Locomotive Dealers and Scrappers

COMPANIES KNOWN TO BE IN THE LOCOMOTIVE
BUILDING, REBUILDING, RESALE, AND SCRAPPING BUSINESS

Compiled by Don Strack

(Listed alphabetically)

This page was last updated on May 5, 2008.

Additional information is always welcome. Please use the "Contact Me" feature in the menu at the top of the page. (Sources are shown at the bottom of the file.)

This listing is not intended to be all-inclusive, and was compiled beginning in 1985, with several minor and major updates beginning in 1995. Most companies and locations are shown because they have been the destination of retired locomotives from Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and other large and Class 1 railroads. Other companies may or may not fall in this category and are included purely as side info.

This is not a commercial listing or directory of current companies. Please don't ask to have your company added to the list, unless the company has been involved in the locomotive disposition or rebuild business for a number of years, especially in the 1960-2000 timeframe.

Aaron Ferer & Sons, Omaha, Nebraska

Aaron Ferer is located adjacent to Union Pacific's shop in Omaha. Used by UP for many dispositions of locomotives that could not be moved. The units were switched to Ferer as part of a yard move within Omaha yard limits.

A. D. Schader Co., Oakland, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Alaska Junk Co., Portland, Ore.

Scrapped several SP locomotives. (JS)

Alter Trading Co., Council Bluffs, Iowa

Alter Trading scrapped about 150 UP cabooses between 1986 and 1990. During 1991, the company was buying and scrapping about six cabooses per year.

American Rail Marketing, Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

American Railway Equipment Co., Los Angeles, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Anbel (Group) Corp., Brownsville, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Associated Metals Corp., Benicia, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Associated Metals Corp., Sacramento, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Sold to Levin Metals.

Atelier Montreal Facility (AMF), Montreal, Quebec
AMF Transport
GEC Alsthom
Alstom

Located in the former Canadian National Pointe St. Charles shops in Montreal. The shops were spun off as a separate corporate venture by May 1992, but still a division of CN. On September 1, 1993, the shop was changed from being a division of CN Railway, to being a subsidiary of the CN parent corporation. The name then became Atelier Montreal Facility Techno Transport, simplified to AMF Transport. (Note: Translated from the French, Atelier is workshop.) During late 1996, CN sold the AMF buildings, but not the land, to GEC Alsthom Canada. GEC Alsthom Canada is a Canadian subsidiary of GEC Alsthom of Amsterdam, which itself is a joint venture between General Electric Company (GEC) of Great Britain and Alsthom of France. GEC is successor to English Electric, and is not related to General Electric of the U.S.

GEC Alsthom changed its name to Alstom in 1998, upon being reorganized as a publicly traded company. Alstom also operates separate companies in China and Germany.

Reporting marks are GCFX, which is registered to Alstom Canada, Inc., Transport.

Alstom purchased the Hornell, N.Y., facility from MK Rail in 1997, upon that company's shutdown. Since then, at this location, Alstom has painted and finished at least 185 EMD locomotives built for EMD under contract by SuperSteel Schenectady (SSSI).

The facility closed in 2004, and the remaining former SP SD45s and SD40T-2s were being scrapped or sold. (from Greg McDonnell, July 3, 2004)

Former SP's 7343 & 7353 were resold by the scrapper to NRE, as was, apparently, former SP 7368. During late June 2004, a source noted that all the rails in and out of the facility had been cut from the outside world; and that PNC 3064 was apparently the last remaining loco, in an obvious state of being cut up. (from Bruce Mercer, July 3, 2004)

Atlas Metals

Located in Colorado. Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Azcon Corporation, Chicago, Ill.

Business office: 13733 South Avenue O, Chicago

Salvage yards:
Alton, Ill.
Duluth, Minn.
Hegewisch, Ill.
Madison, Ill.
Sharpsburg (Pittsburgh), Pa.
Sterling, Ill.

Formerly Azcon Hyman Michaels Division of Azcon Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1976 Hyman Michaels was bought out by a British firm, which formed Azcon to manage all of its interests in the United States. At first the new company was known as the Azcon Scrap Division, then as the Azcon Hyman Michaels Division. By the 1990s, the company was again in the hands of the original Hyman Michaels owners and the British no longer involved. Salvage yards are located at three Illinois locations: in Hegewisch, on South Avenue O in south Chicago; in Alton; and in Madison, which now leased to another company. Most of the UP locomotives sold to Azcon were scrapped at Alton, Ill., north of St. Louis. A few may have been scrapped at Madison and Hegewisch. Azcon leased part of their facility at Hegewisch to Chrome Locomotive in 1977, and this is where Chrome began their rebuild business. National Railway Equipment later leased the same Hegewisch facility to do some of its work. (This information is from a brief telephone interview with Mr. Willard Winters of Azcon, and adds to information published in Locomotive Notes II, 118-9)

At the location in Sterling, Ill., Azcon owns the former North Western Steel & Wire property.

North Western Steel & Wire was split up into two seperate companies a few years ago. Sterling Steel Products (or something similar) is the one company that occupies the eastern portion of the plant. They make steel that gets used to make box springs for bed frames and similar items. The western portion is run by Azcon, another steel outfit. Azcon apparently provides in-plant switching for the Sterling Steel portion under contract as their units have been seen working on the eastern end of the former NWS&W property. Along with the rest of the NWS&W property, Azcon got the three SW1000s and the ex-C&NW re-engined Baldwin that NWS&W owned. They are all painted in the solid gray with blue lettering and the same numbers: Number 1 is the ex-C&NW and numbers 2, 3, and 4 are the SWs. (information from Fred Hilgenberg, via email on April 22, 2007)

Bargains Galore, Portland, Ore.

