theDispatch The newsletter for Watco Companies, LLC and Watco Transportation Services, LLC February 2016, Volume 17, Issue 2

Watco Team sets safety record in 2015 By Andra Bryan Stefanoni Alabama - Port Birmingham Contributing Writer Arizona - Glendale Arkansas - Pine Bluff With 2015 in the history books and work hours California - Stockton Food Grade, Stockton for all locations documented, Travis Herod, senior Fertilizer vice president of safety, says it was a record-setting Colorado - Tampa year. Illinios - Chicago Heights, Rockford, Triumph “When gauging our performance from a safety Indiana - Hammond standpoint, Watco uses key indicators to visualize - Pittsburg Warehouse whether we’re better now than we were in the past,” Louisiana - Baton Rouge Herod explained. The Houston Liquids Team from Greens Port and Michigan - Willis That means computing for each 200,000 hours Deer Park have gone injury-free since their start-up Mississippi - Vicksburg worked how many times someone required medi- in April of 2013. - Sarpy, St. Louis cal treatment beyond first aid, or lost time, and how Nebraska - Omaha many incidents there were due to human factors. the ASLRRA Average is reported at 2.65, Herod New Mexico - Loving “By those measurements, 2015 was not just a said. The number will go up, or down slightly, as the New York - Bronx, Brooklyn resounding success for Watco and our individual lo- full year is compiled. New Jersey - Bayway, Port Newark cation and service groups, it was our most success- While awards are limited to railroads, Herod also North Dakota - Fryburg, Tioga ful year from a safety perspective, shattering records wanted to recognize 25 switching locations and 41 Ohio - Euclid, Cincinnati, Columbus set in 2014,” he said. terminals and ports for going RPI free in 2015: - Stroud Herod said he believes numerous Watco railroads Pennsylvania - Industry, PES are on tap to receive numerous awards from the Switching Locations Tennessee - New Johnsonville American Short Line and Regional Railroad As- Alabama - McIntosh, Prattville - Galena Park, GPIP Crude/Ethanol/Rail/ sociation. Arkansas - El Dorado Dock/RE/Material Handling, Houston Ferro, The ASLRRA values safe practices across the in- Indiana - Hammond Houston KMTT, Pecos, Port Arthur, Refugio dustry, and annually recognizes members for their Florida - Pensacola Utah - Wellington contributions and achievement. The ASLRRA Safety Louisiana - Boise-DeRidder, MeadWestvaco-De- Virginia - Roanoke Awards, the President's Awards and the Safety Per- Ridder, Brimstone, Lake Charles, Lena, Mansfield, West Virginia - Brooklyn Junction son of the Year Award are awarded at the ASLRRA Westlake Connections conference each spring. Missouri - Kansas City Herod noted that beginning January 1st of this Nebraska - Genoa year, Watco has begun recording all incidents in a Jake Award with Distinction Oregon - Toldeo new reporting system, KMI/Velocity. Herod predicted 25 Watco railroads are on tap Texas - Alvin, Deer Park, Galena Park, Houston, “Once the automatic man-hour reporting func- to receive a Jake Award with Distinction for hav- Houston ING, Port Neches tion is operational, users can go to their dashboard ing no FRA reportable injuries. Those railroads - Wallula for near real time updates on our status regard- include: Alabama Southern, Arkansas Southern, Wyoming - Gillette Black Thunder, Green River ing safety, run reports for specific inquiries, and Austin Western, Great Northwest, Kaw River, Mis- OCI, Green River Solvay other fantastic functionality that’s going to be game sion Mountain, Mississippi Southern, Palouse River Terminals and Ports changing for us,” Herod said. & Coulee City, Pennsylvania Southwestern, South Kansas & Oklahoma, Stillwater Central, Vicksburg Southern, Yellowstone Valley, Baton Rouge, Pacific Sun, Grand Elk, Alabama Warrior, Boise Valley, Au- 401K enrollment grows tauga Northern, Swan Ranch, Pecos Valley South- The numbers are in and it looks like Watco Team Members are thinking more ern, San Antonio Central, Blue Ridge Southern, about the future. Since January 1st of 2015, there have been an additional 952 Bogalusa Bayou, and Lubbock and Western. new enrollments in the 401K plan. Of those, 243 came from the January 2016 enrollment. Jake Award "I think there are a lot of positives from that data," said Jason Bushman, ben- Herod predicted four railroads likely will earn a efits manager. "I think we should celebrate the fact that there have been close Jake Award, giving to any member railroad that fin- to 1,000 new enrollments over the course of a year and that there's been a 12% ished the year with an FRA frequency rate less than increase in plan participation." or equal to the industry average, but had at least Any Watco team member interested in finding out more information about one FRA reportable injury. Those railroads include: the 401k plan can visit the Watco Team page on the web site at www.watco- Louisiana Southern, Timber Rock, Birmingham companies.com or contact the Benefits Team at benefits@watcocompanies. com. Terminal, and & Southern. Currently, theDispatch page 2 February 2016

