Watco Expands Montana Operations With Eureka Terminal

Pittsburg, Kans.-based Watco’s Eureka Transload Terminal in Montana. (Watco Photograph)

Watco recently took control of the Eureka Transload Terminal in Montana, bringing its total North American terminal count to 77.

Located just 14 miles from the Port of Roosville on the Canadian Border, the Eureka Transload Terminal handles a variety of local, domestic and international freight, the Pittsburg, Kans.-based transportation and logistics company reported in the December edition of its employee magazine, The Dispatch. The facility is served by Mission Mountain Railroad, the 26-mile Watco subsidiary that interchanges with BNSF at Stryker, Mont., and offers access to U.S. 93. It also features a 6,000 square-foot warehouse with 19 acres of outside storage and more than 30 railcar spots.

According to The Dispatch report, Watco’s team is familiar with the terminal’s operations: MMT provided rail service to the previous owner. The Eureka Transload Terminal currently specializes in transloading lumber, but it can also move most bulk products, including aggregates, and liquids, like fuels.

“This project allows us to take our existing rail operations and bundle it with Watco’s terminal expertise and first- and final-mile delivery solutions,” said Kurtis Lindsey, Sales Director at Watco, which celebrated 40 years of service this summer. “It’s perfectly positioned to bring those solutions to local, U.S. and international customers.”

Separately, Watco’s Safe Performance Center recently added six new FRA Type II locomotive simulators to its lab and its newly commissioned battery-powered switchers are receiving high marks as they “outperform original assumptions around functionality and sustainability.”