Business office: 532 NE Davis, Portland, Ore.

Salvage yard located in Vancouver, Wash., served by BN. Some locomotives may have been shipped to that location, then re-shipped again to other locations. Some units may have actually been scrapped there. Bargains Galore acted as a middleman in the sale of retired railroad locomotives and many units were moved directly from railroad property to the final destination, without going to Bargains Galore's actual location. They bought several UP units, apparently for possible resale. Some were resold to Diesel Electric Service, St. Paul, Minn. Most locomotives purchased by Bargains Galore were scrapped by either Joseph Simon & Sons, or by General Metals, both of Tacoma, Wash.

Berg Metals Co., Los Angeles

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Co., Bessemer, Ala.

Located on the west side of the AGS mainline in Bessemer, just north of the old Pullman Standard boxcar manufacturing facility.

Still in business as of August 2006. Contact: Paul V. Campbell, 5205 5th Avenue North, Lipscomb, AL 35020; telephone 205-424-1000

John Bradley, Laytonville, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Bran Beck Engineering

(location unknown)

Braucher & Goddard

Shown as the disposition of many early C&O Alco S2s during 1963-64. All are known to be subsequently sold to B&O. (No other information available.)

Brazos Engineering Corp., Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Also handled B&M F2's and Monon F3's in early 60's

Byers Barge Terminal Co., Houston Ship Channel, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

California By-Products Co., Long Beach, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

C&F Locomotive, Patterson, Ga.

The company name was based on the names of the owner and his wife, Charles and Faye Hendrix. Hendrix had retired as the shop manager of CSX's Waycross, Ga., shops, prior to that facility's closing. The C&F facility was located adjacent to the CSX mainline through Patterson. The company began operations in early 1995. (www.cflocomotive.com)

Facilities purchased in about July 2000 by Progress Rail.

Progress Rail's former C&F Locomotive facility is located in Paterson, Ga., a few miles northeast of Waycross, but they don't have a siding there. Their engines are sitting in Waycross Recycling's scrap yard next to Rice Yard.

Canadian Allied Diesel (CAD), Montreal, Que.
CAD Railway Services

Occupies the northeastern portion of the former MLW/GE plant in the east end Montreal on Dickson Street. Most of the plant is now GE Hydro, but the northeastern section is occupied by Canadian Allied Diesel (CAD), and its associated companies, which include CAD Railway Services Inc., Montreal Locomotive Sales, and Century Locomotive Parts. The operation seems to have consolidated under under the CAD name with most work being railcar repair now. Their locomotive work seems to be limited to full repair of MLW power and occasional work for Helm. An interesting associated company is the Engine Systems Development Centre (ESDC).

CAD has expanded their operations to a portion of the former Canadian Car & Foundry plant in St-Pierre (now part of Lachine), which is also part of the former Dominion Engineering complex in the western suburb of Lachine. CAD has occuppied a portion of the plant which was used by Bombardier back in the 1980s as part of their VIA maintenance contract (LRCs and rebuilding of FP9s). CAD 1993 (ex-CP 1211 SW1200RS) serves as that plant's switcher. The Lachine operation has three switchers: ex-CP RS18u 1825 in primer only and no lettering (has been that way for years); CAD 2001, ex-CAD 8024, nee CP RS23; and MLS 8511, ex-CN.

From Bruce Mercer, posted to Diesel Data on August 1, 2007:

Global Railway Industries has entered into a letter of intent to acquire substantially all of the net working capital, land, building, plant equipment and machinery, and other intangible assets of Canada Allied Diesel, and its affiliated companies, CAD Railway Services and Engine Systems Developments Centre, located in Lachine, QC.

Canada Allied Diesel is an international seller of new and refurbished locomotive engines and parts. CAD Railway Services is an international refurbisher of locomotives and rail cars. Engine System Development Centre provides locomotive emission testing and engine diagnostic services. "Global's strategy is to consolidate and rationalize small and medium sized railroad equipment suppliers to develop a one-stop shopping service for its customers," said Terry McManaman, chairman, president and ceo of Global. "With the acquisition of the CAD assets, Global expands its customer service offering to include locomotive refurbishing and parts sales and will be able to leverage this additional range of services to expand its business with the North American Class 1 Railroads." (Canada NewsWire 070730)

Chattahoochee Locomotive Co., Cornelia, Ga.

Business office: 198 North Main St., Cornelia, Ga.

Shops in:
Cornelia, Ga.
Pickens, S.C.

Chrome Crankshaft

Illinois location: 6010 South New England Avenue, Chicago

California location: 6845 East Florence Drive, Bell Gardens, Calif.

Varlen Corporation, of Napierville, Ill., purchased control of both Chrome Crankshaft of Illinois and Chrome Crankshaft of California in 1969. Varlen also owns Prime Manufacturing Corp., a well known manufacturer of locomotive equipment, and Keystone, a manufacturer of locomotive draft gears. The three companies are operated under the Varlen Locomotive Group name.