Engineer has big plans to putt around by Andra Bryan Stefanoni In 2011, he became chief engineer and was Contributing Writer responsible for five railways, offering support for roadmasters, setting up capital projects, manag- When Chief Engineer Rick Hollis retired last ing finances, and ensuring deadlines were met. As month, he had just one regret after spending 42 such, he put in a lot of road miles. years in the rail industry. Now, he’s ready to focus on a different kind of “I wish I could have found Watco 30 years ago, travel: to golf tournaments in the Southeastern but as the saying goes, ‘Good things come to Seniors Tour starting in April. those who wait’,” he said. “Our circuit covers Alabama, Tennessee, Geor- Hollis, who joined the Engineering & Track gia, and Florida,” says Hollis, whose handicap is 8. Department in Birmingham, Alabama, six years He played a few years ago, garnering a few sec- ago, worked for four different short line railroads ond place finishes in tournaments. It was difficult before joining the Watco team. Megan Wilson, BHRR office manager; Lindsey Alex- to balance with work, marriage, and four grand- “None of them compare to Watco as far as the ander, BHRR, people service manager; Rick Hollis, children. family atmosphere and the way they care about retiree; Bill Goldsberry, vice president of operations; “Now I’ll have a lot more time to play and keep their people,” he said. David Tarwater, general manager; and Kris Coley, up with dance recitals, gymnastics meets, and CEO Rick Webb, in turn, wished Hollis well BHRR roadmaster. basketball games, too,” said Hollis, 65. and said he will always be considered part of crew, then joined Watco as a locomotive engi- And while he’s also looking forward to having the Watco family. “If it wasn’t for talented and neer. In 2010, he became assistant roadmaster and a lot more time to putter around the house, his dedicated people like yourself we would never then roadmaster. retirement is bittersweet, he said. have made it past our first switching operation in “On the Alabama Warrior, I managed the main- “If you’re happy in your job, you’re happy in 1983,” Webb said. tenance, what work gets done, and when it gets your life, and since I’ve come to Watco, I’ve been Hollis started his career working on the track done,” he said. thrilled,” he said. New Mexico team meets safety milestone by Michaela Kinyon “This is a great accomplishment,” said Ter- a great job in instilling the importance of safety Contributing Writer minal Manager David Elizalde. “We’ve started on a job like this.” something brand new that none of us have ever The Loving terminal location holds safety meet- There are a lot of things going on in the Lov- done, and to be able to do it in a safe manner and ings every day for every single crew that comes ing, New Mexico terminal, not the least of which develop efficient Safe Operating Procedures is on, and they are currently attempting to come up is their recent safety anniversary. It has been one important. When we came here, they told us we with a safety slogan specifically for the location. year since there has been a reportable injury at the would be unloading conveyors, and we figured The plan is to make a flag of the slogan and fly it Loving location, not one injury since the start-up, out how to do that from scratch.” over the facility. and the Loving team members have done a great Elizalde stated that communication, teamwork, When asked about being an example for future deal to ensure that this streak continues. and patience are the values that have led the Lov- Loving team members as well as other locations, The team members celebrated by having two ing team members to this accomplishment. “We Elizalde said, “We try and set a standard that different dinners of hamburgers, chips, and drinks all want to take care of each other.” everyone will want to achieve. I want to make sure for the different crews. The week crews celebrated “Watco has a great safety group,” Elizalde con- that the next location that opens up is saying that their victory on January 19th, with the weekend tinued. “We want to go home to our families and they want to hold their team to the standards we crew celebrating the following weekend. with all our parts, and this group of guys has done hold our team members to.” 45G tax credit encourages rail improvements

By Andra Bryan Stefanoni percent, through the 1950s and 60s when trucks pay for, in comparison to public roadways and Contributing Writer and boats became a common means of transport- waterways financed by taxpayers. ing goods. But in 2005, the federal tax credit, known as A federal tax credit, reauthorized by Congress Federal regulations hampered growth, and 45G, took it a step further: It provided the incen- in December, will help short lines continue to most major railroads in the Northeast and in the tive for short lines to make repairs and improve- make improvements to infrastructure to better Midwest went bankrupt. The rate of return on in- ments. serve Customers. vestment had been falling and hit an all-time low. “Short line operators who bought sections of “All rural areas with short line rail service have Railroads lacked the funds to maintain tracks, so track that had been abandoned by Class I lines benefitted from this credit,” said Jeff Van Schaick, they fell into disrepair and were unsafe. took over track that had potentially seen years Watco’s assistant vice president of government The Staggers Act of 1980, which brought bal- and years of deferred maintenance,” he said. “It’s affairs. “It’s incentivized investment.” anced regulation into play, turned that around hard to grow a business on a light density line In the 1970s, the rail industry was suffering. The and railroads experienced a rebirth: Rail rates if you have a piece of track that doesn’t operate industry already had seen its share of peaks and are down, meaning Customers can move almost w e l l .” valleys — from the devastating Great Depression twice as much freight for about the same price Van Schaick credits Chief Commercial Officer when rail industry revenue fell by 50 percent, it paid 30 years ago. And railroads operate on Ed McKechnie, who also now chairs the Ameri- through World War II when rail traffic fell 28 infrastructure that they own, build, maintain, and can Short Line Railroad - Continued on page 3 theDispatch page 3 February 2016

