Watco Companies
 |
|
| Dates of operation | 1983– |
|---|---|
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 4,500 track miles |
| Headquarters | Pittsburg, Kansas |
Watco Companies, L.L.C. (Watco) is a Pittsburg, Kansas-based transportation company formed in 1983 by Charles R. (Dick) Webb. Watco is composed of four divisions: transportation, mechanical, terminal and port services, and compliance. Watco is the owner of Watco Transportation Services, L.L.C. (WTS), which operates 32 shortline railroads in the U.S. and Australia. It is one of the largest shortline railroad companies in the United States. As of May 2011 they operated on 4,500 miles (7,200 km) of leased and owned track. Also under transportation is the contract switching the company provides service for 27 customers. This is the service that Watco originally offered before branching out into other areas.
Watco’s mechanical division has 16 car repair shops and is the largest mechanical services provider in the United States. They provide program, contract and emergency repairs. These services include maintenance of all types of cars including tank cars and coal fleets, and the preparation and cleaning of boxcars and refrigerated cars. There are 23 railroad repair shops, eight locomotive shops and five contract repair shops in the Watco network.
The terminal and port services division operates ten warehouses throughout the country. They also operate several transloading facilities and specialize in loading and unloading railcars and moving commodities to their next destination.
Watco also operates two port services in the Gulf Region. Greens Port Terminal on the Houston Ship Channel in Harris County, Texas and Port Birmingham Terminal on the Black Warrior River in Alabama both provide access to the Gulf of Mexico.
Watco Companies was started in 1983 by Charles R. "Dick" Webb. The first operation was an industrial switching operation in DeRidder, Louisiana, that is still in existence. Webb then started his first mechanical operation, a railcar repair shop in Coffeyville, Kansas in 1985.
The Coffeyville mechanical shop was held captive to the major rail lines, and during discussions with the Union Pacific the opportunity arose to purchase the line running from Nevada, Missouri, to Coffeyville. This was the Union Pacific’s first short line sale. Watco then looked to the West Region, acquiring the Blue Mountain Railroad in 1998, the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad in 1992 and the Eastern Idaho Railroad in 1993.
...
Wikipedia