Small-Road Briefs: R.J. Corman Railroad Group, Patriot Rail

Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
Left to right: John Penfield, The Bluegrass Railroad Museum Executive Director; William Downey R. J. Corman, Railroad Group Director - Government Affairs; and Steven Walker, The Bluegrass Railroad Museum Board Member and Volunteer.

Left to right: John Penfield, The Bluegrass Railroad Museum Executive Director; William Downey R. J. Corman, Railroad Group Director - Government Affairs; and Steven Walker, The Bluegrass Railroad Museum Board Member and Volunteer.

R.J. Corman Railroad Group donates hi-rail truck to The Bluegrass Railroad Museum. Also, Patriot Rail Company LLC completes acquisition of Pioneer Lines, Inc.

R. J. Corman Railroad Group announced on Sept. 9 that it has donated a Ford F350 hi-rail mechanic’s truck to The Bluegrass Railroad Museum to support their operations.

Located in Versailles, Ky., The Bluegrass Railroad Museum is “dedicated to preserving and presenting an interactive experience of historic railroading in Kentucky.” The volunteer-led non-profit organization maintains a museum of historic railroad artifacts and operates an antique tour train.

The donated hi-rail truck, which will replace the organization’s outdated 50-year-old railroad speeders, is specially equipped to operate on both roads and railroad tracks. The vehicle, R.J. Corman says, will be utilized by the non-profit to do their pre-excursion track inspections and maintenance-of-way. According to R.J. Corman, the truck also has the capacity to store numerous tools and parts for on-site repairs, something that the old speeders could not do.

Separately, Patriot Rail Company LLC on Sept. 14 completed the acquisition from BRX Transportation Holdings of Denver-based Pioneer Lines, Inc., a railroad holding company that includes 15 short line railroads, following regulatory authorization.

The acquisition, Patriot Rail says, advances its growth strategy, increasing the Jacksonville, Fla., company’s short line operations from 16 to 31 railroads. Patriot Rail, the company adds, now serves customers with operations in 23 states.

Patriot Rail expects this expansion to “help drive new pathways connecting with U.S. and global markets, boosting economic growth and jobs," Fenton said.
Patriot Rail CEO John E. Fenton

“We are pleased to bring Pioneer Lines railroads into Patriot Rail,” said Patriot Rail CEO John E. Fenton. “Doubling our footprint across the U.S. furthers our commitment to exceed customer expectations as a best-in-class rail partner. Patriot Rail takes great pride in delivering value to our customers with safety always as our core foundation, and our expansion will drive deeper commercial and logistics relationships.”

Patriot Rail first announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Pioneer Lines from BRX Transportation Holdings on Aug. 8, stating that the acquisition would enable the company to serve customers in new markets in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

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