the scale to professionalize our rail support functions and take our operations to the next level.

n Spontaneous moments of laughter: pre-dawn discussion of service quality at the Huddle House in Meridian, Mississippi, a debate of the merits of different hazelnut coffees and dark beers with a certain colleague, a lively deliberation over whether any mammals of stature exist in Australia, and general consensus that a brand-new NFL jersey can be considered formal attire for a company event.

Looking Ahead Q&A

Michael Miller Chief Executive Officer, North America

Q. What do you believe is G&W’s biggest opportunity in the next five years?

A. When I think about the next five years at G&W, I have to reflect on what our company has been able to achieve since being acquired by Brookfield and GIC. Despite a global pandemic, impacts from Class I service challenges, a freight recession and the distractions of an ERP system upgrade, we have been able to grow revenue 17% and adjusted EBITDA 19% in the face of high inflationary pressures – all while delivering the highest service levels in G&W’s history. So, we have a lot to be proud of, but more importantly we have a lot to look forward to. I believe we are set up to deliver growth at historic levels while improving our operating margins as we take advantage of the many investments we’ve made over the past several years. The market conditions for growth have never been better, and as deglobalization, decarbonization and digitization continue to accelerate, we are wellpositioned to capitalize on the safe, reliable service our customers have come to depend on from G&W. Our amazing team has created a lot of positive momentum, and we need to keep it going by staying focused on the things that got us here – safety, service and teamwork.

Q. How can G&W best carry its reputation for safety and service into the century ahead?

A. Safety and service are critical to any company’s long-term success, and though they seem like simple objectives, they are not. Safety and service are at the heart of G&W’s Core Purpose and Core Values, but they are also ingrained in the DNA of every one of our employees and serve as the foundation of our culture. We believe that if we take care of our people, our people will take care of our customers. So, we spend a lot

of time creating an environment where employees are valued and understand that they are integral to G&W’s overall success, which can be seen in our past results. But historical performance doesn’t guarantee future success. Safety and service are never fixed, so we must continuously look for ways to make our operations safer and our customer experience better. While zero injuries and a 10/10 customer satisfaction score are aspirational goals, they are achievable. Every G&W team member plays a role in ensuring that our service outperforms both the competition as well as the overall rail industry and our safety performance is best-inclass. We have led the industry for many years, and it is up to all of us to carry that reputation into the next century.

Q. What role do you see G&W playing in the future of rail as an entire mode of transportation?

A. In general, I believe rail has a bright future given the mode’s social, environmental and economic advantages. G&W has been and will continue to be a leader in pushing new technology that improves the customer experience and helps to increase the size of the addressable market. While rail checks the box for many of the needs of future supply chains, it unfortunately also has a history of not being very customer-focused. G&W has always put the customer at the center of everything we do, and that is how we will continue to lead the industry forward. The North American rail market is an ecosystem that needs to grow, and G&W will help achieve that by doing what we’ve done over the past 125 years: provide safe, reliable service that exceeds our customers’ expectations. Every G&W employee plays a role in our collective success, and I would challenge all of us to be exceptional in whatever we do – setting the example not just for your fellow teammates but for the entire industry. Let’s all help make our industry better!

1899

G&W’s remarkable story began in 1899, when the original 14-mile railroad was purchased out of bankruptcy by E.L. Fuller and his financial partners to transport salt from their mine in western New York. That mine in the town of Retsof would become the largest-producing rock salt mine in the world, and the company became the International Salt Company. The railroad was renamed Genesee and Wyoming Railroad (GNWR) and operated as an independent short line.

E.L. Fuller G&W President

Joy Morton founder of Morton Salt Company

Honorable John H. Fellows former mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania

Milo Merrick Belding Partner, Silk Manufacturer

Building track at Retsof, New York.

In 1900, the original G&W stockholders and directors

Who was E.L. Fuller? 1851-1909

In 1882, E.L. Fuller’s first business ventures were in coal — with him serving as treasurer of the Fuller Coal Company. His journey to being the “Salt King” began in 1890 while he was visiting LeRoy, New York, on business. Three men pitched him on the subject of constructing a salt mine, and Fuller provided capital for the undertaking. Fuller’s first salt company, Lehigh Salt Mining, was organized in 1891. In 1894, he sold Lehigh to Retsof Salt Mining Company and became its president. In addition to owning the Retsof and Lehigh mines, Fuller’s new company purchased two additional local salt companies. Fuller’s ambition, however, was not bounded by the state of New York. In 1898, Retsof purchased the majority of Avery Rock Salt Mining Company in Louisiana.