Chrome Crankshaft of California was located at the former facilities of Consolidated Western Steel in Bell Gardens, Calif. During early 1971, there were 10 Alco switch engines at the facility, along with retired SP AS-616 5233.

Chrome Crankshaft Locomotive Sales Co. was organized in September 1977 by Mr. Lawrence Beal, who was a vice president of Chrome Crankshaft of Illinois. Chrome Locomotive Sales remained under the direct control of Chrome Crankshaft of Illinois until the former Rock Island shop at Silvis, Ill., was purchased in 1981. At that time the company was reorganized as Chrome Locomotive of Illinois, with facilities at Silvis and on South Avenue O in Chicago. The facility at South Avenue O was the location, along with at least one other minor location, where Chrome rebuilt many locomotives for the resale market, including former Milwaukee Road SW1200s and GE 80 ton center-cabs for the U. S. Navy, and 60 ton Baldwin RS4TCs for the U.S. Army. This facility was sold to NRE in 1990, along with the Chrome Locomotive shop in Silvis.

Chrome Locomotive Co. was organized in early 1985 to market the locomotive rebuilding and sales of the Chrome Crankshaft companies.

Chrome Companies was the informal marketing name used to market the total railroad equipment services of Chrome Locomotive and Chrome Crankshaft of both Illinois and California. The locomotive rebuilding and parts services of the two Chrome Crankshaft companies, and of Chrome Locomotive of Silvis were marketed as The Chrome Companies from 1983 to about 1990.

Chrome's two facilities in Illinois and California both rebuild locomotive crankshafts, camshafts, and axle gears. Neither facility has rail access, and neither has completed any locomotive rebuilding activity.

Chrome had a salvage yard in Southern California, first at Alhambra, then briefly at Mojave, and then at San Bernardino. The San Bernardino facility, located adjacent to Santa Fe's yard, was closed at the end of August 1992, reflecting Chrome Crankshaft's exit from the locomotive rebuilding market. Several locomotives were scrapped in preparation for the closure, including ex SP S6 1229 in April 1992, ex SP S6 1214 in July 1992, and ex SP SDP45 3200 in August 1992. Ex SP SD9 4439 was sold intact in mid August 1992, and numerous remaining locomotive components and parts were sold for scrap to Pacific Car Dismantlers of nearby Colton, Calif.

In June 1990 the facilities and interests of Chrome Locomotive were sold to National Railway Equipment.

C. J. Langenfelder & Sons

(location unknown)

CLN Industries, Joffre, Que., and Capreol, Ont.

Purchased the former CN car shop in Capreol in about 1991.

Purchased former CN roundhouse in Joffre, Que., in 1996.

Possibly associated with three other companies: Western Rail Dismantlers; Southern Marine; and Purdy Companies.

Coast Engine & Equipment Co. (CEECO), Tacoma, Wash.

Organized in about 1950 to rebuild marine versions of the EMD diesel engine. Began railroad-related engine work in about May 1985, when they purchased a shop switcher. Purchased by Washington Corp. (parent company of Montana Rail Link and Livingston Rebuild Center) in about 1989. Performs all manner of engine and locomotive rebuild work. Notable efforts during late 1980s were the BN natural gas units and (?).

Purchased the shops of the former Chehalis Western Railroad (CWWR) at Western Junction, Wash., in about 1999. Western Junction is located southeast of Olympia.

"Known by the acronym CEECO, Coast Engine and Equipment Co. has specialized for nearly 50 years in the rebuilding of EMD 567 and 645 diesel engines and selected engine components in support of the marine, railroad, and power-generation industries. Services include a variety of locomotive repair ranging from field service to complete locomotive and railcar remanufacture. Facilities feature a modern, environmentally-approved paint shop with graphics area and a 23,000 square-foot locomotive shop. CEECO employs 100 skilled workers and support personnel. Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington at the Port of Tacoma, CEECO features marine access plus rail connections to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific railroads." (http://www.ceeco.com)

Commercial Investment Trust (CIT)
CIT Finance Corp.
CIT Equipment Finance Corp. (CEFX)
Capital Finance Corp.

Organized as a joint venture between Japanese bank Dai-Ichi Kangyo (80%) and Chase Manhattan Corp. (20%). In 1997, the company was sold to the public via the NYSE, and in 1998 Dai-Ichi Kangyo reduced its holdings to 44%, with the remaining 56% being public holdings.

Commercial Metals Co.

(location unknown)

Construction & Mining Services Co.

(see Metro East Industries)

Crosse Equipment Co., Fresno, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Cycle Systems

Locations in:
Roanoke, Va.
Lawyer, Va.

Scrapped several N&W, Southern, and NS locomotives at the Roanoke location, and several CSX and Family Lines locomotives at the Lawyer location.

Damian Hantz Locomotive Service, Pittsburgh, Pa.

(Information needed)

Darby Corp., Kansas City, Mo.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

David J. Joseph Co. (DJJX), Cincinnati, Ohio
Joseph Transportation, Inc. (JPTX)

Largest scrap metal broker in the continental United States. Salvage yards that scrap railroad equipment are located in Norfolk, Neb., Plymouth, Utah (business office located at Midvale, near Salt Lake City), and Jewett, Texas. These yards are adjacent to the steel processing plants of Nucor Steel Co., where the scrap metal is processed into various steel products.

