WASHINGTON — Gary Vaughn, who championed safety during more than 20 years in the short line industry, has been named by the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association as the recipient of its 2026 Schlosser Distinguished Service Award.
Vaughn will be honored at the ASLRRA’s annual conference and exhibition, April 12-14, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minn.
Vaughn, who first worked in the short line industry for RailTex and Rail America, joined Watco as its safety director in 2023. In 15 years with that company, he led an effort that helped Watco achieve numerous year-over-year safety improvements, as well as restructuring of the safety department and implementation of workplace safety education and awareness programs. As part of the ASLRRA’s Safety and Training Committee, he helped develop many of the safety resources now used by the association’s members. Vaughn retired in 2019.
“Gary has influenced a whole generation of industry professionals,” ASLRRA President Chuck Baker said in a press release. “His unwavering commitment to safety fueled the creation of critical resources for ASLRRA members, a very active Safety & Training Committee that continues to guide the Association’s work in this area, and innumerable contributions to the industry on regulatory issues. Gary’s service to ASLRRA has truly left the Association and the short line railroad industry in a better place.”
He has also served on the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Safety Advisory Committee, FRA working groups that helped develop regulations, and was the first-ever short line chairman of the General Code of Operating Rules Committee.
Additional background on Vaughn and the award is available here.
The Schlosser Distinguished Service Award, the association’s highest individual award, honors significant long-term service to the ASLRRA and the short line industry. It is named for former ASLRRA Chair Thomas L. Schlosser.