Impressed by John D. Rockefeller’s petroleum monopoly, Fuller and others incorporated International Salt Company in 1901 with the goal of establishing a salt monopoly. The company quickly made offers to purchase securities of National Salt Company and Retsof Salt Mining Company. Before the end of the year, it had secured majority positions in both companies. By May 1902, International Salt Company controlled about 90% of the evaporated and mineral salt business in the United States.

Fun Fact!

E.L. Fuller’s first business venture outside of New York was in Louisiana, and so was G&W’s with the acquisition of the Louisiana & Delta Railroad in 1987!

Beneath the rolling farmlands of Livingston County, New York, lie massive deposits of salt, remnant seabeds from the Silurian and Devonian epochs of 300 million years ago. The Retsof mine opened in 1885, and for the next 109 years it became one of the world’s largest producers of rock salt and the largest in the western hemisphere. Generations of workmen—many of whom lived in the company town of Retsof, New York—labored 1,000 feet below the surface. Eventually, the mined-out area, with salt pillars supporting the roof, covered 6,500 acres, nearly half the size of Manhattan Island.

E.L. Fuller became president of Retsof Mining Company in 1895, and in 1901 the Retsof mine and others owned by the company were absorbed by International Salt Company (also led by Fuller).

Retsof Salt Mining Company 1885

International Salt and its mines were acquired in 1969 by Akzo, a Dutch conglomerate.

In 1994, a cave-in led to unchecked flooding of the Retsof mine. The slow-moving calamity permitted miners to remove equipment and massive amounts of salt, but eventually in 1995, with the flooding complete, they abandoned the operation. Sink holes, cracks and falling groundwater on the surface confirmed the disaster. Akzo, known by the 1990s as Akzo Nobel, eventually sold its salt business to Cargill, the second-largest salt producer in the United States. The federal government, however, saw a monopoly, and thus mining rights in the area passed to four New York entrepreneurs who created American Rock Salt Co., constructed a new shaft, and continued salt mining and sales nearby after installing track for Genesee and Wyoming Railroad access.

Fun Fact! How many 14-mile railroads can claim this?

During its history, GNWR has had direct interchanges with many of the Northeast’s most significant Class 1 railroads:

Bagging salt at the Retsof Mine, New York. Circa 1940

International Salt Company operated the world’s largest rock salt mine — more than 1,000 feet underground at Retsof, New York. Genesee and Wyoming Railroad hauled the salt 14 miles north to the main lines of larger railroads near Caledonia.

In 1977, E.L.’s great-grandson Mortimer B. Fuller III bought a controlling interest in GNWR and established a holding company known as Genesee & Wyoming Industries. Mort’s strategy was to diversify the business with an initial focus on railcar leasing and railcar management.

“In 1976, the G&W Railroad only shipped salt. Salt was dependent on the weather, its principal use road ice control.”

-The Buffalo News, November 12, 1977

Between 1978 and 1979, G&W’s revenue increased 100% as it added boxcars and more than 1,000 covered hoppers to its fleet. A good portion of those covered hoppers were leased to International Salt Company.

In 1977, CEO Mortimer B. Fuller III addresses GNWR employees at an event honoring veterans.

Mortimer B. Fuller III

Locomotive livery used from the 1950s-1970s.

Where else have you seen

In 1980, the Staggers Rail Act deregulated U.S. freight railroads, enabling them to dispose of routes that were unprofitable and helping to restore their financial health. For G&W, the industry’s restructuring presented opportunities to acquire or lease lower-density rail lines and inject the necessary entrepreneurial drive to make them viable businesses.

In 1979, Mort hired Milton Glaser, the internationally acclaimed graphic designer, to design the G&W logo and livery schematic.

Milton's work?

President Jimmy Carter signing the 1980 Staggers Rail Act.

From 1985-1998, G&W acquired operations in the United States, including railroads in upstate New York, Louisiana, Oregon and Illinois.

Louisiana & Delta Railroad (LDRR) was acquired in 1987.

Portland & Western Railroad (PNWR) was acquired in 1995.

Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR) was acquired in 1988.

Illinois & Midland Railroad (IMRR) was acquired in 1996.

