Genesee & Wyoming: Largest Short Line Conglomerate

Published: August 4, 2024

Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. has grown into the largest family of short line railroads across the United States and now also owns a number of such systems internationally as well.

It currently owns, or has interests in, 122 railroads across the United States, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

The company has a long history in the industry dating back to 1899 as the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad - small New York-based system. Interestingly, it did not begin blossoming into the mammoth operation it is today until the 1980s and deregulation.

Today, it operates over 13,000 miles of owned and leased track, supported by a workforce of 7,300 employees serving 3,000 customers.

In North America, G&W operates four regions comprising 113 short line and regional freight railroads, spanning 42 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces, accounting for more than 13,000 track miles.

In the UK/Europe region, G&W is notable for owning the United Kingdom's largest rail maritime intermodal operator and the second-largest freight rail provider, along with regional rail services throughout continental Europe.

Additionally, G&W subsidiaries and joint ventures provide essential rail services at over 30 major ports, facilitate rail-ferry service between the U.S. Southeast and Mexico, and offer transloading, industrial railcar switching, and repair services. This extensive network and diverse service offerings position G&W as a key player in the global rail industry.

The early years of the Genesee & Wyoming; S4 #35 (built new for the railroad in 1959) and RS1 #25 (built new for the railroad in 1952) handle salt hoppers at Retsof, New York during June of 1974. Warren Calloway photo.

The Historic G&W

The history of G&W;'s current operations began humbly as a small short line by the same name, the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad.

This little system was based in Western New York, south of Rochester and began as the Genesee & Wyoming Valley Railway.

The G&WV; was incorporated in 1891 and eventually opened from Retsof to a location known as P&L; Junction near Caledonia in 1894, a distance of about 14 miles.

While only a small town, Caledonia was a mecca of railroads until the mid-20th century with several through routes, providing the G&WV; with three different major interchange connections including:

Lehigh Valley
Erie Railroad
Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh (after 1932 the BR&P; became a wholly owned subsidiary of trunk line Baltimore & Ohio)

In addition, the mighty New York Central also passed through town.

First Coast Railroad (a G&W property since 2005) GP10 #1810 (ex-Illinois Central GP9 #9352 built in 1958) and GP16 #1602 (built as Seaboard Air Line GP7 #1710 in 1950) switch customers at Fernandina Beach, Florida on March 30, 2014. Warren Calloway photo.

With freight traffic never materializing as hoped the G&WV fell into bankruptcy in November of 1898 and was reorganized as the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad (reporting mark GNWR), incorporated on March 24, 1899.

The new G&W was owned by Edward Laton Fuller and began serving a massive salt mine near Retsof, owned by the International Salt Corporation.

The mine was, for many years, the largest producer of rock salt in the world and the G&W's largest customer. As it turns out salt remained the railroad's primary source of traffic throughout the 1970s and even today it continues to handle large quantities of the mineral.

Little changed for the railroad over the years until Mortimer B. Fuller III, great grandson of Edward, acquired control of the short line in 1977.

Modern Era

Following this changing of the guard the operation took a much different direction and exploded into the multi-billion dollar, multi-national conglomerate it is today.

Once Fuller III gained control he soon formed Genesee & Wyoming Industries, of which the railroad division became a subsidiary.

Then, the new company entered the rail car leasing and management business, initially focusing specifically on covered hoppers used in handling salt.

In 1980 the railroad industry was greatly deregulated, offering the large Class I's much more flexibility in shedding unprofitable or unwanted routes.

This allowed G&W to acquire the former B&O's (BR&P) Rochester Branch in 1986, spun-off by Chessie System/CSX that year. Today, this particular segment is operated by subsidiary Rochester & Southern Railroad, which also owns the original Genesee & Wyoming.

Over the next decade G&W; continued acquiring small systems (some of which were not secondary branches of larger systems but historic short lines) including:

Dansville & Mount Morris Railroad (1985)
Rochester & Southern (1986)
Louisiana & Delta (1987)
Buffalo & Pittsburgh (1988)
Allegheny & Eastern
Bradford Industrial Rail (1992)
Willamette & Pacific (1993)
Portland & Western (1995)
Illinois & Midland/Pittsburg
Shawmut/Rail Link, Inc. (1996)

After 1997 the company's acquisitions went international taking over the Australia Southern Railroad along with the Huron Central Railway and Quebec Gatineau Railway in Canada. Between 2001 and 2012 G&W's list of new subsidiaries were dizzying as nearly every year one or more joined its family.

