The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s. Until 1972, when the employees purchased the company, it was named the Chicago and North Western Railway.
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding company, the Grand Trunk Corporation. Grand Trunk Western's routes are part of CN's Michigan Division. Its primary mainline between Chicago and Port Huron, Michigan serves as a connection between railroad interchanges in Chicago and rail lines in eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. The railroad's extensive trackage in Detroit and across southern Michigan has made it an essential link for the automotive industry as a hauler of parts and automobiles from manufacturing plants.
Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former Class II regional railroads such as Boston and Maine Corporation, Maine Central Railroad Company, Portland Terminal Company, and Springfield Terminal Railway Company. It was formerly known as Guilford Transportation Industries and was also known as Guilford Rail System. Guilford bought the name, colors, and logo of Pan American World Airways in 1998.
Watco Companies, L.L.C. (Watco) Watco is an American transportation and logistics company based in Pittsburg, Kansas. The company’s core services are freight transportation, material handling and storage, logistics, railcar repair and maintenance.
The Alabama Railroad was a class III railroad as reported by the Association of American Railroads. The ALAB was owned and operated by Alabama Railroad LLC. The railroad operated 48 miles (77 km) of railroad from Flomaton, Alabama to Peterman, Alabama.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom; and formerly in Australia.
The Keokuk Junction Railway Co., is a Class III railroad in the U.S. states of Illinois and Iowa. It was formerly a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp, but now operates as a subsidiary of Patriot Rail Company.
The Delaware Otsego Corporation (DO) is an American railway holding company, which owns the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway and the Central New York Railroad. It is headquartered in Cooperstown, New York.
The Southern Railroad of New Jersey is a small short-line railroad company based in Winslow Township, New Jersey. The railroad operates freight trains in two areas in Southern New Jersey. In the Winslow area, trains operate between Winslow Junction and Pleasantville, and between Winslow Junction and the Winslow Hot Mix asphalt plant in Winslow Township. In Gloucester County, the company operates on the Salem Branch between Swedesboro, New Jersey and Woodbury.
The Indiana Northeastern Railroad is a Class III short line freight railroad operating on nearly 130 miles (210 km) in southern lower Michigan, northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio. The Indiana Northeastern Railroad Company began operations in December 1992 and is an independent privately owned company. As of 2017 the railroad hauled more than 7,000 carloads per year. Commodities moved by the railroad include corn, soybeans, wheat and flour. It also handles plastics, fiberboard, aluminum, copper, coal, perlite, stone, lumber, glass, rendering products, as well as agricultural fertilizers and chemicals.
The Minnesota Southern Railway was a shortline railroad in the states of Minnesota and South Dakota in the United States.
The Michigan Southern Railroad, founded in 1989 and owned by Pioneer Railcorp since 1999, operates a portion of the former Michigan Southern Railroad (1846-1855) between White Pigeon and Sturgis, Michigan, United States. At White Pigeon, the line connects with the Grand Elk. Until 2012, the line connected with the Indiana Northeastern Railroad in Sturgis, when Indiana Northeastern abandoned a portion of their line between Batavia and Sturgis.
The Napoleon, Defiance & Western Railroad (NDW) is a Class III railroad in the United States owned by the Patriot Rail Company that operates between Woodburn, Indiana and Napoleon, Ohio and comprises a reported 58 miles of track.
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.
Huron and Eastern Railway is a short line railroad operating 394 miles (634 km) of track in The Thumb and Flint/Tri-Cities area of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is currently owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc., who purchased it from RailAmerica in 2012. Its headquarters is in the former Michigan Central Railroad depot in Vassar, Michigan.
Patriot Rail Company LLC is a holding company for a number of shortline railroads across the United States.
Mississippi Central Railroad is a short line railroad that operates three disconnected tracks: 51 miles from Oxford, Mississippi to Grand Junction, Tennessee; 11 miles in Iuka Mississippi, and 46 miles from Corinth, Mississippi to Red Bay, Alabama. It was formerly owned by Pioneer Railcorp, which was acquired by Patriot Rail. The railroad's principal commodities are aggregates and food products. The MSCI offers connections to the BNSF Railway in Holly Springs, the Norfolk Southern Railway in Grand Junction, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City in Corinth.
Keokuk Union Depot is a historic train station on the west bank of the Mississippi River near downtown Keokuk, Iowa, United States. It was built from 1890 to 1891, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
