Western Fruit Express (WFE) was a railroad refrigerator car leasing company formed by the Fruit Growers Express and the Great Northern Railway on July 18, 1923 in order to compete with the Pacific Fruit Express and Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch in the Western United States. The arrangement added 3,000 cars to the FGE's existing equipment pool. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF), the Great Northern's successor. The success of the WFE led to the creation of the Burlington Refrigerator Express (BREX) in May 1926.
Mexico has a freight railway system owned by the national government and operated by various entities under concessions (charters) granted by the national government. The railway system provides freight and passenger service throughout the country, connecting major industrial centers with ports and with rail connections at the United States border. Passenger rail services were limited to a number of tourist trains between 2001, when Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México suspended service, and 2008, when Ferrocarril Suburbano de la Zona Metropolitana de México inaugurated Mexico's first commuter rail service between Mexico City and the State of Mexico. This is not including the Mexico City Metro, which started service in 1969.
The Ferrocarril de Veracruz al Istmo was one of the primary pre-nationalization railways of Mexico. Incorporated in West Virginia in 1898 as the Vera Cruz and Pacific Railroad, it built a line from Córdoba to Jesús Carranza on the Tehuantepec National Railway, with a branch from Veracruz to Tierra Blanca. The Mexican government gained control in May 1904 and organized the Ferrocarril de Veracruz al Istmo to operate the property under lease.
The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.