Shortline railroad

Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the popular board game Monopoly, possibly named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.

A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the USA and Canada. In the United States, railroads are categorized by operating revenue, and most shortline railroads fall into the Class III or Class II categorization defined by the Surface Transportation Board.

Shortlines generally exist for one of three reasons: to link two industries requiring rail freight together (for example, a gypsum mine and a wall board factory, or a coal mine and a power plant); to interchange revenue traffic with other, usually larger, railroads; or to operate a tourist passenger train service. Often, short lines exist for all three of these reasons.

History

In the beginning of the railroad age, nearly all railway lines were shortlines, locally chartered, financed and operated; as the railroad industry matured, local lines were merged or acquired to create longer mainline railroads.

Especially since 1980 in the USA and 1990 in Canada, many shortlines have been established when larger railroad companies sold off or abandoned low-profit portions of their trackage. Shortline operators typically have lower labor, overhead and regulatory costs than Class I railroads and therefore are often able to operate profitable lines that lost money for their original owners.^[1]

Classification

Because of their small size and generally low revenues, the great majority of shortline railroads in United States are classified by the Association of American Railroads as Class III. As defined by the Surface Transportation Board, a Class III is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of less than $28 million.^[2] In Canada, Transport Canada classifies short line railroads as Class II.

There are three kinds of shortlines in the United States: handling, switch, and ISS (Interline Settlement System).

• Handling shortlines exist only to move cars along their tracks for larger railroads. They are not listed in the route on a railcar's waybill. Handling short lines may have compensation agreements with the larger railroads they serve that do not depend on per car rates.
• Switch shortlines are similar to handling shortlines except that they are listed on a railcar's route, and they collect a fee for each car they move on their tracks.
• ISS shortlines operate the same as Class I and II railroads. They are included in the routes of railcars. Also, they serve as the billing railroads for loads that originate on their lines. For loads not originating on their lines, ISS shortlines still collect a portion of the freight rate.

Current Railroads by State

Current Short-line railroads in operation in the United States are:

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Contents 1 History 2 Classification 3 Current Railroads by State 3.1 Alabama 3.2 Arizona 3.3 Arkansas 3.4 California 3.5 Colorado 3.6 Delaware 3.7 Florida 3.8 Georgia 3.9 Illinois 3.10 Indiana 3.11 Iowa 3.12 Kansas 3.13 Louisiana 3.14 Massachusetts 3.15 Michigan 3.16 Missouri 3.17 Mississippi 3.18 Nebraska 3.19 New Mexico 3.20 New York 3.21 North Carolina 3.22 North Dakota 3.23 Oklahoma 3.24 Ohio 3.25 Oregon 3.26 Pennsylvania 3.27 South Carolina 3.28 South Dakota 3.29 Texas 3.30 Utah 3.31 Vermont 3.32 Virginia 3.33 Washington 3.34 West Virginia 3.35 Interstate 4 Statistics 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

Alabama

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Alabama and Tennessee River Railway	ATN
Alabama Southern Railroad	ABS
Alabama Warrior Railway	ABWR
Birmingham Southern Railroad	BS
CG Railway	CGR
Chattahoochee and Gulf Railroad	CHAT
Conecuh Valley Railroad	COEH
Autauga Northern Railroad	AUT
Wiregrass Central Railroad	WGCR

Arizona

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Apache Railway	APA
Arizona and California Railroad	ARZC
Arizona Central Railroad	AZCR
Arizona Eastern Railway	AZER
Copper Basin Railway	CBRY
San Pedro and Southwestern Railroad	SPSR

Arkansas

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Arkansas and Missouri Railroad	AM
Arkansas Southern Railroad	ARS
Fort Smith Railroad	FSR

California

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Almanor Railroad	AL
Carrizo Gorge Railway	CZRY
Central California Traction	CCT
McCloud Railway	CZRY
Pacific Harbor Line	PHL
Pacific Sun Railroad	PSRR
Richmond Pacific Railroad	RPRC
San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad	SDIY
Santa Maria Valley Railroad	SMV
Sierra Northern Railway	SERA
California Northern Railroad	CFNR

Colorado

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Denver Rock Island Railroad	DRIR
San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad	SLRG