Watco brings Shrek to Pittsburg by Andra Bryan Stefanoni save thousands of dollars, they didn’t hesitate to Contributing Writer tell us they would help,” Shaw said. “But they re- ally went above and beyond.” Watco truck driver Gerald Kattner never ex- In addition to transporting the set, Watco also pected to have anything to do with show business. stored it for three months, then warehouse per- But his efforts helped make possible the largest sonnel took care of all the details and reloading show Pittsburg High School’s Theatre Department it so Kattner could deliver it to the stage door at has ever produced. Memorial just before Christmas. When the curtain goes up on “Shrek, The “Once again, this is a wonderful example of Musical,” on Feb. 17 at Memorial Auditorium in patrons and businesses in Pittsburg going beyond Pittsburg, thousands of audience goers will be the extra mile to make sure our students have as transported to a fairytale kingdom, home to a many opportunities as possible,” Shaw said. giant green ogre and many other fairytale charac- “We simply cannot accomplish everything that ters and creatures. we want to accomplish without the generous ex- The professionally built set is sizable and tension of resources that our community contin- complex, and valued at $20,000. PHS Director ues to provide. It allows our students to achieve Greg Shaw was able to get everything — valued great things.” at $20,000 — for just $1,000 from Kansas City’s Watco CEO Rick Webb said that at Watco’s core White Theatre and Theatre in the Park, so long as is the belief that it’s important to give back and to he could find a way to transport everything the help nurture strong communities, and that starts 100 miles to Pittsburg. with schools. Watco came to the rescue with the offer of a “Shrek, The Musical,” will run Feb. 17-20 at 53-foot truck and Kattner, who said transporting Memorial Auditorium, 503 N. Pine. Details and Watco driver Gerald Kattner with a piece of the a theatrical set “was a first” for him. ticket information: 620-231-7827 or www.memo- Shrek set he brought from Kansas City to Pittsburg “When Watco found out we had the chance to rialauditorium.org High School's Theatre Department. Philadelphia Team receives 45G tax credit Outstanding Safety Award Continued from page 2 - Association, with the tax credit coming to fruition and continu- by Michaela Kinyon “[Safety] is not a light switch,” said ing for 12 years. Contributing Writer Plotts. “It has to be a culture, to be in The tax credit put from $300 to $400 million your head all the time. Drilling this annually in capital and maintenance expendi- The Safety-First culture perpetuat- into the heads of the team members tures, and provided short lines with 50 cents ed at Watco Companies is incredibly helps them work well as a team and credit for every dollar spent. Railroads are now important in everything done within continues into the rest of their lives. thriving, which means Customers are too. the company, and it seems others have I want them to be safe anywhere they “There were 200 short lines in the 1980s, and caught on. This past month, Watco Ter- go, not just at work.” today there are 550,” Van Schaick said. minal and Port Services (WTPS) received Another aspect of the importance of McKechnie downplayed his role, noting that the Outstanding Safety Award from their Cus- safety has to do with marketing. there were many involved in seeing it to frui- tomer Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES). “This success also helps us get business,” said tion. WTPS is one of the contractors for the PES refin- Terminal Manager Joseph Ryder. “No one wants He credited Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kansas), ery, working alongside other contractors to ensure to hire a company that has a high injury ratio. By that the job of running the business is done safely performing jobs safely, we also help the marketing for her role as one of the measure’s lead co- and efficiently. The Outstanding Safety Award was team get business.” sponsors, and Schaick, who helped to build given by PES to any of the contractors that had over The team members at the PES refinery actually broad coalitions. 8,000 hours of work performed without a report- worked over 67,300 hours injury free last year, well “Our goal was to connect Congress to cus- able injury. over the 8,000 hours required for the award. At this tomers to explain the importance of freight to When asked about the factors that led to this point, the team is actually over 827 days injury free. underserviced areas,” McKechnie said. award, Shift Supervisor Gary Plotts stated, “As a “I’m proud of that,” said Plotts. “I would wear it He's seen the impact it’s had on short lines, company, we have developed a very proactive safety in a medal on my chest if I could.” and the Customers they serve. program. There is no job that is too small for us to The team members that work with the refinery “America’s short line network has dramati- not worry about Safety, whether it’s a big one or have yet to celebrate their award, although they are cally improved as a result of this credit,” he said. something as small as shoveling snow.” planning to do so in February. “It’s allowed companies like Watco to replace Before every shift, team members get a briefing “Refineries and railroads