©2003 Farmrail System, Inc.
May 2008
With agriculture and energy production thriving, rural western Oklahoma is a pretty good place to be these days. Farmrail’s lack of dependence on forest products, building materials, automotive and intermodal business is enabling the Company to increase traffic in 2008 while the railroad industry generally reports declining tonnage as economic activity slackens.
April 2008
Long-time
March 2008
A 6,000-square-foot, Company-owned warehouse in Clinton is being transformed into a base for maintenance-of-way personnel, materials and supplies. Renovations will include a new exterior shell and an addition incorporating office space and crew quarters that will relieve crowding in Farmrail’s other in-town facilities.
February 2008
Farmrail thanks its many customers who gave their political support to an extension of the expiring three-year federal tax credit for short-line railroad infrastructure improvements. This incentive enabled the Company to enhance safety and reliability by increasing its outlays for track and bridges by more than 55% from the level of the preceding three years.
January 2008
Farmrail’s recovery from last year’s unprecedented flooding and related physical damage, workforce stress, and financial consequences is complete. The Company enters 2008 with a smoothly functioning service plan and the broadest customer base, best track structure, largest locomotive fleet, and strongest financial condition in its history.
December 2007
The downturn in national rail traffic has given a boost to temporary car storage. The on-line inventory has included off-lease equipment, new boxcars, hoppers and tanks awaiting their first users, and the longest trains ever seen on Farmrail – strings of intermodal container cars occupying more than 10 miles of track in outlying locations.
November 2007
In support of the recently adopted system operating plan, GNBC has purchased three 2,000-horsepower Electro-Motive GP-38AC locomotives, increasing the Farmrail fleet to 21 units. The additional power will provide greater flexibility to handle new customer locations, variously sized trains, and seasonal traffic peaks.
October 2007
A new operating plan is improving transit time for all customers as the extended effects of severe flooding are overcome. It involves running more frequent, shorter trains over smaller territories and coordinated meets to expedite traffic flows. The objective is same-day or next-morning service for most customers and second-day deliveries to the system extremities.
September 2007
First loads are expected this month for three new rail customers: Ventura Refining and Transmission, Thomas (petroleum distillates); Hampel Oil, Sayre (lubricants); and Livestock Nutrition, Altus (animal feed). These are good signs of an improving regional economy driven mainly by agriculture and natural resource extraction.
August 2007
The farmer is a winner in western Oklahoma this year. Though the winter wheat harvest fell short of early expectations because of extended wet weather, the region produced some of the better wheat in the nation, and market prices have remained high. The unusual moisture also has improved the outlook for secondary crops.
July 2007
Unprecedented spring rainfall transformed the “dust bowl of America” into a mud bowl, delaying and then prematurely ending the winter wheat harvest. Farmrail maintenance personnel did a fine job of making tracks passable where flooding and washouts had occurred, limiting a partial service interruption to just four days.
June 2007
The Company’s GNBC subsidiary soon will take delivery of 48 more covered hoppers for grain-shuttle service to and from terminal elevators in Enid. This purchase replaces older cars that had exhausted their useful lives for interchange purposes and increases the total fleet to 119 units.
May 2007
This year and next mark the 100th anniversary of construction of Farmrail’s “Orient Line” through southwestern Oklahoma. Planned to connect Kansas City with the Mexican port of Topolobampo, the ambitious 1,451-mile project never reached its destination due to financial difficulties that led to bankruptcy in 1908.
April 2007
Preparations are under way for a potentially huge winter wheat harvest, starting next month. Additional locomotives, railcars and trainmen are being mobilized to deal with an expected overflow of country elevator capacity and resulting railroad congestion in moving a bumper crop to market.
March 2007
The shop force has turned out another masterpiece of workmanship. GP-10 locomotive 1981’s unique paint scheme commemorates the Company’s 25th anniversary and the rich heritage of the routes it operates – Frisco, Rock Island and Santa Fe – as all reach or near a century of existence in western Oklahoma.
