The Survivors

Download this free in-depth 61-page PDF download to get a better understanding of what it takes to survive as a railroad. The following railroads did things that others could not to survive. Find out what sets them apart from the others.

• The Paducah & Louisville Railway and how its initial goal of solidifying relationships with existing customers and establishing credibility led to a profitable future.
• Created as a result of the Illinois Central and the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio merger, the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad, ended up shedding all the mileage that appended gulf to its name.
• Even though the Indiana Railroad typically goes unnoticed in most states outside of Indiana, it is a profitable railroad that puts business first.
• Humility, mixing experienced railroaders with younger clerks and dispatchers, and providing reasonable and dependable rail service aided in the survival and success of the Iowa Interstate Railroad.
• Formed during a time in which much of rural America lost the tracks it once took for granted, the Red River Valley & Western Railroad was able to do things that other railroads couldn’t dream of doing.
• Arguably one of the most successful new regionals, the Montana Rail Link’s improvement, steady local and overhead traffic, and rebuilt motive power is what contributed to its bright future.
• Despite violence, an unspoken excommunication from the rail industry, and peak-and-valley traffic cycles, the feisty Florida East Coast Railroad survived.