Shortline railroad

Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.^[1]^[2]^[3]^{[self-published source]}

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 United States and Canada. In the U.S., 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[]

At 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 U.S. 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.^[4]

Classification[]

Because of their small size and generally low revenues, the great majority of shortline railroads in the U.S. 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.^[5] In Canada, Transport Canada classifies short line railroads as Class II.

There are three kinds of shortlines in the U.S.: 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.

Impact of Consolidation[]

An ever-growing number of shortline operators have been acquired by larger holding companies which own or lease railroad properties in many states, as well as internationally. For example, "Genesee & Wyoming Inc." (AAR Rep. Mark "GEXR") at this writing controls 113 railroads in 42 US States and 4 Canadian provinces. ^[6] (Undoubtedly there are many others.) A necessary and direct consequence of this is that "shortline railroads" may no longer be "by state."

List of short lines by U.S. state[]

Current short line railroads in operation in the U.S. are:

Alabama[]

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

Arizona[]

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

Arkansas[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Arkansas & Missouri Railroad	AM
Arkansas Southern Railroad	ARS
Dardanelle and Russellville Railroad	DR
Fort Smith Railroad	FSR

California[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
California Northern Railroad	CFNR
Carrizo Gorge Railway	CZRY
Central California Traction	CCT
Disneyland Railroad	(DRR)
McCloud Railway	MCR
Modesto & Empire Traction Company	MET
Northwestern Pacific Railroad	NWP
Pacific Harbor Line	PHL
Pacific Sun Railroad	PSRR
Richmond Pacific Railroad	RPRC
San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad	SDIY
	SFBR
San Joaquin Valley Railroad	SJVR
Santa Maria Valley Railroad	SMV
Sierra Northern Railway	SERA
Trona Railway	TRC

Colorado[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Denver Rock Island Railroad	DRIR
Great Western Railroad of Colorado	GWR
Rock & Rail	RRRR
San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad	SLRG

Connecticut[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Branford Steam Railroad	BRFD
Central New England Railroad	CNZR
Connecticut Southern Railroad	CSOR

Delaware[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Delmarva Central Railroad	DCR
East Penn Railroad	ESPN
Maryland & Delaware Railroad	MDDE
Wilmington & Western Railroad	WWRC

Florida[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Apalachicola Northern Railroad	AN
Bay Line Railroad	BAYL
Seminole Gulf Railway	SGLR
South Central Florida Express	SCFE
Walt Disney World Railroad	(WDWRR)

Georgia[]

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

Idaho[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Boise Valley Railroad	BVRR
St. Maries River Railroad	STMA

Illinois[]

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

Indiana[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Algers, Winslow & Western Railway	AWW
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 & Eastern Railroad	CFE
Chicago South Shore & 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 & Western Railway	TPW
Vermilion Valley Railroad	VVRR

Iowa[]

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

Kansas[]

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

Louisiana[]

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

Maine[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Eastern Maine Railway (1995)	EMRY
Maine Eastern Railroad	MERR
Maine Northern Railway	MNRY
St Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad	SLR

Maryland[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Delmarva Central Railroad	DCR
Maryland & Delaware Railroad	MDDE
Maryland Midland Railway	MMID

Massachusetts[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
East Brookfield & Spencer Railroad	EBSR
Grafton & Upton Railroad	GU
Massachusetts Central Railroad	MCER

Michigan[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Adrian and Blissfield Rail Road	ADBF
Ann Arbor Railroad	AA
Charlotte Southern Railroad	CHS
Coopersville and Marne Railway	CPMY
Delray Connecting Railroad	DC
Detroit Connecting Railroad	DCON
Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad	ELS
Grand Elk Railroad	GDLK
Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad	GR
Huron & Eastern Railway	HESR
Indiana Northeastern Railroad	IN
Jackson and Lansing Railroad	JAIL
Lake State Railway	LSRC
Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad	LSI
Lapeer Industrial Railroad	LIRR
Marquette Rail	MQT
Michigan Shore Railroad	MS
Michigan Southern Railroad	MSO
Mid-Michigan Railroad	MMRR
West Michigan Railroad	WMI