February 2007
A slowing domestic economy has increased demand for railcar storage, including entire intermodal unit trains as well as smaller blocks. Farmrail’s 22 years of experience in the storage business, system capacity of more than 2,000 cars, dual Class I connections, and car-repair capability make it an attractive location for fleet owners’ out-of-service equipment.
January 2007
As a result of the worst harvest since 1957, wheat comprised only 24% of Farmrail’s carloadings last year, down from 60% as recently as 2000. Increased volumes of other commodities, notably oilfield supplies, crushed stone, and feed grains, have diversified the traffic mix considerably in recent years.
December 2006
Twenty-five years after its founding there, Farmrail has established a new presence in Elk City by purchasing the assets of American Milling’s railcar-repair facility. This acquisition will enable FMRC to perform a wide range of running and heavy repairs on equipment bad-ordered in a region without ready access to other shops.
November 2006
November 18 marks the 25th anniversary of Farmrail service between Clinton and Elk City, begun in the aftermath of the Rock Island railroad bankruptcy and a time of booming oilfield activity. We salute the people of Elk City for their foresight in recognizing the desirability of preserving access to the national railway network, for their town has become the largest traffic center on the expanded Farmrail system.
October 2006
Farmrail soon will become the first railroad of any size to use hand-held electronic devices to record freight-car movements. This technology saves trainmen time and improves reporting speed and accuracy by eliminating traditional paperwork.
September 2006
More than three-quarters of Farmrail’s 46 active customers now bill their rail traffic electronically, either directly with the popular “ShipperConnect” program or through third-party agents and connecting carrier websites. This time-saving technology greatly improves reporting accuracy and minimizes the risk of service errors.
August 2006
For the first time since the last system extension in 1993, June will not be the peak traffic month this year. The short wheat crop, market conditions, and available storage caused elevator managers to curtail shipments normally made during the harvest period.
July 2006
Next November 18 marks the 25th anniversary of Farmrail’s founding as a 35-mile short line linking Clinton and Elk City at the time of a previous energy boom. The Company expanded to its present 347-mile regional configuration by absorbing lines of both former connecting carriers, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, which merged in 1995.
June 2006
The benefit of diversification will be evident in the coming months after the worst wheat harvest since 1957. System traffic will be down in 2006 for the first time in five years.
May 2006
Groundwork is in progress for two new rail customers, a pipe yard in Elk City's industrial park and a lubricant-distribution terminal at Sayre, as Anadarko Basin gas-development activity remains at a high level.
April 2006
While unusually dry growing conditions seem certain to affect this year’s winter wheat crop, natural gas development activity remains at a high level. Inquiries from new businesses seeking to support Anadarko Basin drillers are an encouraging sign of confidence in the future of western Oklahoma’s major source of “clean” energy.
March 2006
Farmrail’s dependence on the annual western Oklahoma wheat crop continues to decline as other rail business enlarges and diversifies the traffic base. Wheat accounted for just 39% of carloadings in 2005, down from 60% as recently as five years ago.
February 2006
Farmrail will receive 92 carloads of pipe this month for transloading at Elk City. It is destined for a new transmission line being laid in Roger Mills County.
January 2006
Farmrail enjoyed record traffic and revenues in 2005, accompanied by a much higher level of spending on infrastructure improvements. A three-year federal investment credit, supported by District 3 Congressman Frank Lucas and a substantial bipartisan majority in the House, provided additional funds to enhance the safety and efficiency of small railroads throughout the country that now operate 30% of the national rail network.
December 2005
Farmrail has acquired 32 more open-top hoppers for movements of crushed stone. The enlarged fleet of 76 cars will provide capacity to handle up to 350,000 tons annually.
November 2005
Farmrail is a joint-venture partner in Marquette Rail, a newly formed short line that begins operation of 129 miles of lines in western Michigan leased from CSX Transportation on November 12. All administrative support for the new company is to be performed at our Clinton headquarters.