Australia Western Railroad was formed in 2000.

From 1997-2000, G&W’s acquisition focus shifted abroad as other countries privatized and restructured their rail industries. G&W made investments in Canada, Mexico and Bolivia, and also became the first foreign rail investor in Australia with the privatization of Australia National’s South Australia business and the creation of the Australia Southern Railroad. G&W subsequently privatized the state-owned freight railroad of Western Australia in partnership with Wesfarmers, creating the third-largest rail operator in Australia, the Australian Railroad Group.

In 1996, G&W was publicly listed on the under the ticker GNWR. In 2002, the company joined its industry peers on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker GWR.

Huron Central Railway (HCRY) was acquired in 1997 along with Quebec Gatineau Railway (QGRY), becoming G&W’s first two operations in Canada.

In 2000, Jack Hellmann joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. He subsequently served as Chief Executive Officer for 16 years — and was the first person not of the Fuller family to lead the organization — before being named Executive Chairman in September 2023. Over this time period, G&W has grown from 21 short line and regional railroads to more than 100 freight-rail operations internationally.

The ensuing two decades from 2001-2019 were a period of tremendous growth.

abroad. In North America, major acquisitions included Rail Management Corporation (2005), Ohio Central Railroad System (2008), RailAmerica (2012) and the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (2014). G&W also acquired railroads from a variety of owners, including two publicly traded companies, Emons Transportation (2002) and Providence and Worcester Railroad (2016); industrial companies with non-core railroads, such as South Buffalo Railway from Bethlehem Steel (2001), Utah Railway from Mueller Industries (2002) and three railroads from Georgia-Pacific (2003); and other short line entrepreneurs, such as Maryland Midland Railway (2007), CAGY Industries (2008) and Arkansas Midland Railroad (2015).

From 2001-2012, G&W acquired railroads from a variety of owners.

In 2012, RailAmerica’s 45 railroads were acquired:

Puget Sound & Pacific Railroad (PSAP) was acquired in 2012.

Railway Age, 2018

Arizona Eastern Railway (AZER) was acquired in 2011.

Wilmington Terminal Railroad (WTRY) was acquired in 2005.

Connecticut Southern Railroad (CSO) was acquired in 2012.

Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad (DGNO) was acquired in 2012.

Columbus & Chattahoochee Railroad (CCH) was acquired in 2012.

New England Central Railroad (NECR) was acquired in 2012.

Outside of North America, investments included Rotterdam Rail Feeding (2008) in the Netherlands; Freightliner Group (2015) in the UK, Poland and Germany; and Pentalver Transport (2017) in the UK.

Since December 2019, G&W has been owned by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. and GIC, two of the largest infrastructure investors in the world. From 2014-2023, these companies were acquired:

Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCPE) started operating June 2014 (and is also celebrating an anniversary — its 10th — this year).

Freightliner Group was acquired in 2015.

Pentalver Transport was acquired in 2017.

In 2023, Michael Miller became Chief Executive Officer of G&W North America after 13 years with the company, while Tim Shoveller joined the company as Chief Executive Officer of G&W’s UK/Europe operations. n

Underlying G&W’s extraordinary 125-year history is its Core Purpose to be the safest and most respected transportation service provider in the world, which will sustain the company for the century ahead.

Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR)

Hampton Corners Mine

Today!

G &W and American Rock Salt

For more than a century, G&W and many of the salt mines of western New York have been in a symbiotic relationship of sorts. The mines have helped to keep our foods preserved and flavored as well as our highways safe in inclement weather, while G&W has served the critical role of getting much of that salt to end markets.

This relationship technically began in 1899, when E.L. Fuller created the 14-mile Genesee and Wyoming Railroad (GNWR) to serve the Retsof Mine in Retsof, New York. At that time, most of the salt produced was used for agricultural purposes and was hauled in carts pulled by mules.

“The Fuller family was the backbone of the mining industry originally,” says Joseph Bucci Sr., Co-Chief Executive Officer of American Rock Salt (ARS), which owns the Retsof Mine today.

For the better part of the next 100 years, it was relatively business as usual for both companies.