are both hazardous," rail and install bigger, heavier ties — and more over the jobs they are to perform, going over the said Plotts. “Mixing them together is a double- of them. It’s clearly meant greater service to our hazards and making sure everyone knows how to edged sword. The fact that we manage to do that Customers. It’s meant moving goods across the perform the task in a safe and efficient manner. The safely says a lot about us as a team and as a com- country more efficiently and more expediently, goal is to always do the job safely and to do it right. p any.” and that’s what we’re all about.” theDispatch page 4 February 2016 Team completes Dick Webb railyard cleanup By Andra Bryan Stefanoni The railyard has a 125 car capacity and team Contributing Writer members switch cars in and out of the facility on a daily basis. The photos tell it best: in the first, piles of debris “What a great fundamental to reinforce: if you — metal, wood, paper, cardboard — littering 14 see something that needs fixed, fix it,” Smith said acres along a track in Houston. In the second, of the team effort. “Simple principle, but one we bare ground cleared of debris. And in the third, sometimes take for granted.” Watco team members tired but smiling. Team member Frank Edwards said when they Mike McAllister, vice president of operations began the job, they knew it would be a challeng- Before in Houston, said the intent was to remove debris ing one. piles from previous track projects, improve the “But all team members worked safely and com- visual appearance of the area, and set up the stag- municated to make this job go well and effectively. ing area for the operation and mechanical struc- All team members stood out and went above and tures on more than 14 acres at the TPC Houston beyond the Watco Foundation Principles,” he said. switching site. Gilberto Larrasquitu said that the positive The Houston Liquid Terminal and Houston impact they made on the site was evident after a Material Handling Teams worked together, using few days. a forklift, backhoe, bush hog, weed trimmers, and Zachary Hammons said his time spent at TPC elbow grease. Houston was “overall, an awesome experience.” “This was an exciting project or the two groups “Time and time we were praised on how well to work together on and show what they are of a job we were doing,” he said. “It’s nice to be after capable of accomplishing collectively,” McAllister recognized for your hard work.” said. “Besides the visual improvement, they were Alfie Hutchinson said he enjoyed the camarade- able to improve walkways around the roadways rie of working together as a team, and was proud and track and identify potential safety hazardous of the difference they made. camouflaged by the vegetation.” Nate Henderson, senior vice president of opera- Dan Smith, executive vice president of opera- tions in Houston, said the project demonstrated tions in Pittsburg, said the end result was one he the commitment of the Houston team working was proud of. It’s likely someone else would be together towards one collective goal, something proud, too — the person for whom the railyard McAllister echoed. was named last April. “The recognition is that if our teams are dedi- A sign in front of it reads: “This yard is dedicat- cated and focused on putting this much emphasis Team members who helped with the clean-up of ed to Charles R. (Dick) Webb, founder of Watco on picking up that one piece of paper or blade of the Dick Webb Railyard were (l-r):Alfredo Vasquez, Companies. Through his vision, dedication and grass, then imagine their capabilities when they Robert Johnson, Anthony Williams, Zackary Ham- focus on serving Customers he created a legacy are operating a locomotive or heavy equipment, mons, Kevin Hoyos, Alfie Hutchinson, Gilberto that will continue to serve future generations.” loading a barge, or handling pipe,” McAllister said. Larrasquitu. Ann Arbor Railroad sends water to Flint By Andra Bryan Stefanoni our taps and drinking fountains,” said Dr. James Contributing Writer Jones, assistant principal. “When we heard about what was happening in Flint, we knew we had to When a water crisis struck Flint, Michigan, the help.” Ann Arbor Railroad based out of Toledo, Ohio, When the Ann Arbor Railroad found out about provided help. the collection, team members helped organize a Flint's water became contaminated when the donation. city, facing financial struggles, switched from the “It’s a great project,” said Ron Chadwick, general Detroit municipal water system in 2014 to the manager of the Ann Arbor Railroad. “Anything Flint River as a water source to save money. But we can do to teach today’s children that life is lack of oversight meant the water wasn’t treated about more than just themselves will keep our properly, and lead from pipes leached into the communities strong." supply, contributing to a spike in child lead expo- The railroad delivered its contribution on Jan. sure. 27, something Jones described as “wonderful.” The Associated Press reported some children’s From left to right: Students of Rosa Parks Elemen- As a result, Jones and representatives from blood tested positive for lead, a potent neurotoxin tary, Franky Perez, Mark Adams, and Marcos Soto his school were able to deliver 618 cases (16,786 linked to learning disabilities, lower IQs, and bottles) of water to Flint on Feb. 2. behavioral problems. Parks Elementary began collecting bottled water “We at Rosa Parks would like to say thank you The issue has drawn national attention, as the as a life lesson to students about paying it for- for your generous donation of water,” Jones said. city meanwhile was left without clean drinking ward. “This has been a humbling experience to see how water. “As public servants, we all know the reality of we are all TPS proud and helping others as proud About 100 miles away in Toledo, Ohio, Rosa not being able to drink the water that comes from Toledoans!” theDispatch page 5 February 2016

