G&W’s rail portfolio links Northeast’s ports and freight

You might not recognize the name Genesee & Wyoming (G&W), but it is the biggest short rail holding company in the world. And in the Northeast, it is a key driver that keeps the region’s freight rolling.

Northeast Roots

The 125 year old Genesee & Wyoming railroad isn’t a name that most people in the Northeast would recognize but the G&W as it is known, is a key facilitator when it comes to moving the region’s freight.

But what about that name? Rather than looking to the far west the moniker comes from two aptly named counties in upstate New York: Genesee and Wyoming, hence the G&W.

The Darien, Connecticut-based G&W owns or operates 122 “shortline” railroads, which cumulatively amounts to around 13,000 track-miles — enough trackage to make the company number six in the nation in track length just behind the well-known Class 1 rail companies.

The G&W’s (originally Genesee and Wyoming Railroad) roots go back to 1899 when Edward L. Fuller purchased it out of a bankruptcy. At that time, the railroad was operating as a 14.5-mile long (23.3 km) single-track line serving a salt mine owned by Fuller in Retsof, New York. In 1977 it was still operating the same shortline when Mortimer B. Fuller, the great grandson, purchased the railroad in 1977. Fuller eventually turned the G&W into a rail holding company acquiring rail shortlines in the US, Canada and even abroad.

Many of these railroads are well-known names in the Northeast, like Providence and Worcester, New England Central Rail, Connecticut Southern and St Lawrence and Atlantic (see rail map below) — all of which now operate under the G&W banner.

G&W’s North American operations are divided into two main groups: the National Region, which covers a large portion of the Northeast and Great Lakes regions of North America (it also has a section in Western Canada) and the American Region which ranges from the Southeast all the way to the Pacific Coast.

Importance of Ports

The Northeast region ports are vitally important to G&W’s rail operations. As Ed Foley, AVP Marketing and Sales Northeast/Canada pointed out in an interview with the AJOT, “If we look in the Northeast division, port operations represent about 31% of carloads touched.” This is a big tally for a railroad — albeit a collection of railroads.

G&W operations in the Northeast, Great Lakes and Canada include rail services to nine ports with two other port projects underway in Connecticut.

It’s easy to see the importance the region’s ports play in G&W’s network. In the Northeast [served by New England Central Rail (NECR) and Providence and Worcester Railroad (PWRZ)] 48% of the carloads touch a port which includes Providence, RI; New Haven, CT; Davisville, RI and ICI Worcester MA.

In the Great Lakes segment of the network [Buffalo & Pittsburg Railroad (BPRR)] 10% of the carloads hit a port Buffalo and Pittsburg. While in Canada [Quebec Gatineau Railway (QBRY)] 26% of the carloads…