Hampton Corners Mine

LIVINGSTON

MONROE

GENESEE

WYOMING

Mt. Morris

Retsof Mine American Rock Salt

Caledonia

Greigsville

LeRoy

“Today, we’re tied into the use of highway salt. Just like a farmer, we pretty much ride with the weather. And we have to be ready for the good years and prepared for the bad years.” – Greg Norris, plant manager at ARS

Retsof Mine expanded into the International Salt Company, which included six subsidiaries by 1934: The Avery Salt Company in Louisiana (which is now closed); Detroit Rock Salt Company in Michigan; Eastern Salt Company in Massachusetts; and Independent Salt Company, International Salt Company, Inc., and the Retsof Mining Company, all located in New York. The construction of the nation’s superhighway system in the 1950s under President Eisenhower spurred a need for road salt, and International Salt Company was ready to meet the nascent demand.

Meanwhile, G&W began expanding elsewhere in the 1970s after E.L.’s great-grandson Mortimer B. Fuller III took over. However, GNWR continued to transport salt along its original 14-mile route to Class I connections.

“The mining industry and the railroad industry have always closely followed each other in how they grew and modernized,” says Greg Norris, plant manager at ARS.

“The mining industry at Retsof has always been a leader in technology. It was some of the first to establish a shaft, an electric hoist to bring the salt out, and among the first to build a conveyor system. So, it was a leader in technology, and that just coincided with G&W expanding.”

In 1994, a cave-in led to flooding of the Retsof Mine. That slow-moving calamity allowed miners to remove equipment and massive amounts of salt, but the operation was eventually abandoned in 1995. Akzo Nobel, which had purchased the mine in 1969, eventually sold its salt business to Cargill, the second-largest salt producer in the United States. The federal government, however, viewed this as a monopoly, and thus mining rights in the area passed to New York entrepreneurs Joseph Bucci Sr., Gunther Buerman, Neil Cohen and Charles VanArsdale, who collectively created ARS in 1997.

Construction of the ARS mine at Hampton Corners, New York, began in November 1998 and was completed three years later on December 14, 2001. The new company constructed a shaft and continued salt mining and sales nearby after installing track for G&W’s Rochester & Southern Railroad (RSR), which absorbed GNWR in 1986, to access.

While the Hampton Corners mine is the primary one for ARS today, the original Retsof Mine site is still used for packaging and distribution of the company’s Vaporizer rock salt product, available to the public through Home Depot stores.

Inside the Hampton Corners mine circa 2001.

Daily production of the Hampton Corners mine can reach 18,000 tons, making ARS the largest-producing salt mine in the United States. The mine, which is 1,300 feet deep, employs more than 400 people. The company’s market reach is throughout the Northeast United States, along with Ohio and West Virginia.

RSR provides daily service to the mine and moves between 800,000 to 1.1 million tons of salt (or 1,700 carloads, each containing roughly 116 tons of product) per year.

According to Norris, using rail to move rock salt provides advantages for market expansion compared to truck. “Rail allows us to get to further distances because of the efficiency you get from pulling multiple cars and multiple tonnages,” he says. “A truck is very versatile if you are taking small loads to small places. But the railroad allows you to haul large quantities to large stockpiles and distribute differently from there.”

The company’s business is extremely dependent on weather.

“Today, we’re tied into the use of highway salt,” Norris says. “Just like a farmer, we pretty much ride with the weather. And we have to be ready for the good years and prepared for the bad years. When you have excess salt left over, you’ve got to be able to pull back tonnage and be efficient. When winter is rampant – what we call a ‘good winter’ – then you have to be able to ship more, produce more, work longer hours and work more days in a week. It is a true supply-and-demand business.”

RSR’s flexibility is key to working with ARS. “They are always there,” Norris says. “And their flexibility as we work with Mother Nature has helped a lot.”

As with G&W and RSR, safety is an important core principle for ARS.

“We have safety meetings, and when an issue pops up that is concerning or is a question of ‘what do we do if this happens?,’ then we stop, solve the problem and move on,” Norris explains.

“We load our cars in an efficient manner so that RSR does not have to move cars around,” says Barbara Horton, who manages the rail and stockpile administration at ARS. “We try our best to make sure that when RSR comes in here, everything is safe and ready for them to pull out of here.”

Norris says that ARS and RSR engage in discussions about safety and make changes as necessary. “We have moved our switching to help the railroad because they had to walk the side of the cars from one end to the other and one side was a ditch, which was not safe,” he explains.

“After discussion with RSR, we decided to move our switching mechanism over to the west track so they can walk both sides of the track and inspect the cars from one end to the other safely.”