Delaware

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Delaware Coastline Railroad	DLCR
Maryland and Delaware Railroad	MDDE

Florida

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Apalachicola Northern Railroad	AN
Bay Line Railroad	BAYL
Seminole Gulf Railway	SGLR
South Central Florida Express	SCFE

Georgia

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Chattahoochee Industrial
Georgia Central Railway	GC
Georgia Northeastern Railway
Georgia Southwestern Railway
Sandersville Railroad	SAN
St. Mary's Railroad	SM
Valdosta Railway	VR

Illinois

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Bloomer Line	BLOL
Central Illinois Railroad	CIRY
Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railroad	COER
Decatur Junction Railway	DT
Eastern Illinois Railroad	EIRC
Illinois Railway	IR
Keokuk Junction Railway	KJRY
Peoria and Western Railway	PWRY
Tazewell and Peoria Railroad	TZPR
Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad	TPW

Indiana

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Bee Line Railroad	BLEX
Central Indiana and Western Railroad	CEIW
Central Railroad Company of Indiana	CIND
Central Railroad Company of Indianapolis	CERA
Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad	CKIN
Chicago Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad	CFE
Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad	CSS
Dubois County Railroad	DCRR
Elkhart and Western Railroad	EWR
Evansville Western Railway	EVWR
Fulton County Railroad	FC
Grand Elk Railroad	GDLK
Honey Creek Railroad	HCRR
Hoosier Southern Railroad	HOS
Indian Creek Railroad	ICRK
Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad	IHB
Indiana Northeastern Railroad	IN
Indiana Southern Railroad	ISRR
Indiana Southwestern Railway	ISW
Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad	KBSR
Louisville and Indiana Railroad	LIRC
Lucas Oil Rail Line	LORL
Madison Railroad	CMPA
Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway	TPW
Vermilion Valley Railroad	VVRR

Iowa

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Appanoose County Community Railroad	APNC
Burlington Junction Railway	BJRY
Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway	CIC
Iowa Northern Railway	IANR

Kansas

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Kaw River Railroad	KAW
Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad	KO
Kansas City Terminal Railway	KCT
South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad	SKOL

Louisiana

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Baton Rouge Southern Railroad	BRS
Louisiana Southern Railroad	LAS

Massachusetts

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Grafton and Upton Railroad	GU
Massachusetts Central Railroad	MCER

Michigan

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Adrian and Blissfield Railroad	ADBF
Charlotte Southern Railroad	CHS
Detroit Connecting Railroad	DCON
Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad	ELS
Grand Elk Railroad	GDLK
Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad	LSI
Lapeer Industrial Railroad	LIRR
Tecumseh Branch Connecting Railroad	TCBY

Missouri

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Kansas City Terminal Railway	KCT

Mississippi

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Meridian Southern Railway	MDS
Mississippi Southern Railroad	MSR
Mississippian Railway Cooperative	MSRW
Vicksburg Southern Railroad	VSOR

Nebraska

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Brandon Corporation	BRAN
Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad	FEVR
Kyle Railroad	KLYE
Nebkota Railway	NRI
Nebraska Central	NCRC
Nebraska Northeastern Railway	NENE
Nebraska Northwestern Railroad	NNW
Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado RailNet	NKC
Omaha, Lincoln and Beatrice Railway	OLB
Sidney and Lowe Railroad	SLGG

New Mexico

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Arizona Eastern Railway	AZER
Santa Fe Southern Railway	SFS
Southwestern Railroad	SW
Texas-New Mexico Railroad	TNMR

New York

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Bath and Hammondsport Railroad	BH
Batten Kill Railroad	BKRR
Depew, Lancaster and Western Railroad	DLWR
Falls Road Railroad	FRR
Finger Lakes Railway	FGLK
Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad	LAL
Ontario Central Railroad	ONCT
Ontario Midland Railroad	OMID
Buffalo Southern Railroad	BSRR
Arcade and Attica Railroad	ARA
New York and Atlantic Railway	NYA
Rochester and Southern Railroad	RSR
Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad	WNYP

North Carolina

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway	ACWR
Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad	AR
Atlantic and Western Railway	ATW