David Joseph Co. purchased Nevada Industrial Switch on 1 September 1999. On 1 January 2000, David Joseph reorganized their transportation services division as a new subsidiary, Joseph Transportation, Inc., with JTPX as thier reporting mark.

Nevada Industrial was the owner of the two SD9 locomotives operated by ECDC Environmental (ECDC 4355 and 4431) in Sunnyside, Utah.

In June 2004, Joseph Transportation sold all of its locomotive lease fleet to Relco Finance, and exited the locomotive business completely. (information from Rick Jones via email, August 8, 2005; Progressive Railroading)

Deron Manufacturing Co., Spokane, Wash.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Diesel Electric Services Corp.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Diesel Supply Corp., St. Louis, Mo.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Dixie Railway Service, Cropwell, Ala.

Also located at Denver, Co.

Dixie Railway Service bought UP 3042 (SDX40 or SD40X) and almost immediately sold it to NRE. They are located in the old Denver Union Stockyards, and may be associated with the folks who were the Denver & Rock Island Railway, and the Cadillac & Lake City, which operated part of the old Rock Island in eastern Colorado in the early 1980s (they bought UP GP7 100). They may also be Denver Rail Car, and Great Northern Transportation (who bought several UP GP30s and GP35s, all later scrapped by Pielet Brothers).

Dixie Railway Service also acquired NWP 3840, SP 3398, 3440, 3750 at Loveland, Co., from OmniTRAX; the 3840 will be repaired for use, the others will be scrapped at Loveland. They also got CNW 4333 and are working to get it in operating condition.

Dobbas Metals, Inc., Roseville, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Dulein Steel Products, Walden, Ore.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Durbano Metals, Ogden, Utah

Scrapped several Union Pacific and Southern Pacific locomotives during 1982-1990.

East Coast Motive Power Services (in Florida?)

Purchased seven former CP SD40s and SD40-2s during 1999; resold to Alstom.

Econo-Rail Corp., Port of Beaumont, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

El Paso Iron & Metal

(see Metal Processing, Inc.)

Erman Corp., Kansas City, Kansas

Corporate offices located in Bannockburn, Ill., as of early 1990s; as of October 2002, main office located in Lake Bluff, Ill. (Information from John Mallory)

Formerly known as Erman-Howell Division, Erman Corp.

Salvage yard located in Turner (Kansas City), Kansas.

Eugene Equipment Co., Eugene, Ore.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Eugene Salvage Co., Eugene, Ore.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

F&M Car & Locomotive Shop, Louisville, Ky.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Fadale & Associates, Inc. (FAIX)

Fadale (junior) is the son of a former Conrail Mechanical Superintendent at Altoona, Pa., and Cleveland-Collinwood, Ohio. Fadale & Associates is based out of Atlanta, Ga.

Several C30-7s were, at one point, headed toward Mexico (one was even painted in FXE colors), but that fell through and they soon ended up in storage at Altoona.

Federal Iron & Metal Co., North Sacramento, Calif.

(may also be in West Sacramento)

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

First Union Rail (FURX)

Subsidiary of First Union Bank of North Carolina.

General American Transportation Corp. (GATX)
GATX Capital Corp., Chicago, Ill., and San Francisco, Calif.
GATX/GLC Leasing Co.

GATX is at 500 West Monroe St, Chicago IL 60661, phone 312-621-6628 or 312-621-8789.

GSCX is at 4 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco CA 94111, phone 724-955-3200.

Reporting marks include GATX and GCSX.

In December 2004 GATX Rail acquired EMD's 50 percent interest in their Locomotive Leasing Partners (LLPX) joint venture. LLPX was formed in May 1996. Management of the two separately owned, but commonly managed fleets had already become quite confusing, and common ownership brought with it some much needed changes. In July 2005, observers started seeing a new GMTX reporting mark, denoting a new GATX Rail Locomotive Group.

With the recent re-branding of 52 UP GP38-2s (ex MP, nee CRI&P) from UP to GMTX, I've started looking into what has been done on the whole GATX and EMD leasing partnership. After GATX's acquisition of EMD's 50 percent interest in LLPX in December 2004, GATX organized a new division called GATX Rail Locomotive Group, with GMTX as its new reporting mark. (Side note: LLPX was organized in May 1996.) GMTX-branded units were first seen just six months later, as early as July 2005, and many have been seen since, either as patch jobs or as full newly painted units. These repainted units are using the blue-with-white nose scheme that was used by LLPX units. There are some news reports in Extra 2200 South (Issue 128, page 13; Issue 129, page 13).

UP and GATX Rail Locomotive Group (GRLG) have decided to re-brand all of the UP-leased units owned by the previous GATX and LLP organizations (now all owned by the new GRLG). This will include removing UP lettering, and renumbering the units into a new GMTX number series. This first group of 52 former Rock Island units won't be coming off lease until October 2007, so it looks like they are getting a jump start on the re-branding effort. The need for this re-branding has been the subject of discussion for two reasons. First, there has been much confusion for the billing of repairs. The shops are basing billing decisions on visible paint schemes and road numbers, without checking the units' AEI tag for actual ownership. There has also been much confusion between road crews and dispatchers when it comes to radio communications and verbal train orders.

General Electric Transportation Services, Erie, Pa. (web site)

All locomotives assembled at Erie. During 1998 and 1999, many completed locomotives were painted at Livingston Rebuild Center, Livingston, Mont., Mid-America Car, Kansas City, Mo., and beginning in 1999, at Thunderport Industries, Corry, Pa.