Pacific Sun Railroad meets PTC mandate by Andra Bryan Stefanoni sions like the 2008 California collision that killed Contributing Writer 25, is to slow or stop a train if it’s traveling too fast or something is wrong. The met its deadline of But Moore says there are many other uses to Dec. 31 to have the federally mandated Positive the system, as well, including tracking locomotive Train Control installed in locomotives, some- movement and engineer qualifications. thing of which General Manager Jim Moore is “That’s the neat thing about it; engineers are proud. qualified for certain lines, and those are entered “We’re the only short line in California to have into a computer database. When an engineer it completed,” he said. boards the system, he inputs the route he’s going, But testing of the system still remains, and Positive Train Control (PTC) was a piece of The and if he isn’t qualified to go somewhere, it won’t Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The loco- that’s tricky and time consuming, Moore added. let him go there,” Moore said. motive above and the Amtrak train in back were “Being familiar with the territory you’re travel- “Since we operate jointly with BSNF and North affected by the legislation and are required to have County Transit District on the same track, testing PCT installed. ing is important; signal placement is different has to be a coordinated effort, and there’s a lot of everywhere and you have to know the crest of all testing that has to be done,” he said. emergency — that’s full speed, 55 mph — and we the hills, when to apply the brakes, and so on,” he This month, PSSR will store 10 additional pas- have to do that five times.” said. senger cars for North County Transit to be used The track must be inspected after each run, and Another feature that Moore said he sees as a solely for the passenger line’s testing. the wheels must cool down before the test can be positive is when a train is close to entering the “On our lines, we have to come up with the repeated. limits of a maintenance area, the system requires worst scenario, on the steepest grade, and we “The whole time, we’ll be logged into the PTC the engineer to acknowledge that it’s a mainte- have to put that train together. We’re talking and the system will know what it takes to slow nance area and to slow the train. If an engineer 20 loads, three locomotives, 2.2 percent grade,” that train,” Moore said. doesn’t, the system will slow the train automati- Moore said. “We have to put the train into an The system, designed to prevent possible colli- cally. Students join the Watco Team Dispatcher loses

by Andra Bryan Stefanoni goods and financial support, including Contributing Writer Watco. battle to cancer "It was good to see the kids at our table by Andra Bryan Stefanoni Some fourth graders joined the Watco incorporating Watco's Customer First Contributing Writer payroll on Kansas Day. Sort of. principles," said Brad Snow, All Aboard They were part of an innovative learn- Foundation president. The January edition of The Dispatch, ing experience called “Just Imagine Fourth grade classes spent weeks lead- we told the story of Carol Cook, a dis- Kansas,” an annual event in which fourth ing up to the event taking on the roles patcher and the difference that Watco grade classes create and operate a model of business leaders, including planning team members — most of whom town for a day. their budgets, creating signs, packaging Carol had never met — made in her The event was started in the mid-1990s up products, filling out work schedules, life as she battled cancer. by Babs Tims, a fourth grade elementary printing business cards, and learning to From many states away, they de- school teacher in Pittsburg, Kansas, where make change. scended upon the farmhouse in Cheney, Kansas, that she and her Watco was founded by Dick Webb. “This allows us to tie together in our Carol Cook “The idea is for students to learn while curriculum elements of economy, govern- husband, Dale, had been renovating doing what the name says, ‘to imagine’,” ment and history while making it engag- for several years, in an effort to finish Tims said. “We want them making the ing to kids,” Tims said. it for her before Christmas. She called them her “angels.” decisions, using their creativity.” Each business represented, from Dil- Carol lost her battle against cancer on the morning of Jan. A $500 grant from the Pittsburg Com- lons to Spirit Aircraft to Watco Compa- 16. As her family wrote in the obituary that appeared in The munity Schools Foundation provided nies, had a direct tie to Southeast Kansas. Wichita Eagle, she “climbed onto her Harley-Davidson trike seed money, and area businesses donated “We wanted to highlight things that and went screaming up the highway to Heaven.” have really played a role in Kansas,” Carol is survived by Dale, her husband of 22 years; 8 chil- Tims said. “Education, aircraft, farming, dren; 9 grandchildren; a sister; a niece and nephew; many ex- photography, the railroad — so many tended friends and family; and fellow members of the Ameri- very successful businesses started right can Legion Post No. 401. The obituary also lists as Carol’s here in our town have been key players survivors “her co-workers and friends at