North Dakota

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Red River Valley and Western Railroad	RRVW

Oklahoma

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Arkansas Southern Railroad	ARS
Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad	BNG
Farmrail	FMRC
Hollis and Eastern Railroad	HE
Kiamichi Railroad	KRR
Northwestern Oklahoma Railroad	NOKR
Sand Springs Railway	SS
Stillwater Central Railroad	SLWC
Texas, Oklahoma and Eastern Railroad	TOE

Ohio

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Ashland Railway	ASRY
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad	CVSR
Ohio Central Railroad	OHCR
Toledo Lake Erie & Western	TLEW

Oregon

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Albany & Eastern Railroad	AERC
City of Prineville Railway	COPR
Idaho Northern & Pacific Railroad	INPR
Klamath Northern Railway	KNOR
Modoc Northern Railroad	MHRR
Mount Hood Railroad	MH
Oregon Pacific Railroad	OPR
Palouse River & Coulee City Railroad	PCC
Peninsula Terminal Railroad	PT
Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad	POTB
Portland Terminal Railroad	PTO
Wallowa Union Railroad Authority	WURR
WCTU Railway	WCTR
Willamette Valley Railway	WVR
Wyoming & Colorado Railway	WYCO

Pennsylvania

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Allegheny Valley Railroad	AVR
Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad	DL
Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad	POHC
New Hope and Ivyland Railroad	NHIR
Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad	RBMN
Shamokin Valley Railroad	SVRR

South Carolina

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Greenville and Western Railway	GRLW

South Dakota

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Dakota Southern Railway	DSRC
Ellis and Eastern	EE

Texas

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Alamo Gulf Coast Railroad	AGCR
Alliance Terminal Railroad	ATR
Angelina and Neches River Railroad	ANR
Austin Western Railroad	AWRR
Blacklands Railroad	BLR
Dallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad	DGNO
Fort Worth and Western Railroad	FWWR
Galveston Railroad	GVSR
Georgetown Railroad	GRR
Gulf, Colorado and San Saba Railroad	GCSR
Moscow, Camden and San Augustine Railroad	MCSA
Pecos Valley Southern Railway	PVS
Point Comfort and Northern Railway	PCN
Sabine River and Northern Railroad	SRN
Texas and Northern Railway	TN
Timber Rock Railroad	TIBR

Utah

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Utah Railway	UTAH

Vermont

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Green Mountain Railroad	GMRC
New England Central Railroad	NECR

Virginia

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Bay Coast Railroad	BCR
Buckingham Branch Railroad	BB
Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad	CA
Commonwealth Railway	CWRY
North Carolina and Virginia Railroad	NCVA
Shenandoah Valley Railroad	SV
Virginia Southern Railroad	VSRR
Winchester and Western Railroad	WW

Washington

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Ballard Terminal Railroad	BT
Cascade and Columbia River Railroad	CSCD
Columbia and Cowlitz Railway	CLC
Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad	PSAP
Tacoma Rail	TMRW

West Virginia

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Big Eagle Railroad	BER

Interstate

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Bay Line Railroad (AL and FL)	BAYL
Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad	CFE
Chicago SouthShore and South Bend Railroad (IL and IN)	CSS
Cimarron Valley Railroad (CO,KS, and OK)	CVR
Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad (IL and IN)	KBSR
Rail Link, Inc, (operates 26 short line railroads)	RLIX
New York New Jersey Rail, LLC (NJ and NY)	NYNJ
New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NJ, NY, and PA)	NYSW
St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad (ME, NH, and VT)	SLA
Utah Railway (CO and UT)	UTAH
Watco Companies (owners of 17 short lines)	WATX, WAMX
Wichita, Tillman and Jackson Railway (OK and TX)	WTJR

Statistics

It was reported in 2009 that short-line railroads employ 20,000 people in the US, and own 30 percent of nation's railroad tracks. About a quarter of all US rail freight travels at least a small part of its journey over a short-line railroad.^[3]

See also

• Class I railroad
• Class II railroad
• List of United States railroads
• List of Canadian railroads
• List of Mexican railroads
• Switching and terminal railroad

External links

• American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association

References