Minnesota[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Progressive Rail	PGR
Twin Cities & Western Railroad	TCW
Red River Valley & Western Railroad	RRVW

Mississippi[]

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

Missouri[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Columbia Terminal Railroad	CT
Kansas City Terminal Railway	KCT
Terminal Railroad Association of St Louis	TRRA

Nebraska[]

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

New Jersey[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Belvidere and Delaware River Railway	BDRV
Black River & Western Railroad	BRW
Dover and Delaware River Railroad	DD
Dover & Rockaway River Railroad	DRRV
Morristown & Erie Railway	ME
SMS Rail Lines	SLRS
Southern Railroad of New Jersey	SRNJ
Winchester & Western Railroad	WW

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
Arcade & Attica Railroad	ARA
B&H Rail Corporation	BH
Batten Kill Railroad	BKRR
Buffalo Southern Railroad	BSRR
Depew, Lancaster and Western Railroad	DLWR
Falls Road Railroad	FRR
Finger Lakes Railway	FGLK
Ithaca Central Railroad	ITHR
Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad	LAL
New York & Atlantic Railway	NYA
Ontario Central Railroad	ONCT
Ontario Midland Railroad	OMID
Rochester & Southern Railroad	RSR
Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad	WNYP

North Carolina[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Aberdeen & Rockfish Railroad	AR
Aberdeen, Carolina and Western Railway	ACWR
Alexander Railroad	ARC
Atlantic & Western Railway	ATW
Caldwell County Railroad	CWCY

Carolina Coastal Railway	CLNA
Great Smoky Mountains Railroad	GSMR
Winston-Salem Southbound Railway	WSS
Yadkin Valley Railroad	YVRR

North Dakota[]

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

Ohio[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Ashland Railway	ASRY
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad	CVSR
Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railroad	ND&W
Ohio Central Railroad	OHCR
Ohio Terminal Railway	OHIO
	OVR, OVRX
Toledo Lake Erie & Western	TLEW
Cincinnati East Terminal Railway	CET

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
Wichita, Tillman and Jackson Railway	WTJR

Oregon[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Albany & Eastern Railroad	AERC
City of Prineville Railway	COPR
Coos Bay Rail Line	CBR
Goose Lake Railway	GOOS
Klamath Northern Railway	KNOR
Mount Hood Railroad	MH
Oregon Pacific Railroad	OPR
	PCC
	PT
Portland Terminal Railroad	PTRC
Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad	POTB
Rogue Valley Terminal Railroad	RVT
Wallowa Union Railroad Authority	WURR
Willamette Valley Railway	WVR
Wyoming & Colorado Railway (Oregon Eastern Division)	OERR

Pennsylvania[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Allegheny Valley Railroad	AVR
Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad	BLE
Colebrookdale Railroad	CRR
Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad	DL
East Penn Railroad	ESPN
Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad	MIDH
New Hope Railroad	NHRR
Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad	NBER
Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad	PN
Pittsburgh & Ohio Central Railroad	POHC
Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad	RBMN
Shamokin Valley Railroad	SVRR
	SRC
Tyburn Railroad	TYBR

South Carolina[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Carolina Piedmont Railroad	CPDR
Carolina Southern Railroad	CALA
Greenville & Western Railway	GRLW
Hampton and Branchville Railroad	HB
Lancaster and Chester Railroad	LC
Pee Dee River Railway	PDRR
Pickens Railway	PICK
South Carolina Central Railroad	SCRF

South Dakota[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Dakota Southern Railway	DSRC
	EE

Tennessee[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
East Tennessee Railway	ETRY
Nashville & Eastern Railroad	NERR

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 & Northeastern Railroad	DGNO
Fort Worth & Western Railroad	FWWR
Galveston Railroad	GVSR
Georgetown Railroad	GRR
Gulf, Colorado and San Saba Railway	GCSR
Moscow, Camden and San Augustine Railroad	MCSA
Pecos Valley Southern Railway	PVS
Point Comfort & Northern Railway	PCN
Sabine River and Northern Railroad	SRN
Texas and Northern Railway	TN
Texas-New Mexico Railroad	TNMR
Timber Rock Railroad	TIBR

