The newsletter for Watco Companies May 2017, Volume 18, Issue 5 Watco railroads win short line safety awards The American Short Line and Regional Rail- road, Autauga Northern Railroad, Baton Rouge Rock Railroad, and the Wisconsin & Southern road Association's (ASLRRA) Annual Conven- Southern Railroad, Bogalusa Bayou Railroad, Railroad. tion held in late April provided railroaders and Boise Valley Railroad, Cicero Central Railroad, The Jake with Distinction Award and the Jake vendors opportunities to network and pick up Great Northwest Railroad, Lubbock and Western Award were named for Lowell S. "Jake" Jacobson, valuable information. Safety was a big focus of Railway, Mississippi Southern Railroad, Pacific a long-time advocate and leader in railroad safety. this year's event and many of the breakout ses- Sun Railroad, San Antonio Central Railroad, Jacobson serves as president and chief operating sions dealt with safety issues and solutions. Stillwater Central Railroad, Swan Ranch Railroad, officer of the Copper Basin Railway in Arizona. Safety was also a key part of the general session and the Vicksburg Southern Railroad. He was the recipient of the Railway Age Railroad- on April 25, with awards given out to short lines Railroads who were named Jake Award win- er of the Year in 1994. exhibiting that safety culture. Fourteen Watco ners beat the ASLRRA Group RPI Ratio with an Travis Herod, Watco senior vice president safety railroads won Jake with Distinction Awards RPI Ratio below 2.65. Jake Award winners were: and training, said, "It's exciting to see 20 of our which means they had zero RPI's for the year. Austin Western Railroad, Birmingham Terminal railroads being recognized for their safety re- These railroads were: Arkansas Southern Rail- Railway, Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad, Timber cords." Watco Matriarch takes trip down memory lane Kaye Lynne Webb and her longtime friend, Bev Ridder was our first location, Dick and the Team Vogel, love to head out on a cross-country car trip had to work very hard to make our only profit once a year. When they can, they stop by one of center a success. Almost 34 years later, with the the many operations now a part of Watco. same Customer and the same contract, I think But a trip last month to New Orleans, Louisi- you can say it worked out OK." ana, was especially meaningful. On the way back Vogel said she had heard many stories about home to Kansas, the pair decided to drop in on DeRidder for many years and was excited to see our Watco DeRidder Team. DeRidder is where what all the "hoopla" was about. "Wow!" she wrote Watco began in 1983, when Kaye Lynne's hus- in a note to the Team about all that was done in band, Dick Webb, started the first contract indus- DeRidder to serve our Customer, PCA. trial switching operation west of the Mississippi However, both agreed the most impressive part River following the deregulation of the railroad of the trip was visiting with the part of the DeRid- industry in 1980. der Team they spent time with Keith LaCaze, "Being here brought back many memories of Tony Clark, Danny Barrington, and Nicole Hicks when and how Watco was started and how proud — noting that their long tenure and enthusiasm Dick would be of not only the DeRidder Team for Watco speaks volumes. Collectively, the four but also the entire Watco Team on the success have worked for Watco more than 100 years. In achieved over the years," Webb said. "Since De- her own note to the Team, Webb said it was hard to realize just how big a company Watco has become. Bev Vogel, center, and Watco Matriarch Kaye "I'm so impressed with our Team. I finally Lynne Webb (left) soak in the local culture on a understand how we have managed to grow from recent road trip to New Orleans. eight people to 4,500. It is unbelievable," she said. "It's all because of good people like you who was only a Wal-Mart and the Catfish Hut," she work hard every day to serve our Customers," recalled. "It seemed like the only place to eat in Webb said. "And you work hard because you have town, and luckily Dick loved catfish. He ate I respect for yourself, your work, your fellow Team don't know how many meals there. So before we members, and most of all because you know how resumed our trip back home, we ate at the Catfish important each and every one of you is to our Hut once again. And I’m glad both Watco and the success." Catfish Hut are still going strong in DeRidder!" Watco Team Members (l-r) Danny Barrington, A second highlight was getting to eat at the Webb summed up the experience: “Thank you Keith