Kylie McLaughlin – General Manager and
Asst. Vice President of Operations
What does it take to run a shortline railroad in the 21st Century? Kylie McLaughlin answers this question, talks about using ALCOs in modern revenue service, and how women are expanding into the railroad industry.
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Question of the Day
What is your local shortline? Let me know and I will respond to your comments in our next episode.
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my local Shortline is to be the North Shore Railroad Systems Lycoming Valley Railroad In Williamsport Pennsylinvia not only because the Shortline has Reading Heritage to Boot but back in the Day Williamsport was a Boom Railroad town with 4 different Railroads Interchange at Newberry Yard which was the Pennsylinvia Railroad,New York central, Reading Company, and the New York Susqahanna and Western Railroad Back in the Day also Willamsport is the starting Terminal for the PRR Elemria New York Branch line and North Shore Rail systems heritage is richly Represently by the colors of the Former Railroads that the Short line system Operates most notably the Lycoming Valley Railroads GP35’s painted in Reading Company Bee line livery!
My local shortline is the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, or CRANDIC. It was build in 1904 between Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Iowa City, Iowa as an electric passenger service owned and operated by the electric company at the time.
It is now operated by Iowa Electric and moves freight, no passenger. It serves a number of industries locally as well as coal service for the electric company. It has two branches, the original to Iowa City and the other to Williams, Iowa where it interchanges with the Iowa Interstate. I see CN trains coming to and from the Cargill plant. All in all about 100 miles total.
Iowa Electric is a very unique railroad. That’s definitely one I would be interested in covering.
BACK IN THE LATE SEVENTIES I WAS PART OF THE NYS&W. I WORKED FOR WALTER RICH AND I HAD AN OFFICE IN RIDGEFIELD PARK AND AT THE MAIN OFFICE IN COOPERSTOWN, NY. COOPERSTOWN WAS WHERE THE CORPORATE OFFICES WERE FOR THE DELAWARE OTSEGO SYSTEM. IT WAS THE PARENT CORP. FOR FIVE SHORTLINE RR’S IN NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY SOMETIMES I MISS THE EXCITEMENT OF RUNNING SHORTLINE RAILROADS.
Shortlines definitely have character.
My hometown railroads were the PRR (P&E) and NYC (Valley Branch, DAVP).
Like to do add that my current backyard (NYC was a side yard) railroad is the B&P P&E line in Erie. I’ve got the transload in my backyard, which offers lots o’ EMD four-axle power, as well as heavy, three-to-five engines pulling for the hill.
And, yeah, I can also hear CSX Lakeshore, NS mainline and — WE WANT MOAR — Amtrak action.