October 2005
The most unusual traffic in the railroad’s history, structural components for a new windpower project, are being shipped to Frederick this month from abroad. The oversized loads arrive in specially designed unit-trains for transloading and truck delivery to the development site north of Lawton.
September 2005
Increased track work is evident throughout Farmrail’s 347-mile system, spurred by a three-year federal tax credit for infrastructure improvement enacted last October. This program will strengthen the most active segments to handle the higher level of traffic now moving over the railroad.
August 2005
Custer City Co-op has become a regional distribution point for liquid and dry fertilizer to be received by rail and delivered to users by rail or truck. The new facilities - 8,000 tons of flat storage and tank capacity of 4,500 tons - should reduce costs for area farmers by allowing product to be purchased and transported during the off-season for nearby storage.
July 2005
July 22 marks the 10th anniversary of our Finger Lakes Railway affiliate in upstate New York. The 154-mile cluster of lines confirms the possibilities for revitalizing properties neglected by previous owners. Improved service and aggressive marketing has raised annual traffic from less than 6,000 carloads to nearly 16,000 last year. FGLK not only is doing more business with its inherited customers, but has caused others that had given up on rail transportation to return and also attracted several new industries to locate on line.
June 2005
Oilfield supplier Weatherford Fracturing Technologies becomes a new customer next month. It will occupy an existing warehouse in Clinton and construct a storage tank for sand formerly trucked into the Anadarko Basin.
May 2005
Another excellent western Oklahoma wheat crop is expected to be harvested starting this month, placing heavy short-term demands on railroads to move what cannot be stored in country elevators. Car supply and system congestion are likely to cause problems, since the former practice of positioning 1,000 hoppers in advance will not be possible. As was the case last year, trains will deliver some empties from the north and return with wheat to terminals at Enid to ease the heavy flow of grain to export points.
April 2005
The unloading spur at Elk City’s new stone-distribution terminal will be extended and double-ended to improve switching efficiency for increased traffic there. Construction is to take place during June and July, following completion of several pre-harvest maintenance projects.
March 2005
Though rail safety statistics continue to improve in terms of train incidents and employee injuries, the number of senseless and preventable deaths from car-train collisions and illegal trespassers remains discouraging. The 849 people killed last year represent a slight increase from 833 in 2003. While “Operation Lifesaver” and various other safety initiatives have been beneficial, there is no substitute for common sense on the part of the public.
February 2005
Faced with rising maintenance budgets, state transportation officials are realizing the importance of remaining rail lines in reducing shipments of heavy commodities on the highways. Since a 100-ton railcar lading represents four truckloads and a single semi-trailer inflicts pavement damage equivalent to 9,600 automobiles, one benefit of rail transportation becomes quite evident.
January 2005
Five new rail-served customer facilities were built or reactivated on Farmrail lines during 2004, a good sign for the economy of western Oklahoma. In addition to Elk City's new stone terminal, they included a grain load-out at Hobart, drilling-fluids supplier at Clinton, and liquid fertilizer installations at Custer City and Frederick.
December 2004
Our employee-owners wish all Farmrail's customers, suppliers, neighbors and friends the best of holiday seasons and look forward to a safe and rewarding new year.
October 2004
The final phase of 2004 track maintenance and improvement calls for the installation of an additional 12,000 ties, bringing the record total for the year to about 28,000. Rather than dealing with identified problems strictly from a safety standpoint, this program should bring extended portions of the railroad into compliance with Federal Railroad Administration Class 2 track standards for several years, such that slow orders and normal maintenance needs can be minimized in those areas and future work concentrated elsewhere.
September 2004
Several freight customers already have taken advantage of electronic billing, now offered by Farmrail as a free service enhancement. This time-saving feature improves the accuracy of data transmissions and reduces the risk of clerical errors that can result in shipment delays or misroutings.