GE's former MLW Montreal plant is derelict. GE has retained ownership of the facility (judging by the signs outside) and uses part of the southern portion (former engineering offices and warehouse space) for their appliance business Cameco. Bombardier had leased part of the plant to complete the MBTA F40 overhaul contract around the time the GE was wrapping up operations, but nothing has happened since except for some infrequent use as a movie set. The siding into the plant is still in place. The plant is still owned by GE, but is used by GE Hydro and Canadian Allied Diesel.

General Electric also operates an extensive network of locomotive repair facilities.

General Electric Apparatus Service Division, Cleveland, Ohio

Rebuilt small GE switchers, and converted many Alco switchers into Caterpillar-powered, remote control mine switching locomotives, which are known as mine drones.

General Metals, Tacoma, Wash.

Business office: 1902 Marine View Drive, Tacoma, Wash.

Scrapped several UP locomotives units, including UP DDA40Xs and UP's last SD45s, along with several BN GP30s and GP35s. They also scrapped other equipment for UP, such as retired freight cars and a retired UP derrick and its support train. Retired logging cars and coal hoppers from Rayonier Lumber Co., were also scrapped here.

Purchased recently by Schnitzer (Brothers) Steel Corp. All scrap metal is shipped out via ocean-going ships.

General Metals also scrapped several locomotives for Bargains Galore, of Vancouver, Wash.

General Motors Locomotive Group
Electro Motive Division

Locomotives assembled at LaGrange (McCook), Ill., until 1991(?), then at London, Ontario. During 1995(?), assembly was contracted out to VMV Enterprises, Paducah, Ky.; Super Steel Schenectady, Schenectady, N.Y.; Bombardier, Concarril, Mexico; CP Ogden Shops, Calgary, Canada; Alstom, Montreal; and CR Juniata Back Shop, Altoona, Pa.

The original EMD assembly buildings at LaGrange were demolished during March 2000. The administrative buildings and component assembly buildings remain.

Cleveland Plant

Locomotives were built at the former Winton company facility, at 17th and Euclid. Also in Cleveland, GM owned the Euclid Road Machinery Co., where it built off-highway equipment under the Terex name. The former locomotive facility was used by the Terex company until the entire Terex line was sold to IBH of Germany. Closed in the early 1980s.

General Power Systems, Lakeland, Fla.

Closed.

George Silcott Railway Equipment, Worthington, Ohio

(Information needed)

GMAC Leasing

UP's 1,000 SD70Ms are owned by GMAC and leased to UP.

Golden State Iron & Metal Co. Bakersfield, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Gray Supply Co., North Little Rock, Ark.

Located adjacent to UP's Jenks Shop complex in North Little Rock. No longer in business. Gray Supply scrapped locomotives for itself, and acted as agent for General Electric on UP trade-in units that could not be moved. Gray Supply also scrapped some ex-CRI&P GP40s that Precision National had purchased from UP.

Great Northern Equipment Co., Colorado Springs, Colo.

Units leased to, and marked for, Colorado & Eastern Railway.

Great Western Railway, Loveland, Colo.

(see OmniTRAX, Inc.)

Gulf Coast Rail Service, Orange, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Gulf Electrical Equipment Co. Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Heckett Engineering, Davenport, Iowa

Properly called Heckett Multiserve, based in London, England, with a sales office in Butler, Pa., and is a subcontractor for the steel industry. Switching services is one activity.

Heckett Engineering acquired three former B&O Alco switchers (9018, 9088, 9105) from Whitaker Coal, via dealer Silcott. These switchers, three of many, are probably engaged at a client steel mill.

Helm Financial Corporation, San Francisco, Calif.

In business since 1980 as a broker for financial institutions involved in long term leasing of railroad equipment. As background, during the mid 1960s, many railroads had turned to long term leases rather than equipment trusts as a financial mechanism for acquisition of new equipment. During the late 1970s, rather than exercising the purchase option on these long term leases, many railroads were turning the equipment back to the finance companies, and Helm Financial soon became an important component in the railroad equipment market. One report of the origin of the company has it that HELM was originally an acronym for Heavy Equipment Lease Management.

In 1984, Helm was one of the first of the leasing companies to become directly involved in the locomotive operating lease market, both short term and long term, compared to the then-traditional capital lease (long term) market.

A 1999 organization chart shows the top company as "Helm Holding Corporation", with several sub-component companies. These included Helm Financial Corp. (HLCX), Helm Locomotive Leasing Corp. (HLLX), Helm Atlantic Corp. (HATX, joint between Helm and CSX), and Helm Pacific Corp. (HPJX, joint between Helm and UP, with no locomotives involved). Operations and management were centered at the San Francisco office, with other locations in Illinois and Pennsylvania. At the time, Helm was managing a fleet of over 15,000 rail cars, and over 800 locomotives.