The original Retsof Mine site (owned by ARS) is used for packaging and distribution of the company’s Vaporizer rock salt product, available to the public through Home Depot stores.

For 25 years, American Rock Salt Company has continued the legacy of mining salt in western New York. And with the mine having a potential longevity of more than 100 years, according to Bucci and Norris, it will continue to be an integral part of the G&W story. n

Rochester & Southern Railroad Is Standing the Test of Time

For nearly 100 years and for the majority of Mort

Fuller’s first decade of leadership, the original Genesee and Wyoming Railroad (GNWR) was the company’s sole railroad. Today, GNWR operates as part of the

Rochester & Southern Railroad (RSR), which G&W acquired in 1986. Shortly after that acquisition, RSR became the first G&W railroad to run engines adorned with the orange color currently used on the company’s locomotives.

RSR runs from Rochester, New York, to Silver Springs, New York. Hauling salt for American Rock Salt is the cornerstone of its business (see previous article). However, there are other important customers in industries other than salt that are partnering with RSR to grow their businesses. Two among them are the Commodity Resource Corporation and American Motive Power, which together account for approximately 15% of RSR’s business.

Commodity Resource Corporation (CRC) owns a large rail-truck storage and transload facility in Caledonia, New York, that is currently leased to and operated by Purina, a leading producer of nutritional products for dogs, cats and other animals. The CRC Caledonia facility is served by RSR and receives a mixture of agricultural commodities, such as soybeans and rapeseed – some of which are used for manufacturing agricultural feed, while others are transloaded to truck for distribution elsewhere.

Another important customer for RSR, via its Danville and Mt. Morris branch, is American Motive Power (AMP), an established locomotive rebuild operation serving many of the North American Class I railroads. AMP has been an RSR customer since it began operating its large Danville, New York, facility in 2005. AMP also provides space at its Danville site to house other G&W customers, including Nutrien Ag Solutions, which produces a range of plant and soil nutrition products, and several manufacturers of wind-energy components.

Importantly, the RSR team is focused on growing and diversifying its current customer base. Jar rod Hutcheson, the railroad’s general manager, believes one of the keys to accomplishing this is the road’s safety record.

“Safety,” Hutcheson says, “has the highest priority at RSR, which consistently performs better than the industry. RSR regrettably had one reportable injury in 2023 but had no transportation-related human factor safety issues. In 2024 year-to-date, RSR has an unblemished safety record and is focused on ensuring that it remains that way.”

Additionally, RSR continually invests in its infrastructure to ensure the safety of employees, customers and the communities in which it operates. Ultimately, this leads to more dependable service in the marketplace, which is a key selling point for the railroad.

A second critical factor in RSR’s growth and diversification is its experienced and dedicated employees, who continually raise the bar on customer service.

“We work very closely with our customers and tailor our service to meet their needs,” says Dan Pavick, vice president of G&W’s Great Lakes Division railroads, which include RSR. “We are able to elevate our customer service because of the experience of the RSR team. We stay at around 24 employees, and turnover is relatively low, considering the competition we have in the area from other railroads and industries. That workforce consistency translates into an efficient and effective railroad that benefits our customers and pays dividends for us in the marketplace.

Left: The first G&W locomotives to be painted in Milton Glaser’s schematic design were two diesel-electric road switchers, #45 and sister unit #46, in 1982. In 1986, these units were rolled over into the Rochester & Southern Railroad (RSR) fleet.

A quartet of EMD's on the Rochester & Southern’s RS-1 shove their train of interchange cars down the siding at Silver Springs, New York, on the NS Southern Tier Line, where they will leave the cars. The crew will then pick up the train in the background and take it north back to Rochester.

“And you can’t overlook the fact that working in the elements in Rochester is not for the faint of heart, particularly during the winter,” Pavick continues. “Despite some trying conditions, RSR team members show up every day, regardless of the weather, to service our customers safely.”

One of those valuable team members is Matt Sattora, who has been part of the RSR team for 21 years. Today, Matt, a fifth-generation railroader, is an RSR locomotive engineer and designated supervisor of locomotive engineers. For Matt, working for G&W is a family affair. His wife, Jennifer Sattora, who is a revenue accounting supervisor, has worked for the company for 17 years. In addition, his father, Jerry Sattora, had a 40-year career at G&W that began when he was a carman and culminated in 2016 when he was a vice president at G&W.

