(The following story by John D. Boyd appeared on The Journal of Commerce website on August 18, 2009.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Short line operator Watco Transportation Services got its new Alabama Warrior Railway in operation this month in and around Birmingham, Ala.
The railroad operates 15 miles of track, Watco said, mainly to deliver coal to the Walter Coke Company in Birmingham, which produces hot-burning furnace and foundry coke for fuel.
Although new as a Watco property, the short line began as the Mary Lee Railroad in the late 1800s. In 1969 it was taken over by Sloss Industries, which is now Walter Coke. The carrier’s name changed in 1985 to Jefferson Warrior, which it kept until now.
Alabama Warrior interchanges for long-distance service with Class I carriers BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation. It also has customers that ship aggregates, pipe, scrap steel and cement and offers railcar inspection and repair service.
Watco is based in Pittsburg, Kan., and bills itself as the nation’s largest privately held short line firm with 21 small rail lines operating on more than 3,500 miles of track.