LaCaze, Nichole Hicks, and Tony Clark en- Catfish Hut, a longtime institution in DeRidder of all for the great trip down Memory Lane and the joyed hosting Kaye Lynne Webb and Bev Vogel at which Dick was especially fond. time you took with Bev and me. It meant a lot." the DeRidder location. "When we started in DeRidder, I thought there - Andra Bryan Stefanoni, Contributing Writer KO delivers teamwork following washouts Five inches of rain in three hours followed by the stretch east and west of Westfall. intermittent rains several days later caused nu- "We got more rain than what the tubes could merous washouts along a 20-mile stretch of track move under the tracks, so it backed up and start- on the Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (KO) in ed shoving on tracks and rail bed, and pushed out Central Kansas, putting a halt to 30 loaded grain until dirt and rock gave way," Patterson said. cars headed to Abilene. In some places, the washouts were 10 feet deep But General Manager Jimmy Patterson, Road- and 15 feet long. master Herb Lamkin, and Trainmaster Jeff White That meant bringing in a lot of rock — nearly praised Team members and contractors alike for 2,000 tons of it. their hard work over several long days to make To compound issues, vehicles with wheels repairs. couldn't be brought in, because in some places, "The call came in on Easter," Patterson said. "A there was no road access, and in most, sinking citizen called to report water going over a rail, and would have been an issue in the soft mud. That The powerful force of the water in Central Kansas rather than call Team members out on Easter, we meant arranging for track hoes, track loaders, and moved straw from the fields, piled it on the railroad went out to look on Monday morning." track skid steers, as well as a rotary dump truck tracks and pushed the tracks completely off grade. Robin Combs rode the rails to locate the that rides the rails and can dump not only parallel washouts and soon learned how widespread the to the track, but also perpendicular. Team Members Tyler Haycook and Jeff Robert- problem was: Seventeen washouts occurred along "We needed to backfill all the holes and realign son. the tracks, which meant throwing as many people "We've really got a good group of guys who take at it as we could," Patterson said, even as more pride in their work," Lamkin said. "They really rain began to fall on the area at the end of the first pull through in these times of need." week. "It's pouring buckets right now." Young Construction out of Cheney, Kansas, also More equipment arrived the following week, provided valuable help. including a tamper and regulator, to continue Trainmaster Jeff White who heads up the Salina, repairs. Six culverts will be added to the locations Kansas, area, credited the Union Pacific Railroad to help prevent issues in the future. (UP) for assistance. Lamkin said on the subdivision northwest of "Our guys are working hard on it, but the UP Salina, the major part that was hit was between also helped us by loaning power to service Cus- Juneyeta and Lincoln, where bridges and culverts tomers out of Salina," he said. "It was a big help to couldn't handle the massive flow of water. keep things going on that end." "There was even one bridge plugged up with He praised Engineer Jim Lynn and Conductor straw from fields, and a couple hundred feet of Laramie Gahman for their contributions. track in one location washed out and was pushed "They deserve a big shout-out," he said. completely off grade," he said. "I guess we're like mailmen — we deal with ev- Patterson, Lamkin, and White praised Team ery scope of weather. Hot, cold, snow, rain. We've A rotary dump truck was brought in to ride the rails members who worked 12-hour days to get the got to get through," Lamkin said. "Our Customers and dump rock where it had been displaced due to tracks back in service, including Salina Section depend on us."on activities. flooding in Central Kansas. Gang Foreman Patrick Flower, and his Track - Andra Bryan Stefanoni, Contributing Writer Student journalists question new principal's credentials Maddie Baden, daughter of Watco President and Chief Financial Officer Rick Baden and his wife, Susan, made national news in April as one of four editors-in-chief of the Pittsburg High School Booster Redux. She and her team of student journalists investigated and reported a story about the credentials of an incoming new principal; their story ultimately led to the principal's resignation before she started. The students were the first reporters in the area to break the story.