G&W Family

United Kingdom/Britain/Europe

Freightliner
Rotterdam Rail Feeding

North America

Canada

Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway
Goderich-Exeter Railway
Huron Central Railway
Knob Lake & Timmins Railway
Ottawa Valley Railway
Quebec Gatineau Railway
Red Deer Railroad
Southern Ontario Railway
St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (Quebec)
Western Labrador Rail Services

United States

AN Railway
Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway
Aliquippa & Ohio River Railroad
Arizona & California Railroad
Arizona Eastern Railway
Arkansas Louisiana & Mississippi Railroad
Arkansas Midland Railroad
Atlantic and Western Railway
Bauxite & Northern Railway
Bay Line Railroad
Berkshire & Eastern Railroad
Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad
CG Railway, LLC
California Northern Railroad
Carolina Piedmont Railroad
Cascade and Columbia River Railroad
Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad
Central Railroad of Indiana
Central Railroad of Indianapolis
Chattahoochee Industrial Railroad
Chattooga & Chickamauga Railway
Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad
Chicago, Ft. Wayne & Eastern Railroad
Columbus & Chattahoochee Railroad
Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road
Columbus and Greenville Railway
Commonwealth Railway
Conecuh Valley Railway
Connecticut Southern Railroad
Dallas, Garland & Northeastern Railroad
East Tennessee Railway
Eastern Alabama Railway
First Coast Railroad
Galveston Railroad
Georgia Central Railway
Georgia Southwestern Railroad
Golden Isles Terminal Railroad
Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad
Heart of Georgia Railroad
Hilton & Albany Railroad
Huron and Eastern Railway
Illinois & Midland Railroad
Indiana & Ohio Railway
Indiana Southern Railroad
KWT Railway
Kiamichi Railroad
Kyle Railroad
Little Rock & Western Railway
Louisiana & Delta Railroad
Luxapalila Valley Railroad
Mahoning Valley Railway
Marquette Rail
Maryland Midland Railway
Massena Terminal Railroad
Meridian & Bigbee Railroad
Michigan Shore Railroad
Mid-Michigan Railroad
Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad
New England Central Railroad
North Carolina & Virginia Railroad
Ohio Central Railroad
Ohio Southern Railroad
Olympia & Belmore Railroad
Otter Tail Valley Railroad
Pittsburgh & Ohio Central Railroad
Point Comfort & Northern Railway
Portland & Western Railroad
Prescott and Northwestern Railroad
Providence and Worcester Railroad
Puget Sound & Pacific Railroad
Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad
Riceboro Southern Railway
Rochester & Southern Railroad
San Diego & Imperial Valley Railroad
San Joaquin Valley Railroad
Savannah Port Terminal Railroad
South Carolina Central Railroad
St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad
Tazewell & Peoria Railroad
Texas Northeastern Railroad
Three Notch Railway
Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway
Tomahawk Railway
Utah Railway
Valdosta Railway
Ventura County Railroad
Warren & Saline River Railroad
Warren & Trumbull Railroad
Wellsboro & Corning Railroad
Wilmington Terminal Railroad
Wiregrass Central Railroad
York Railway
Youngstown & Austintown Railroad
Youngstown Belt Railroad

Seen here is Willamette & Pacific GP9 #1802 (built as Rio Grande #5944 in 1956) at Albany, Georgia on August 27, 1994. The W&P was acquired in 1993 and this Geep has since been scrapped. Warren Calloway photo.

On July 23, 2012, Genesee & Wyoming purchased RailAmerica Inc., then controlled by Fortress Investment Group LLC, for $1.39 billion. RA, founded in 1986 was once the largest such short line operation in the country.

Its subsidiaries ranged from the Arizona & California to the New England Central, totaling more than 40 railroads with over 8,000 miles of track in service.

The RA, itself, was a conglomerate of sorts growing partially through the acquisition of smaller short line holding companies which sprang up after the 1980 deregulation (such as RailTex and ParkSierra).

In 2024 G&W celebrated its 125th anniversary and shows no signs of slowing down. The G&W's American operations have become so large it somewhat functions like a large Class I albeit without through routes to major cities (however, it nearly has achieved through service from Buffalo to Cincinnati).