Not surprisingly, Jerry was instrumental in his son’s choice of careers. “When I graduated from high school, I decided to forego college and enter the workforce,” says Matt. “I was looking for a career that would pay well, offer excellent benefits and provide long-term security. My father said that those things could be had at G&W, so I interviewed for a job there and became a member of the RSR team in late 2002.”

When asked to describe the current RSR team, Matt answers without hesitation. “Our team is unique in that it is relatively small, and quite a few of us have been together for a long time. Our strength is that we know each other very well. We are very safety-oriented, and communication among team members is outstanding. If there is an issue, it is resolved very quickly, which is a key to meeting the needs of our customers every day.” n

Notable Firsts That Occurred in 1899

The Genesee and Wyoming Railroad (GNWR), which began serving its customers in 1899, was just one of the “firsts” in the transportation world that year. Here are some other transportation-related firsts that occurred that year and found their way onto the front pages of America’s newspapers 125 years ago.

Robert L. Parker (Butch Cassidy) and Harry A. Longabaugh (The Sundance Kid) committed their first robbery, heisting more than $30,000 in cargo from a Union Pacific train.

A New York cab driver became the first person in the U.S. to be arrested for speeding. He was caught driving his electric taxi 12 miles per hour on Lexington Avenue in New York, more than twice the speed limit.

A mechanic named Henry Ford, with the help of 12 investors, first incorporated the Detroit Automobile Company, which failed after 17 months. The failed company was the forerunner of what is today Ford Motor Company.

The first luxury car was produced, manufactured by Packard and widely known for its quality and elegance.

Charles “Mile a Minute” Murphy became the first person in the U.S. to ride a bicycle one mile in under a minute, paced by a Long Island Railroad engine. He was recognized as the world’s “fastest man on two wheels.”

Heritage

A brief look at a few of our predecessor lines and their role in our North American railroad lore.

Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway’s (AGR) roots can be traced back to the Pensacola & Mobile Railroad & Manufacturing Company, which consisted of five miles in 1861.

During the Civil War, the line was dismantled – with the iron that composed its tracks being a valuable resource for war efforts. The railroad was reconstructed post-war and merged with the Pensacola, Alabama & Tennessee Railroad in 1892.

Pictured above: the Pensacola Station, 1906.

The St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (SLR) and Chemin de fer St-Laurent et Atlantique (Québec) was first chartered as the Atlantic & St. Lawrence in 1845. Considered the first railroad in North America to cross an international border (according to The Canadian Encyclopedia), the railroad’s primary purpose was to connect Portland, Maine, to Montreal. The Grand Trunk Railway leased this line in 1853.

Did you know the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR) line once boasted the “Eighth Wonder of the World?” Known as the Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railway in the late 1800s, the railroad found itself needing to expand its trackage south to reach coal deposits in Pennsylvania. To achieve this, a wrought iron bridge, which held the record for the tallest railroad bridge in the world for two years, was constructed over the Kinzua Creek Gorge in 1882. The bridge was disassembled in 1900 and rebuilt as a steel structure to accommodate heavier loads. The structure, which is now a state park, was struck by a tornado in 2003 and nearly destroyed.

What now exists as Arizona Eastern Railway (AZER) was originally chartered as the Gila Valley, Globe and Northern Railway in 1885. That railroad’s first locomotive, GVGN #1, met with Union Pacific’s (formerly Central Pacific Railroad) locomotive #119 (above left), named Jupiter, at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869, for the driving of the Golden Spike. This commemorated the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Several years later, GVGN #1 was overhauled to remain in service and, in 1909, the historically significant engine was sold as scrap for $1,000.

Northern Pacific Railway constructed Portland & Western Railroad’s (PNWR) track that today runs adjacent to the Columbia River. Originally intended to extend to Astoria, Oregon, the line ended at Goble, Oregon, when Northern Pacific ran out of funding for the project. Instead, Northern Pacific acquired a rail ferry – the Tacoma – to cross the river. The Tacoma, which operated from 1884-1908, was originally built in Delaware and was taken apart and shipped to Oregon in more than 57,000 pieces. The ferry was reassembled during summer 1883 in Portland and, at the time, was the second-largest rail ferry in the world.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc.

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In 1947, Genesee and Wyoming Railroad (GNWR) locomotive #16 hauls rock salt from Retsof Salt Mining Company to Caledonia, New York.