Utah[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Salt Lake City Southern Railroad	SL
Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railway	SLGW
Utah Central Railway	UCRY
Utah Railway	UTAH

Vermont[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
	VTR
New England Central Railroad	NECR

Virginia[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Buckingham Branch Railroad	BB
Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad	CA
Commonwealth Railway	CWRY
Delmarva Central Railroad	DCR
North Carolina & Virginia Railroad	NCVA
Shenandoah Valley Railroad	SV
Virginia Southern Railroad	VSRR
Winchester & Western Railroad	WW

Washington[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Ballard Terminal Railroad	BDTL
Cascade & Columbia River Railroad	CSCD
Central Washington Railroad	CWRR
Columbia and Cowlitz Railway	CLC
Columbia Basin Railroad	CBRR
Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad	EWG
Lewis and Clark Railway	LINC
Pend Oreille Valley Railroad	POVA
Puget Sound & Pacific Railroad	PSAP
	SSP
Tacoma Rail	TMRW
Tri-City Railroad	TCRY

West Virginia[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Big Eagle Railroad	BER

Wisconsin[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
East Troy Electric Railroad	ETER

Interstate[]

Railroad	AAR rep. mark
Bay Line Railroad (AL and FL)	BAYL
Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad	CFE
Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad (IL and IN)	CSS
Cimarron Valley Railroad (CO,KS, and OK)	CVR
Deseret Power Railroad (CO and UT)	DPRW
Rail Link (operates 26 short line railroads)	RLIX
Housatonic Railroad (HRRC)	HRRC
Idaho Northern & Pacific Railroad (ID and OR)	INPR
Kankakee, Beaverville and Southern Railroad (IL and IN)	KBSR
New York New Jersey Rail (NJ and NY)	NYNJ
New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway (NJ, NY, and PA)	NYSW
St Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (ME, NH, and VT)	SLA
Utah Railway (CO and UT)	UTAH
Watco (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 U.S., and own 30 percent of nation's railroad tracks. About a quarter of all U.S. rail freight travels at least a small part of its journey over a short-line railroad.^[7]

In other countries[]

In France, the equivalent of short-lines railroads are the "opérateurs ferroviaires de proximité" (local railways operators).^[8]

References[]

^ Borgnis, Mervin E. "We Had A Shore Fast Line," 1979 (Exposition Press)(ISBN 0682494119).
^ Orbanes, Philip E. (2006). 'Monopoly: the world's most famous game & how it got that way'. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. p. 52 and 53. ISBN 0-306-81489-7.
^ Anspach, Ralph (2000). The Billion Dollar Monopoly Swindle (Second ed.). Xlibris Corporation. p. 132. ISBN 0-7388-3139-5.
^ The Little Engineers That Could by Sandra D. Atchison (Business Week), 1992-7-27
^ Link text Archived 2014-05-06 at the Wayback Machine,.
^ "Genesee & Wyoming Inc. website".
^ Shortline Railroads Keep American Towns Humming By Ben Dobbin (Associated Press), 2009-08-26
^ "Ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire". Ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire (in French). Retrieved 2017-12-18.

External links[]

American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association

[1] Borgnis, Mervin E. "We Had A Shore Fast Line," 1979 (Exposition Press)(ISBN 0682494119).

[OrbanesQ-2] Orbanes, Philip E. (2006). 'Monopoly: the world's most famous game & how it got that way'. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. p. 52 and 53. ISBN 0-306-81489-7.

[3] Anspach, Ralph (2000). The Billion Dollar Monopoly Swindle (Second ed.). Xlibris Corporation. p. 132. ISBN 0-7388-3139-5.

[4] The Little Engineers That Could by Sandra D. Atchison (Business Week), 1992-7-27

[test-5] Link text Archived 2014-05-06 at the Wayback Machine,.

[6] "Genesee & Wyoming Inc. website".

[7] Shortline Railroads Keep American Towns Humming By Ben Dobbin (Associated Press), 2009-08-26

[8] "Ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire". Ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire (in French). Retrieved 2017-12-18.

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