According the AAR database for reporting marks:

HATX, Helm Atlantic Joint Venture, October 1994, changed to Helm Financial Corp. in July 2001, a joint venture between Helm and CSX and used for locomotives leased to CSX
HAPX, Helm Atlantic Leasing, July 2000
HELX, Helm Equipment Leasing, October 1986, changed to Helm Financial Corp. in July 1995
HEQX, Helm Equipment Leasing, July 1993, changed to Helm Financial Corp. in July 2000
HELX, Helm Equipment Leasing, January 1987, changed to Helm Financial Corp. in July 1995
HJVX, Helm Joint Venture, April 1990 to April 2000
HLCX, Helm Leasing Corp., July 1992, still assigned to Helm Financial Corp.
HLGX was a joint venture between Helm and GE started in July 1998
HLLX, Helm Locomotive Leasing, July 1993, changed to Helm Financial Corp. in April 2001
HLMX, Helm Lease Management, July 1994, changed to Helm Financial Corp. in July 2000
HMJX, Helm Joint Venture, July 1993, changed to Helm Financial Corp. in July 1995
HPJX, Helm Pacific Joint Venture, July 1993 to October 1994, restarted in July 2000, a joint venture between Helm and Union Pacific used only for UP's fleet of rail cars, not for locomotives.

Locomotives were originally leased by Helm under both HL, for Helm Leasing, and NHL, for National Helm Leasing, a joint venture between Helm and National Railway Equipment.

Helm Financial purchased at least 80 locomotives from Motive Power Industries in April 1996. MPI's MKCX reporting marks assigned to Helm Financial. Remaining MPI locomotives changed to MPEX reporting marks. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 112, March 1997, page 4)

Houston Compressed Steel Corp., Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Houston Railcar Corp., Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Hyman-Michaels Corp., Alton, Ill.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

I. Bork & Sons, Peoria, Ill.

(Information needed)

Illinois Railway Supply Co., Cordova, Ill.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Illinois Scrap Processing Co., Chicago, Ill.

(see Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Co.)

Independent Locomotive Service, Inc., Bethel, Minn.

Shops located in Bethel, Minn., and Thief River Falls, Minn.

Paint work done at Bethel location. Performed repaint work for GATX on SW1500s 150-154, ex CSXT 1120-1127, ca. July 1995.

Rebuild work done at Thief River Falls location, which is a Canadian Pacific (ex Soo Line) roundhouse leased by ILS since about 1997. Work done there has included ex HATX (ex B&O) GP40-2s.

ILS does much of CP's work in Minnesota since CP closed its Shoreham facility in Minneapolis and the Thief River Falls location.

Independent Rail Services, Chicago

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Industrial Maintenance Service, Hammond, Ind.

IMS started its business in roundhouse space leased from the railroad where Mr. Willard Winters, now retired from Azcon Corporation, was roundhouse foreman. This is also where Mr. Will Burroughs, of National Railway Equipment, and earlier of Chrome Locomotive, got his start in the locomotive rebuild business.

Industrial Metal & Salvage, Salt Lake City, Utah

Scrapped all of the retired Utah Railway Alco RSD units.

Industrial Railway Equipment Co.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Industrial Salvage Co. Corpus Christi, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Inman Services Co., Baytown, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Intercontinental Steel Corp. Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Intermountain Transportation Services, Idaho

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

International Engineering & Manufacturing Corp.

(location unknown)

bought several B&M RS2's in 1962, resold them to "Electric Service Co of St Louis"

International Trade Corp.

(location unknown)

got most of B&M's E7's, also some F2's, in 1961-62, maybe same as above?

Inter-Rail Link, Fontana, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Iron & Metal Corp., Denver, Colo.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Johnson Rail Services, Cornelia, Ga.

In early 1986 Johnson Rail Services was no longer soliciting locomotive business due to litigation problems. All of their work was being handled by Mr. Johnson's daughter and son-in-law, doing business as Chattahoochee Locomotive Works, adjacent to the Johnson Rail Services facility in Cornelia, Ga. By the mid 1990s, Johnson had recovered and was doing business as Johnson Railway Service, still located in Cornelia, Ga.

Joliet Railway Equipment Co.

As of early 2007, the former property of Joliet Railway Equipment Co., may be the same as currently known as Railway & Industrial Services, Inc. It is generally in the Joliet area, but technically in the town of Crest Hill. They have a lot of old EJ&E equipment (mainly caboose and MOW equipment). At times, this location hase been known as "Joliet Railway Equipment & Supply". The location given was the exact same as Railway & Industrial Services, Inc. Some confusion may comes from the office having a mailing address in Joliet, but the actual operation is in Crest Hill next to the EJ&E. (information from Fred Hilgenberg, via email on April 22, 2007)

Joseph Simon & Sons, Tacoma, Wash.

Located at 2202 East River Road in Tacoma.

Simon left the locomotive scrapping business in about mid-1986.

Simon also scrapped several locomotives for Bargains Galore, of Portland, Ore.

Kaiser Steel Corp., Napa, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Kato Engineering, Mankato, Minn.
Rockwell International
Caterpillar

Kato manufactured large rotating electrical gear; used as traction generators in locomotives rebuilt for Soo Line and BN. Sold to Rockwell in (?); sold to Caterpillar by March 1998. (Locomotive Notes II, Number 202, May-June 1998, page 14, reported by Joe Strapac, from Los Angeles Times)

Kolvalchick Salvage, Burnham, Pa.

An S12 reported on site in April 1998, and an S2 in November 1985. (Information from Don Bain, October 2003)

Kustom Kar

(see Progress Rail)

L. B. Foster & Co.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Larrys Truck Electric, McDonald, Ohio (LTEX)

Units are usually purchased and moved to either contract shops for repairs, or for scrapping, with the salvaged components moved to the McDonald, Ohio, location for later resale.

