In 1878, a survey team drilling for oil discovered large salt deposits in New York’s Wyoming County. A geologist predicted similar deposits in neighboring Livingston County along the Genesee River — and a lucrative opportunity for investors. The Genesee & Wyoming Valley Railroad was incorporated in 1891 to haul mined rock salt to nearby rail connections. Business grew, and in 1899 the line was reorganized as the Genesee & Wyoming Railway and purchased by Edward L. Fuller, whose family had acquired the Retsof salt mine in 1895. The operation became one of the world’s largest salt mines, generating steady, profitable traffic for the railroad.
The 14-mile line remained a solid investment for the Fuller family, with low operating cost and minimal debt. In 1977, Mortimer B. Fuller III, great-grandson of the original owner, took over, aiming to expand beyond New York. That year, he founded Genesee & Wyoming Industries and, in 1979, commissioned graphic designer Milton Glaser to design a new logo with two bold yellow arrows, symbolizing the company’s legacy and future vision.
Following passage of the Staggers Act in 1980, deregulation led major railroads to sell off unprofitable branch lines. In 1982, Genesee & Wyoming acquired 14 miles of former Lackawanna main line between Greigsville and Groveland, N.Y., from Conrail — doubling its original size. G&W’s next major expansion came in July 1985 with the purchase of 97 miles of former Baltimore & Ohio track from Rochester to Ashford, N.Y., with rights to Salamanca. Rochester & Southern began operating the line in 1986, followed in 1988 by Buffalo & Pittsburgh covering 255 miles of former B&O track from Buffalo through Ashford to Eidenau, Pa., with rights to New Castle.
The next expansion was far from its New York base, forming Louisiana & Delta in 1987 to operate 90 miles of former Southern Pacific branch lines along the Gulf Coast. Based in New Iberia, La., the acquisition added a new region to G&W’s growing short line network.
Expansion continued in Oregon with the 1993 launch of Willamette & Pacific (WPRR), taking over SP branches serving lumber and paper industries. In 1995, Portland & Western (PNWR) was formed to operate more SP lines and the ex-Oregon Electric route north of Salem. Burlington Northern’s 92-mile Astoria Line was added in 1997. By 2000, PNWR emerged as the lead identity for the combined operation, totaling more than 500 miles.
There are currently 122 railroads across the United States, Canada, and Europe under control of Genesee & Wyoming. Some are established short lines, while others are branches sold off by Class 1 railroads. Some railfans lament the loss of each line’s unique identity, motive power, and paint schemes. Others relish the opportunity to photograph the bright orange trains in a variety of settings. Even though the paint might be similar, there are many variations between each G&W location in terms of motive power and operation.
What if your model railroad was part of the G&W empire? There’s already so many railroads in their portfolio, it would be plausible to add one more. Putting your railroad in this context would make it seem “more real.” You wouldn’t have to entirely give up your railroad’s identity, as some operations take years to fully repaint the fleet. Since you would be part of the system, your railroad might even borrow power from other nearby G&W railroads — a common occurrence across many regions.
This month, we take a look at Kinzer Hurt’s rendition of the First Coast Railroad, a G&W operation based in northeastern Florida on the border with Georgia. Kinzer has gone through great effort to model key scenes and customers around Fernandina Beach, as well as the unique motive power operated on the line. It all comes together to make a convincing representation of a modern short line.
I know of some other G&W-themed model railroads, including Jon Percy’s N scale Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad (featured in the March 2018 RMC), Joseph Kreiss’ freelanced HO scale Big Island Railroad set in Hawaii, and Drayton Blackgrove’s freelanced Drayton & Southern concept. I’m sure there are many others — and we’d love to hear from you!
If G&W orange isn’t your thing, consider having your railroad join Anacostia, Jaguar, OmniTRAX, RailAmerica, or Watco; or create your own freelanced holding company and get your buddies to join up with you. Model railroading is a creative outlet with many possibilities, even if you’re modeling part of a corporate short line empire. —Otto M. Vondrak
