American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association

10/08/2026

Pssst...confession time.

The Fall Super Regional Meeting was the first time we've ever combined all our fall events into one big gathering. So, we had no idea...Would you love it? Would you hate it? Would you show up?

Well, it turns out, we had an AMAZING time!

We are so grateful to everyone who helped make this event a success, from the sponsors to the speakers and especially to the attendees. Our goal is to offer our members the chance to learn, grow and connect, and this meeting did all that and more.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for always supporting our events in all their forms. We couldn't do anything without all of you!

10/07/2026

Today's General Session featured another round of fantastic insight from a great group of speakers!

In the top row are Short Line Leaders Panel speakers (L to R):
🔹Fort Worth & Western Railroad President & CEO Kevin Erasmus
🔹Sierra Northern Railway President & CEO Ken Beard
🔹The Wheeling CEO Jonathan Carnes

In the bottom row are more representatives from Class I railroads (L to R):
🔹CPKC Managing Director, Business Development & Transload Eric Goodman
🔹Norfolk Southern VP Business Development and First and Final Mile Markets Stefan Loeb
🔹BNSF Railway Shortline Development & Forecasting Mark Ganaway

The quote of the day? Ganaway saying "Best four years of my life have been working with short lines."

Also heard a lot about short line growth and the desire of Class Is to continue working with short lines to build business. And the leadership panel offered pearls of wisdom covering all sorts of industry topics.

Thank you to everyone for an amazing final day of the Fall Super Regional Meeting!

10/07/2026

And congratulations also to the winners of the ASLRRA President's Award in the General Category - Train Miles!

Thanks to those from Trans-Global Solutions, Inc. - Cedar Port Railroad, Arkansas Southern Railroad (Watco), Central Railroad of Indiana (Genesee & Wyoming Inc.) and Luxapalila Valley Railroad (Genesee & Wyoming Inc.) for joining us! We were glad to have the opportunity to recognize your accomplishments in person.

10/07/2026

Congratulations to all the winners of the ASLRRA President's Awards in the Yard and Switching Operations category!

Very glad to have representatives from The Indiana Rail Road Company, Port Terminal Railroad Association and Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad (OmniTRAX) on hand to accept their awards!

10/07/2026

Yes these are yesterday's photos today, but how could we not share them with you? Because check out (clockwise from top left):

▪️The dynamic Didelius duo! Father Paul (left) president of ASLRRA member Columbia Rail with son James, ASLRRA's government affairs intern.
▪️The best darn meeting crew in the history of ever!
▪️Attendees getting their learning on during the AI for Executive Leadership session
▪️A hail and farewell with incoming Environmental Committee Chair Kayden Howard (right) and outgoing chair Sean Strong. Grateful to Sean for all his hard work on the committee, and excited to have Kayden taking the reins.

We'll be sharing additional pictures and news today, including more President's Award Winners. Be on the lookout!

10/06/2026

Congratulations to all the winners of this year's President's Awards in the General Category, Employee on Duty Hours!

We were privileged to be able to honor some of these railroads in person during our General Session this morning, including representatives from Texas North Western Railway (TNW Corporation), Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis and Southwestern Railroad.

Thank you to everyone for joining us today!

10/06/2026

Today's General Session featured important takeaways from engaging speakers including (L to R)

🔹U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Jered P. Helwig
🔹Union Pacific Railroad AVP, Marketing and Sales Operations Dan McLaughlin
🔹Short Line Safety Institute Executive Director Tom Murta
🔹CSX Director, Short Line Development & Customer Relations Earnest Clark
🔹Canadian National Railway Company Director, Interline & Industrial Development Jim Gunther
🔹Canadian National Railway Company Sr. Manager, Interline & Industrial Development Amy Homan

All four Class I representatives provided a general industry update, discussing short line growth, volume and network reach while also emphasizing additional opportunities to connect and grow with Class I partners.

Murta gave an update on SLSI's projects, including its Safety Train, while Lt. Gen. Helwig offered his perspective on transportation, logistics, infrastructure and supply chain resilience.

Many thanks to all these speakers for taking the time to join us and share their expertise with meeting attendees!

10/06/2026

Ok, we've been keeping this one close to the chest but we're so excited to finally be able to announce that Kern Schumacher, chairman and founder of A&K Railroad Materials, Inc, is the winner of the inaugural Short Line Industry Catalyst Award!

This award honors those whose out-of-the-box thinking has changed the industry for the better, or has changed how short lines and their stakeholders do business.

Kern got his start as a teenager, re-selling railroad ties he had acquired when they were being removed from California's Oakland Bay Bridge. Before "reduce, reuse, recycle" was even a thing, Kern was walking miles of track to find railroad materials that could be salvaged. Having a more affordable option for track and infrastructure supplies was often a lifeline for smaller railroads. Since those humble beginnings, A&K Railroad Materials has grown to 13 locations across the nation.

Kern himself has been a small-railroad owner, has helped finance others' dreams of also being short line owners, and has been a staunch supporter of many important industry issues.

Congratulations to Kern and thank you for many years of innovation and service to the short line freight rail industry!

10/05/2026

The first day of our Fall Super Regional Meeting is in the books! Here's a brief snippet of the day's activities:

Far left, top: Many thanks to Surface Transportation Board Member Dick Kloster for stopping by to chat with ASLRRA staff and members! Pictured L to R is ASLRRA's Mike Ogborn, Kloster, and ASLRRA's Chuck Baker.

Center top: Attendees learned a great deal about how to leverage their online presence to capture opportunity during a panel discussion featuring John Hatfield, Patriot Rail's Laura Mellem and Akeem Anderson.

Far right, top: ASLRRA's Amy Krouse poses with Benjamin Franklin, this year's guardian of the ASLRRA legislative affairs table.

Center: Meeting attendees join an evening networking reception to close out the day. Is there any better venue for a railroad event than this historic hotel?

Bottom: We zoomed in close in this photo to focus on the esteemed industry experts in this panel, moderated by Chuck Baker. Everyone wanted to hear stories from New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway's James Bonner, Iowa Interstate Railroad's Joe Parsons and Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company's Mark Wegner, whose panel was titled "Failed Projects: How to Land a New Customer, Wrong Answers Only." If you ask us, that's what makes the short line industry special -- people willing to help others grow and rise, no gatekeeping!

Tune in tomorrow for even more awesome photos. We'll be honoring some special award winners and hearing from even more industry experts. It's going to be amazing!

10/05/2026

If you're staying at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel for our Fall Super Regional Meeting, you might see some art by the very talented Andy Fletcher in your room!

And if you're attending the meeting but not staying at that hotel, stop by Andy's table when you have a chance! He's got more artwork to share!

I am at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel for the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association Fall Super Conference. When I saw the railroad artwork on the wall of my room at the hotel, I said to myself, “Hey, that artist is familiar!!!” 🧑‍🎨🚂😀👍