Watco Companies in those areas.” where she dispatched trains for 10 years.” Dick Webb’s widow, Kaye Lynn Webb, Her service was held on Jan. 22 under the direction of was among those with a Watco connec- Downing & Lahey Mortuary in Wichita. There was no burial tion who visited the event, stopping to as Carol requested cremation. Her ashes will be scattered into visit with the “employees” and agree- the ocean off of Port Richie, Florida, in the spring when she ing to an interview by the fourth grade and Dale take one last road trip together on the trike. Memorial donations may be made to Harry Hynes Memo- Watco's Kaye Lynne Webb visits with the newspaper staff. students running the Watco business at Lake- “This is just great,” said Webb, who at- rial Hospice, 313 S. Market St., Wichita, KS 67202. side school's Just Imagine City in Pittsburg, tended the school as a child. “It’s great to Those who would like to share tributes to Carol may do so at Kansas. see them learning real world things.” www.dlwichita.com. theDispatch page 6 February 2016 ROAM pilot phase completed BLU hit by Jonas by Tracie VanBecelaere Managing Editor by Michaela Kinyon Contributing Writer Four Watco short lines recently completed the pilot testing phase of version I of the new ROAM mobile rail operating system. The new tablet-based application was developed by Members of the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad (BLU) team Watco to allow train crews to interact with WATSS, the rail management system, while the braved the snow and the cold in order to ensure that opera- crews are out in the field. tions continued and neighbors had plenty to eat. The Ashe- The Alabama Southern, Blue Ridge Southern, Boise Valley, and the Kansas & Oklahoma ville, North Carolina, area experienced a record 18 inches railroads were all involved in the ROAM pilot process. These roads were selected for the pi- of snow during the third week of January. Rather than just lot program due to the variety in their size, location, and the types of jobs that they perform. shutting down entirely, the team members of the BLU did "Each of the roads we selected was very different," said Fallyne Deao, a member of the what they could to ensure that the terminal stayed up and ROAM rollout team. "The KO covers a large area and has multiple sub divisions, whereas running as well as possible. the ABS, BVRR, and BLU are smaller railroads with each being a unique operation. We “We had to make hourly decisions as to whether we could wanted to get a variety in the data input to be sure that everything was being transferred to operate safely without endangering team members,” stated the WATTS system correctly." BLU General Manager Darl Farris. “We involved the team For the pilot phase, the rollout team made on members in those decisions.” site visits to each of the railroads and provided in- Managers of the BLU asked team members whether they dividual training to the crews. Once they received felt safe coming into work and involved them in the deci- their training, the crews would start recording all movements on the tablets and the ROAM rollout sions. For some, the roads were too bad to go into work, but team and Watco Customer Service would verify many team members were able to make it. that the information was being recorded in the “Many of our Customers had to shut down, but we wanted WATTS system correctly. The rollout team will to keep running as well as we could in order to provide ser- continue to validate the moves the crews are per- vice for those that did stay open,” said Farris. forming in ROAM for another month. They will Operations were reduced by half, but all the Customers in then begin a general rollout to roads using WATSS operation were taken care of, and it was all done without any starting at the end of February at the Texas & reportable injuries. New Mexico Railway. The general rollout will be Maintenance teams worked around the clock to ensure done in three phases and will feature a “train the that ice was removed from tracks and switches so the track trainer” approach rather than training individual and engineering teams could operate safely. crews. The new trainers will include various op- “This showed a lot of maturity, understanding, and dedi- erations management team members. The plan is cation on the part of the BLU team members,” said Farris. to finish the general rollout by May. Not only did the BLU team members take care of their Josh Briggs, conductor, receives ROAM Customer Service Manager Courtney Burks training from Fallyne Deao, business work for the railroad, but they also took time to care for said the mobile system puts the tools back in the solutions analyst, while working on the their neighbors. After finishing an assignment, the team hands of the team members who are actually on Kingman job on the Kansas & Okla- members drove to the home of an 87-year-old WWII vet- site and creates more timely reporting. "ROAM homa Railroad. eran to check on him. He lives alongside the railroad, always minimizes the time that the crew has to call in to waving at the trains as they pass and occasionally stopping check for blocking or if cars have been released. The cars are moved more efficiently because by the depot to chat with the team members. the data is more readily available to the team." Team members shoveled his ramp and driveway, then Josh Briggs, a conductor for the Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad, recently took part in the went to the grocery store to buy him bread, fried chicken, pilot testing. and other foods and necessities. The man attempted to pay "ROAM