Purchased the remaining assets of the bankrupt Midwest Metallics during late 1999, approximately eight units.

The LTEX reporting mark is registered to L.H.A.G.S, Inc, d/b/a Truck Electric Service.

(Google Map)

Lemac, Wilwood, Fla.

Closed.

Lentz Iron & Steel Co.

(location unknown)

Levi Metals Co., Fresno, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Levin Metals, Inc.

Locations in:
Richmond, Calif.
Sacramento, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Lipsett Steel Co., Los Angeles, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Livingston Rebuild Center, Inc. (LRC) (see Talgo LRC)

Locomotive Leasing Partners (LLPX)

Joint venture between EMD and GATX. All locomotives owned by both EMDX and GATX/GSCX are managed by LLP. A common numbering system and paint scheme is not being considered due to costs.

LLP was formed on May 1, 1996, and assumed the rights to the EMDX reporting marks. The fleets of both parental companies will be migrated into an LLP-identified fleet as need, opportunity and funding allows.

Renumbered and relettered units include the former EMD GP60 demonstrators, and former GATX SD38-2s, MP15DCs, and SD40s.

Locomotive Maintenance Corp., Minneapolis, Minn. (?)

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Locomotive Marketing, Inc., Birmingham, Ala.

Operated by Tom Lawson.

Locomotive Specialists (LSI), Waycross, Ga.

Organized by two brothers, Henry and Jim Strickland.

Louisville Scrap Co., Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Luria Brothers Steel Co.

Locations in:
Los Angeles
East St. Louis, Ill.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Mayco Salvage Co., South San Francisco, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Marshall Engineering Co.

(location unknown)

Material Service

(location unknown)

M. D. Friedman Co.

(location unknown)

Metal Processing, Inc., Anthony, Texas
El Paso Iron & Metal

Operated during the early 1970s, and scrapped quite a few SP and AT&SF switchers, including some of SP's El Paso FMs. (see also Extra 2200 South, Issue 35, July-August 1972, page 17; Extra 2200 South, Issue 36, September-October 1972, page 27 [photo])

Metro East Industries, Inc. (MEI)
Construction & Mining Services Co.
Whistler Equipment Co.

Business office: Fairview Heights, Ill.

Shops in:
East St. Louis, Ill.
Moberly, Mo.

Michael Schiavone
Schiavone-Bonomo

(location unknown)

Mid America Car, Inc., Kansas City, Mo.

Business office: 1523 North Monroe St., Kansas City, Kansas

Shop at Kansas City, Mo.

Midwest Metallics, LaGrange, Ill.

(see Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metals)

Midwest Locomotive, Kansas City, Mo.

Formerly Comet Midwest.

Reporting marks = MWRX

Purchased during April 2000 by Larrys Truck Electric (LTEX), McDonald, Ohio.

Midwest Steel & Alloy, Coalburg, Ohio

Scrapped hundreds of locomotives during the 1960s to the 1980s at their Coalburg (Hubbard), Ohio site. Locomotives scrapped include long strings of Alcos from Erie-Lackawanna and many GG-1s and other types from Conrail.

Moved to Ohio Junction, Ohio, near Youngstown, in about 1988. At this location, they scrapped hundreds of B&O locomotives, some of which were sold to Ohio Central. Many locomotives from the Guilford system have also been scrapped by Midwest, including many Guilford GEs lettered for MEC, B&M, D&H and even a Portland Terminal switcher, and quite a few D&H RS3 and RS11s. Also scrapped have been 19 or 20 Weirton Steel Alcos, and seven or eight from the Youngstown Sheet & Tube mill. In recent years, several N&W locos have been scrapped, along with several from CSX and CR, and even a couple Reading & Northern.

Reporting marks are MSAX.

Morristown & Erie Railroad

Rebuilt locomotives during the late 1970s

Morrison International Corp.

(location unknown)

handled sale of B&M E8 3821 to MP in 1962

Morrison Knudsen Co.
MK Rail
Motive Power Industries, Inc.
Boise Locomotive Co.
Wabtec

Shops in:
Boise, Idaho (operated as Boise Locomotive Co. since January 1997)
Mountaintop, Pa. (closed in 1997)
Hornell, N.Y. (closed in 1997)

Morrison Knudsen until April 1994.
MK Rail from April 1994 to January 1997 (most locomotives sold to Helm, April 1996).
Motive Power Industries (Boise Locomotive Co.) from January 1997 to November 1999.

Motive Power Industries (MPI) was formerly M-K Rail, the former railroad equipment interests of Morrison Knudsen, Inc. The Boise facility was operated by Morrison Knudsen until April 1994, then as MK Rail until January 1997. Until 1996, MK Rail operated a fleet of over 120 locomotives in national lease service. In 1996, most of these locomotives were sold to Helm Financial.

Motive Power Industries merged with WABCO on 19 November 1999 to form Wabtec. The locomotive shop at Boise, Idaho, was operating as Boise Locomotive Co., and with the WABCO merger, the name was changed to MotivePower Co. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 120, June 2000, page 5)

Mountain Diesel Transportation Co., Denver, Colorado

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Also purchased several ex WP GP7s from UP, and several F units from Alaska Railroad.

Naporano, Railroad Division (Naporano Iron & Metal), Newark, N.J.

Business office: Foot of Hawkins St., Newark, N.J.

