Some New England RRs

The Grafton & Upton RR -  http://graftonuptonrr.com/about-us/,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafton_and_Upton_Railroad,  https://goo.gl/maps/kHCYykHxDbFfERRW7

The East Brookfield & Spencer RR -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Brookfield_%26_Spencer_Railroad,  https://goo.gl/maps/1vBtgXvx8hPgorbH9.  Basically just switches out an auto transload for CSX, but they’re privately owned.

The Milford Bennington RR, which doesn’t appear to even have a wikipedia entry let alone a website.  Here’s an article about it and it’s troubles with Pan Am, over which it has trackage rights for a short distance  https://www.ledgertranscript.com/State-Transportation-Board-rules-that-Milford-Bennington-railroad-spur-stays-open-20884294.  The eastern end of it’s journey’s is here at a concrete plant  https://goo.gl/maps/HS1RP3T5x59N5cJv6, if you follow the line west (left) you’ll get to Wilton which is where Pan Am ends and the MBRX travels on it’s own rails a bit further west to a gravel pit.  All former B&M Hillsboro Branch rails.

Another one

The Massachusetts Central RR -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Central_Railroad,  https://goo.gl/maps/vFGq24MtQecF7tcY6.  That google maps location is in South Barre, the north end of the line where Wildwood Reload is a customer.  The line runs south and ends up in Palmer, MA where it interchanges with CSX and the New England Central RR just north of the Steaming Tender restaurant in the old station - a great rail fanning spot.

from South Carolina

Pickens Railroad, Anderson SC area

Akien Railroad, Aiken, SC area

Greenville and Western, Belton to Pelzer, SC

There are others in the lower part of the state

Howard Garner

From Washington State

The Mount Vernon Terminal Railway in Mount Vernon, WA, operates on remnants of the old Pacific Northwest Traction Company, and interchanges with BNSF.  One locomotive, an SW-1200, formerly belonging to the Tacoma Belt Line.  Stores (up to) 65 "overflow" tank cars from the two refineries in Anacortes, WA, and also serves a small industry that recycles used petroleum products (glycerin?), and finally, has a "team track" where semi's come to offload fertilizer components.

Al Carter, Mount Vernon, WA

Would these qualify

Almanor, Amador Central railroad / Ione & Eastern Railroad

Arcata & Mad River

McCloud River

Yreka Western

North Carolina

Yadkinville Valley Railroad

Alexander Railroad

Blue Ridge Southern Railroad

Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway

Regional Shortlie in Indiana/Illinois - INRD

The one I model is the Indiana Railroad Company.  It runs from Indianapolis, IN to Newton, IL.

I model the west end from Palestine, IL to Oblong, IL.

My brother works at the refinery in Robinson and also worked at the Hershey plant that are both INRD served.

Fort Worth & Western

I believe FW&W is independently owned. It serves a lot of industries in FW including the Trinity Industries rail car plants at several locations. Online it states it was originally FW and Rio Grande trackage. The stated owner company, Tarantula Corp, also runs a tourist train from the old stockyards tourist attraction to Grapevine, TX.  That trackage to Grapevine has become a commuter line to the DFW airport, and trains can run faster than 5mph with the upgrades!

Ben I am modeling the ACWR.

Ben I am modeling the ACWR. Carolina Piedmont used to be in Laures SC now owned by the G&W I think.

Jeff

Respondek Railroad Corp.

In Georgia

The Sandersville RR is family owned.  A former trucker owns the Hartwell and the Great Walton.

Scott Chatfield

In South Dakota

Gravel company LG Everist owns the Dakota & Iowa RR.  Might be a "shortline" but it runs very long trains.

Another gravel company owns the Ellis & Eastern, which recently expanded eastward by buying the Minnesota Southern so they can access the Union Pacific.

I think Dakota Southern is still locally owned.

Scott Chatfield 

In Ny..

The Arcade and Attica is still independently owned,  this railroad fire my passion for steam on a 1st grade field trip when I was 6....

Peace Bill

In Iowa

I think the local power company still owns the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City, aka the Crandic.  Iowa Northern is also locally owned.

Scott Chatfield

Aberdeen & Rockfish

  I believe the Aberdeen & Rockfish RR in North Carolina is still owned by the family of it's founder, John Blue.

  MR did a nice story with a suggested track plan years ago.  Most of it's diesel's are (were) available in HO and some in N scale.  A few cabs and freight cars are available as well.  A few sets of decals are (were) available...at least in HO scale.