will help us better serve our customers by simplifying the workload," said Briggs. the team members, but they refused. Some of the benefits of the system are that it: increases on-time percentage, places cars in “I’m really proud of the team members for doing that,” correct sequence for the next shift, decreases the need to call customer service, and helps stated Farris. “These guys are always looking out for the eliminate lost cars. opportunity to do a good deed, both for the railroad and the Version 2 of the ROAM system will be based on feedback and ideas from the field. After community.” the completion of the ROAM system rollout of ROAM Version 1, the applications team will Despite large challenges these winter months, the BLU work on implementing system enhancements in ROAM Version 2. continues to operate as well as possible. In the words of Far- "What was really positive about this project is that our group went out into the field and ris, “The BLU team members get through challenges that a worked with the operations team and found out what they needed. I wasn't just a push from lot of people would think are big. They just takeit in stride, the tech side, it was based on operational needs. We'll continue this process and work with because it’s what they’re used to. They did a great job.” feedback from operations and customers to continue improving the ROAM system," said Rob Smith, business solutions anaylst. Current ROAM Version 1 system capabilities include: showing a current detailed list of car inventory, searching for cars within the road, moving cars-ARI (local or wheel moves), IPS (intra plant switch), PAC (placing cars at customer), resequencing cars, and creating switch lists. Involved in the creation and testing of the ROAM system are Josh Braden, IT director, Kyle Brown, software developer; Jared Hurst, software developer; and Tom Scheidemantel, senior developer; Phil Henessee, IT director of new development; Hayley Becker, systems analyst; Rob Smith, business solutions analyst; Fallyne Deao, business solutions analyst; Courtney Burkes, Customer Service Manager, and the Customer Service Representatives that take care of the railroads in the pilot program. Heavy snows hit the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad in Janu- ary. theDispatch page 8 February 2016

Births

Braxton Tyler Miori Amy and Jason Miori are proud to announce the birth of a baby boy, Braxton Tyler Miori. Braxton February Anniversaries was born on Decmeber 3, 2015. Adalynn weighed 7 lbs., 11 oz., and was 20.5 inches long. Congratulations to the 4 Years: David Abbey, Any is the Director of Payroll and Recruiting following team members Valerie Altenhofen, and works out of the Pittsburg, Kansas, office. celebrating their Michael Brinkerhoff, anniversaries! Daniel Brunk, Kyle Curry, Erin Flocchini, Paul Gage, 1 Year: Kevin Abbott, Melissa Antonio Green, Martin Akins, Derek Anderson, Mandujano, Jacinto Mendez, Jonathan Anderson, Edward Sabrina Mounts, Daniel Nielson, Boring, Bradley Bridges, Timothy Drew Otto, Tanner Pugh, Chad Shaffer, Brockway, Isaiah Calderon, Jason Timothy Sharitt, Matt Spade, Tyler Currence, Ian Donovan, Jason Elliott, Stapleton, Jeffery Summers, April Summit, Anthony Field, Nelson Guardado, Ryan Arthur Townsend, Chris Wright Hager, Joshua Hawkins, Molly Henneke, 5 Years: Dennis Cain, Keith Cameron, Kevin Hennessy, Michele Hoyt, Terrence Kevin Dean, Josh Gwillim, Sean Jamerson, Jefferson, Trevor Jones, John Josephsen, Steven Christopher Miller, Derek Mooy, Scott Reeves, Kimball, Christopher Klevenberg, Jason Kline, Michael Schaffer, Joseph Smith, Michael Ernest Kwek, Matthew Martinez, Daniel Vaughan, William Watts, Willis Whitaker Maxey, Lea Meza, Shawn Miller, Alberto 6 Years: Robert Johnson, Joe Marshall, Gilbert Ornelas, James Ortiz, Jason Prain, Christopher Perez, Dusty Young Prochnow, Ethan Reed, Edwin Rial, Adrian 7 Years: Jim Gees, Mark Leicht, Johnny Lima, Richard, Chandler Roberts, Arturo Rodriguez, Ronald Whitewater Kevin Seeley, William Smith, Mica Stevens, 8 Years: Timothy Ainsworth, Ben Coward, Blake Thomas, Timothy Thomas, Jonathon Brian Ezell, Ty Furgason, Joy Hill, Hugo Braxton Tyler Miori Trusler, Levi Victor, Jeremy Welsh, Michael Ortega, Joseph Patalano, Walter Robinson, Rob Welsh, Sandra Williamson Smith Magnolia Grace Troth 2 Years: Kevin Adcock, Charles Alcorn, Pedro 9 Years: Robert Balzer, David Flores, Albert Matt and Marissa Troth are proud to an­nounce Armendariz, Cedric Bowman, Robert Carder, Glenn, Andres Lachino, AJ Mee, Derek Nyman the birth of a daughter, Magnolia Grace Troth. Darren Cloward, Colton Cottom, Dustin 10 Years: Michael Lewis, Richard Polk, Daniel Magnolia was born on December 16, 2015. She Dearmon, Nicholas Desjarlais, Julio Diaz, John Reeves, Joseph Reid, Warren Sanderson, John weighed 8 lbs., 8 oz., and was 20.5 inches long. Dietschweiler, Christopher Dietz, Michele Scheehle, James Wary, Carla Wilson Matt works in the Pittsburg, Kansas, office as an Dimick, Richard Farley, Patrick Flower, 11 Years: Douglas Fleming, Matthew Hinojosa, interline account specialist. Brooke Francis, Raul Garcia, John Gogniat, Charles Houlton, Gregory Lovelace Jerry Goodwin, Sean Hayden, Marc Hulburt, 12 Years: Terry Gilbert, Michael Janke, Ronald Karr, Jayson Keith, Chris King, Evan Brandon Otter, George Villa Klaevemann, Jason Kraicek, Lance Larson, 13 Years: Scott Adams, Tammy Arbuckle, Jeffrey Lien, Gregory Lockhart, Frank Mayfield, James George, Gary Goodwin, James Taylor Larry McCloud, Dee Mitchell, Ezekiel 14 Years: Sara Hanson Montalvo, Cory Montoya, Odea Nowden, 15 Years: Serafin Contreras, Bob Cunningham, Zachary