Everyone from train newbies to the most serious rail fan will find something new in this adventure.
When we toured Farmrail, we got a great look at the daily operations of a short line railroad, learned about safety, delivered cars to a customer, got to try a super realistic train simulator, saw the maintenance and repair shop, visited the track maintenance crew, and learned about the importance of short line rail service - what a day!
Farmrail is a regional railroad that services Western Oklahoma.
Farmrail Corporation (FMRC) has acted since 1981 as a lessee-operator for Oklahoma Department of Transportation, managing an 82-mile east-west line between Weatherford and Erick. An additional 89 miles, Westhom-Elmer, was purchased from the state in 2013 after 20 years of operation under lease. Another wholly owned affiliate, Grainbelt Corporation (GNBC), was formed in 1987 to purchase from Burlington Northern Railroad Company 178 miles of line linking Enid and Frederick. The parent company also has a joint-venture interest in New York’s Finger Lakes Railway Corp. (FGLK).
Farmrail provides scheduled and as-needed freight service over 347 main-line miles to 29 communities in 12 rural Oklahoma counties. The territory includes some of the nation's prime production of hard red winter wheat, its highest-quality gypsum deposits, and one of its largest energy reserves, the Anadarko Basin. Several of America's best-known corporations, cooperative and independent grain elevators, and other firms meeting various farming, oilfield and consumer needs are among more than 60 rail-served locations. The principal commodities handled by Farmrail are frac sand, drilling fluids, winter wheat, feed ingredients, crushed stone, gypsum products, agricultural chemicals, cotton seed, and farm machinery. Farmrail is easy to use. Telephone calls are answered "live" by a knowledgeable, willing person who can provide accurate information quickly. Motivated employee-owners interact as a team to give uncommon value to customers and have earned a reputation for user-friendly service. The people make the difference at Farmrail.
farmrail.com/
Matthew Zisi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons