Ironhorse Resources acquires San Pedro & Southwestern
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
San Pedro and Southwestern Railroad photo by Edward Islas.
Short line holding company Ironhorse Resources, Inc., has acquired Arizona-based San Pedro & Southwestern Railroad (SPSR). RR Mergers & Acquisitions, a specialist in the sale of rail sector companies, brokered the deal. SPSR will be renamed the San Pedro Valley Railroad (SPVR); the transaction is effective immediately.
SPVR’s chief sources of traffic are agricultural, chemicals, feed grains, mining and building products. The line’s rail-to-truck transload facilities “offer customers savings from lower rail rates, coupled with the convenience of truck delivery,” Ironhorse said.
SVPR serves regional businesses in Cochise County from connections with Union Pacific’s main line at Benson, Ariz., (45 miles east of Tucson) and Willcox, Ariz. (80 miles east of Tucson).
“The San Pedro Valley Railroad is a valuable regional franchise serving a diverse customer base and is a natural fit to our franchise,” IHR President Matt Cundiff said. “Excellent safety practices and customer service have been the railroads primary focus. We will continue these initiatives with a focus on regional business development. We are very excited to have Aaron Lovelady continue as General Manager supported by the rest of his team. We are looking forward to transitioning this tremendously successful team of operators in to our family of operations.” San Pedro Valley Railroad (SPV) serves regional businesses in Cochise County from connections with Union Pacific’s main line at Benson (45 miles east of Tucson) and Willcox, Arizona (80 miles east of Tucson).
Ironhorse Resources, Inc. (IHR) is the parent of eleven operating companies, and the administrative manager of all the companies owned by CGX, Inc. Located in O’Fallon, Ill., the companies are managed by experienced railroad and logistics professionals. The entities operate five short line railroads, three transload facilities and two trucking companies. Three of the railroads are located in Texas, one is located in New Mexico and one is located in central Tennessee just southeast of Nashville. The transloading facilities are located in Santa Teresa and Las Cruces, N.Mex. and McAllen and Donna, Tex. The trucking companies are operated out of Houston and Donnas.
IHR and its subsidiaries “are a diversified set of related companies that strive to accommodate customers logistics needs,” the company said. “These range from operating railroads, switching industries, car cleaning, transloading and warehousing and trucking.
IHR is the parent company of: Caney Fork & Western Railroad; Gardendale Railroad, Inc. (winner of Railway Age’s Short Line of the Year and an ASLRRA Marketing Award in 2013); Mississippi Tennessee Railroad; Rio Valley Switching Company; Santa Teresa Southern Railroad, LLC; Southern Switching Company – Abilene; Southern Switching Company – Big Spring; Border Transload & Transfer, Inc.; IHR Transport; IHR Logistics, LLC; and San Pedro Valley Railroad, LLC.