  Fun question, thanks!

Gary H.

Farmrail

I have rode on the farmrail up from Enid, OK.  for a fund raiser for a Great Museum in Enid at least twice.

Rode in the owners caboose that had RV A/C unit and carpet ALL over.  Really nice time.

Glad I have HO gp9m and matching caboose from Walthers.

Boudreaux

Canada too!

Here in Southern Ontario we have the OSR. FP7s, GP9s, RS18s etc. What's not to like?  

http://www.osrinc.ca/  

Pete

Also from Washington State

In the Seattle area is the Ballard Terminal Railroad. The Ballard Terminal also operates the Eastside Freight Railroad and the Meeker Southern Railroad. 

Don

Some I have come across

City of Prineville - Oregon- owned by the city and operated as a city entity for many years. 
 

Austin, Todd, & Lad - Oklahoma - owned by a grain growers association, named after the founders grandsons. 
 

AOK-Oklahoma- yes the reporting marks used by lease companies is a real railroad operating in Oklahoma and Arkansas. 
 

Columbia and Walla Walla- Washington - this is a relatively new operation owned by the Port of Columbia and operates in Eastern Washington between the Columbia River to Walla Walla and two branch lines one heading the Milton Oregon and the other to Dayton Wa. 
 

Columbia Basin Railroad- Washington- Out in Eastern Washington serving a number of small industries. 
 

There are a few smaller holding companies that have purchased smaller railroads that are still small family affaires.

Midwest Pacific has purchased: BGCM, McCloud, Washington and Idaho,Boot Hill and a number of smaller operations.  

Progressive Rail: Has a number of small operations scattered all over the US  

Iowa Pacific at one time had a small empire, but like many smaller operations have found it hard to make money in railroading and is currently in receivership 

Awesome topic.

Awesome topic.

Several short lines are

Several short lines are privately owned but lease the their trackage from big railroads. While the independents operate these roads as their own they are often restrained as to what they are allowed to do physically to the property, and what other railroads they can interchange with... by contracts with the owning roads. Often times the large roads want to be released from the obligation of providing service on marginally, profitable branch/secondary lines but at the same time want to control the short line's ability to compete and grow to stay in business.

Class 1s  which own these properties will often fail to provide connecting service for the short line's new customers if the revenue is not high enough,to enable the big carrier to make a profit from it after they pay the short line for handling it. They also set up contract's so that short lines only are allowed to interchange with them and only them. I have witnessed these situations working for and starting up short lines so it's sometimes not an easy path of railroading. Profits are frequently, small with improvements like fancy painted locomotives, engine houses and neat offices, rare. Often the office is a shanty, construction trailer or store front facility off the property, there is very little good track, as the owning company generally sheds the property when it's worn out, locomotive(s) are stored outside (or inside a customer's warehouse in winter to prevent freezing up) and most important customers are few.

The small outfits I worked for usually spent their hard earned dollars on track improvements, like bridges,ties,  ballast, heavier rail and less on "cosmetic" changes. The larger, short lines which could generate 25 or more cars of high revenue (not high value), daily freight, air tested, delivered to the big roads on a consistent basis were often the one's the survived and grew. The small ones with just a few customers and bad track just "faded away" not able to survive. Keep in mind, too that most short lines "lose" 30% of their customers annually, so the folks who run the trains (generally just a conductor/MW/clerk and engineer/mechanical/M/W guy) have to always be "hustling for new customers" when not doing other tasks. There are also the few short lines which handle freight cars with either revenue loads or mty storage and are part of a passenger/excursion/museum line like Strasburg, Alexander and other smaller railroads who can afford these other services because they "feed off" the short line's revenues or the freight is added to them. Again these are the smart ones who learned early on to buy not lease their own track and interchange with more than one large road to better control, cooperatively, their destiny.  

Short line railroading is not for the faint of heart and it's often better to work for them than own them...since as a worker you don't have to stay up late at night wondering where you will come up with the dollars to pay your employees and constant bills. Enjoy modeling these roads but how about doing so realistically...not pie in the sky"?

Barry

Pennsylvania Short-line RR

Everett Railroad in Hollidaysburg Pa owned by Allen W. Maples. It is a class 3 freight carrier that runs three days per week and interchanges with NS.  The railroad also offers steam excursions throughout the year.

Aboslutely, Missy.One of the

Absolutely, Missy.

One of the best roads around.

Barry