Overstreet, Grabiel Rivera, Juan Solis, Kevin Schoenhofer, Sylvester Strong Charles Trapp, Tana Wagoner, Kareem Warren 16 Years: James Andrews, John Clark, Michael 3 Years: Brent Aycock, Joshua Buee, Steven Rock Coltrin, Steven Coomes, Seth Creason, Joshua 18 Years: Daniel Jones Danna, Michael DeLaney, Kyle Forsman, Travis 19 Years: Robert Williams Gathagan, Dylan Hoggle, Christopher Huggett, 20 Years: Chad Rose, Troy Tracy Reed Kunnanz, Michael McMillan, Derek 21 Years: Michael Sebecic Prestholt, Mario Salinas, Jeffery Sams, Roger 23 Years: Mark Hoskinson Schlecht, Laura Schmidt, Gregory Sherman, 29 Years: Bonita Perkins Magnolia Grace Troth Michael Shoemaker, Wayne Smith 36 Years: Geron Crotwell SAC celebrates safety milestone by Molly Henneke general manager. Contributing Writer "Our crew also has friendly competitions over any number of things. They are a competitive group The San Antonio Central Railroad (SAC) recently and strive to win. This quality shows through in the celebrated their four year safety anniversary with a work that the facility does," Pacheco added. lunch of pizza and wings at Alamo Pizza. They will Pacheco stated, “ We want to be the best at what also be rewarded with caps and/or shirts. we do and these little competitions that we have “Our success is largely based on great communi- helps us to reach that goal, because at the end of the cation. Our crew is constantly in contact with each day, no matter who ends up coming out on top, we other and our customers to ensure everyone is safe. know that we are all in this together and without San Antonio team members (l-r): David Ontiveros It's important to be able to go home to our families working together and being a single unit we would Jr., Mario Salinas, James Ortiz and Alberto Rodri- at the end of the day," said Jeffrey Pacheco, SAC not be as successful as we are.” guez. Not pictured: Jeffrey Pacheco. Watco duo elected to short line association board Jeff Van Schaick, assistant vice president of Conlon & Hartwell LLC, Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Ed government affairs, and Stefan Loeb, executive in Washington, D.C where McKechnie. vice president and chief marketing officer, were he represented numerous The ASLRRA is an organization that was found- elected in November to the Board of Directors for transportation clients on ed in 1913, and represents approximately 550 of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Capitol Hill. the short line and regional railroads throughout Association (ASLRRA). Loeb, representing the North America. These businesses play a vital role Van Schaick, represent- Central Region, joined in the hub-and-spoke transportation network, ing the Pacific Region, Watco in 2010 as the vice often providing the first-mile/last-mile connec- joined Watco in July 2013. president of business tion between farmers and manufacturers and the With a bachelor’s degree development. He has led ultimate consumer. in politics and government and assisted with several The ASLRRA serves the railroads in many ways. from Ohio Wesleyan Uni- acquisitions including the Loeb They provide representation in Washington, D.C., versity, his experience is in Wisconsin & Southern and present the effects of various legislation on public affairs, policy, and as Railroad, Birmingham Ter- the short line railroads to legislators. They also a campaign field director. minal Railway, Ann Arbor Railroad, and Autauga offer a variety of industry services and profes- Prior to joining the Northern Railroad. He holds a degree in business sional development opportunities including train- Watco Team, Jeff was an and finance from Indiana University. ing, meetings, and conferences. You can learn Van Schaick Associate with Chambers, The board is chaired by Watco's Executive more about the association at www.aslrra.org.

PRST STD the US POSTAGE Dispatch PAID The newsletter for Watco Companies, LLC and Watco Transportation Services, LLC PRADMAR CORP February 2016, Volume 17, Issue 2

315 W. Third Street Pittsburg, KS 66762 www.watcocompanies.com

Arkansas location celebrates nine years injury-free by Michaela Kinyon name of Watco Companies clean.” Contributing Writer Another important part of the El Do- rado team's achievement that Norman The team members switching for El cites is the fact that the Tony Clark, vice Dorado Chemical in Arkansas celebrated president of operations, tells his team ev- their injury-free victory by going to one of ery Tuesday to remember the little things. the local restaurants for lunch. Some of the people that have contrib- “It’s not easy to move railcars seven days uted to this anniversary include Keith Danyale Norman Chad McHenry Albert Glenn James George a week and keep a clean record,” said loca- Lacaze, Tony Clark, David Hambrick, 16 years 18 years 14 years 12 years tion manager Danyale Norman. Danny Barrington, and all the switching He also said that great attitudes, ac- managers who have given their support. countability, a “slow-and-easy approach”, “Keep God first, and let the record speak and great Watco safety training are among for itself,” said Norman. "These values and the values and skills that have led to this attitudes are something that all of Watco safety anniversary. Companies will continue to strive for “Here in the south, your name is any- through its Safety First Foundation Prin- thing and everything you do,” stated Nor- ciples, and hopefully there will be many Artist Smith Robert Hampton Michael Harris Corey Crutchfield man. “We like to keep our names and the more safety anniversaries to come." 18 years 9 years 8 years 1 year