August 2004
Champion Drilling Fluids of Oklahoma City is consolidating its operations serving the Anadarko Basin from four locations to a single facility at Clinton. Construction of a spur track off the State-owned "Sunbelt Line" will begin soon to provide rail access to an existing building now occupied by Champion and additional acreage available for industrial development.
July 2004
Western Oklahoma enjoyed its best harvest since 1998, as favorable weather produced above-average yields and brought the crop in early and quickly. Farmrail moved 6.1-million bushels between May 26 and June 30, equivalent to 7,168 truckloads.
June 2004
Farmrail's power roster increased to 19 units with the purchase of an additional GP-10 locomotive, increasing the Company's ability to handle heavier tonnage.
May 2004
"Quartz Mountain Flyer" passenger excursions will be offered to the public on eight Saturdays this year, beginning July 3. Two-hour narrated round trips for up to 130 persons will depart from Quartz Mountain (intersection of Routes 44 and 44A) at 10:00 a.m. and include a brief stop-over at Lone Wolf. Coach ticket prices are $15 for adults and $10 for children aged 4 thru 12; infants ride free. A very limited number of one-way locomotive cab rides are available for an additional $25. See the full 2004 Public Excursion Schedule and then call 580-846-9078 or e-mail cityoflonewolf@swoi.net for information and reservations to assure seating. Major credit cards are accepted, subject to 24 hours' advance notice of cancellation. Follow up the train ride with lunch at the spectacular Quartz Mountain Resort, an afternoon enjoying the recreational amenities of Quartz Mountain Park, and overnight accommodations if desired. The "Flyer" is a cooperative presentation of the friendly people of Lone Wolf, Farmrail and Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
April 2004
Possible railcar shortages for the coming harvest affect planning by railroad and shippers alike. Burlington Northern Santa Fe advises that it may unable to supply hoppers for early positioning due to unusual demand throughout its system. A limited supply of guaranteed cars can be purchased on the open market, but tariff orders for interline movements will be filled only by lottery. Elevator managers therefore must be prepared to deal with potential overflow conditions. GNBC’s car fleet will be used only for local traffic to the Enid terminal in order to access additional storage capacity. All orders should be placed with Cathy Pierce at 800-933-7345.
March 2004
Farmrail's GNBC subsidiary has won the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association's 2003 Gold Safety Award for carriers of its size. Neither it nor FMRC experienced a reportable employee injury during the year.
February 2004
Anyone who thinks that a train ride isn't very romantic should consult the young man from Elk City who proposed (successfully) to his sweetheart on a Valentine's Day excursion organized by the Grandview Assembly of God. Two packed carloads of romantics not only enjoyed his good fortune, but also crisp winter weather, tasty food and festive decorations on a three-hour round trip to Clinton.
January 2004
District 3 Congressman Frank Lucas is among 265 House co-sponsors of federal legislation that would provide tax credits for small railroads to invest in needed track maintenance and upgrading. Many rural carriers like Farmrail operate on infrastructure designed and built nearly a century ago, when the typical loaded freight car weighed about 100,000 pounds. The newest generation of rolling stock weighs 286,000 pounds and cannot be handled safely or at reasonable speeds on many branches. The nation's 500-odd short lines are critical competitive transportation links between outlying communities and the inter-city main-line network that must be technologically compatible. Rep. Lucas and the majority of his colleagues recognize that rebuilding these rail lines keeps country elevators and other local industries competitive in their markets, is essential to future industrial development, and helps to reduce highway pavement damage by heavy trucks (one railcar is equivalent to up to four truckloads). Towns that have lost rail service aren't quite the same once the tracks have been removed.
December 2003
FMRC is constructing a 1,500-foot spur to a new stone-distribution terminal being built by Elk City Industrial Authority on a 160-acre industrial tract in that community. Granite aggregates will be shipped by rail from the Martin Marietta quarry at Long, Oklahoma in a dedicated fleet of 44 open-top hoppers being acquired by FMRC and the Authority. Start-up is expected in the first quarter of 2004. The high-quality rock will be used primarily in paving projects throughout western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle.