Farmrail looks toward future

During this time of economic downturn, with railroad traffic levels down nationwide, some railroads, especially shortlines, may be hunkering down and operating in survival mode.
But the forward-thinking management and marketing teams at Farmrail System Inc. view it as an opportunity to position themselves for future expansion - which is why they’ve chosen this time to acquire an additional nine locomotives, said Craig Wolfe, equipment superintendent at Farmrail.
Four of the locomotives were purchased outright, he said, and five were leased with purchase options, which they plan to exercise. Wolfe said the locomotives are each a Model GP38-2, built by the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors in 1979. They have 2,000-horsepower, diesel-electric 16-cylinder engines.