Salvage yard and shop at Newark, N.J.

Naporano left the locomotive scrapping business in about 1994.

National Locomotive Co., Morristown, N.J.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, Los Angeles Harbor, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

National Metals Corp., Phoenix, Az.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

National Railway Equipment, Dixmoor, Ill.

Business office: 14400 Robey, Dixmoor, Ill.

Shops in:
NREC-Dixmoor, Dixmoor, Ill. (since 1985)
Hegewisch, Ill. (13601 South Avenue O) (since 1987, closed in ??)
NREC-Silvis, Silvis, Ill. (former CRI&P, and Chrome Locomotive shop) (since 1990)
NREC-Mt. Vernon (Mt. Vernon, Ill.) (former Precision National shop) (since 1997)
NRE-Caperol (Caperol, Ontario, Canada) (since 2001)
VMV Paducahbuilt, Paducah, Ky. (former VMV Enterprises) (since 2002)
NRE-ALCO Canada (since ??)

Organized in 1984 by Mr. Lawrence Beal. NRE's first known locomotive rebuilding effort was in June 1984, after Mr. Beal and Will Burroughs left Chrome Locomotive in 1984 (they were joined by Mr. Pat Frangelia, upon his departure from Chrome in 1987). That first effort was the preparation of nine Helm-owned Kennecott high-cab GP39-2's for lease and later sale to Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad. NRE leased warehouse space in the Clearfield Freeport Center in northern Utah and reconditioned the Kennecott units, including cutting down the cabs to normal height. This contract was completed in November 1984, and was done for Helm Financial, as one of Helm's first projects in the locomotive market.

NRE moved into its own facility in October 1985, when it acquired the shop of mining equipment supplier Roberts & Schaeffer in Dixmoor, Ill., a suburb located in southwest Chicago.

In 1987, the former Chrome facility at Hegewisch, Ill. (on South Avenue O), was added to NRE's facilities.

The first locomotive seen with NRL (National Railway Leasing) reporting marks was ex ATSF GP7R 2054 in early October 1988, in the Chicago area. Other marks for NRE include NHL (National Helm Leasing) and NREX, for locomotives leased in Mexico.

In June 1990, the facilities and interests of Chrome Locomotive were sold to National Railway Equipment. At that time, NRE added Chrome's former Rock Island shop in Silvis, Ill., to its capability to completely serve the railroad locomotive rebuilding, second-hand locomotive sales, and locomotive leasing markets. The shop in Silvis completes both the rebuilding of railroad locomotives and the heavy repairs and modifications of railroad cars.

In October 1997, NRE purchased the Mt. Vernon, Ill., shops of the bankrupt Precision National Corp. National Railway Equipment purchased the land and shop buildings of the bankrupt Precision National Corp. The former PNC shop was reopened in December 1997, with NRE hiring many of the former PNC employees. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 115, May 1998, page 22)

National Railway Equipment purchased the buildings and assets of VMV Enterprises in Paducah, Kentucky, in late June and reopened the facility on July 1, 2002. VMV declared bankruptcy and closed its doors on April 2, 2002. The reported purchase price was $4.5 million, with the state and county adding an incentive of $8.5 million. (Trains, July 2002, pages 14, 15; email from Steve Wilhelm, June 29, 2002; email from Cliff Downey, July 1, 2002)

National Railway Equipment purchased the former CN maintenance of way shop at Caperol, Ontario in January 2001. The facility is located 275 rail miles north of Toronto. This was a former CN MofW shop converted into a locomotive repair facility by CLN Industries, now operated by NRE. (infornation from Ken Lanovich and Bruce Mercer)

From NRE's web page: "NRE-ALCO Locomotive of Canada Co., a division of National Railway Equipment Company, specializes in the remanufacture, repair and servicing of railroad equipment. We are located on a Class 1 transcontinental main line near Sudbury in Capreol, Ontario. Originally constructed in 1974, the NRE-ALCO Locomotive of Canada Co. facility has over 65,000 square feet of floor space, two overhead cranes, four lead in tracks and various tools to support virtually any demand. With knowledgeable people on sight, complemented with engineering and technical support from NREC, Capreol can support you in your equipment repair and remanufacturing needs." (source)

(First brief NRE history first published in Locomotive Notes II, Number 146, May 1991, page 11.)

Nevada Industrial Switching Co., Exeter, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Northern Illinois & Wisconsin Railway (NIWX)

Organized in 1999 to lease locomotives. First locomotive was North Shore Mining SW9 1211 purchased in June 2000. Later purchased an ex-SP SW1500.

Northern Railcar Corp.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Northern Railway Services Co.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

North Hudson Iron & Metal, Hudson, New York
North Hudson Scrap Co.

Located near Albany, New York.

Scrapped NYSW RS1 254.

North Western Steel & Wire

Located in Sterling, Ill.

OmniTRAX, Inc. (OmniTRAX Leasing Ltd.)
Great Western Railway (GWRX)

Business office: 252 Clayton St., Denver, Colo.

Shops in:
Chicago, Ill. (GWR)
Cicero, Ill.
Council Bluffs, Iowa (GWR)
Loveland, Colo.
Witchita, Kansas

Formed in 1986 as the Great Western Leasing Co., subsidiary to Great Western Railway. Great Western Railway was purchased from the bankrupt Great Western Sugar Company in August 1986 by a group headed by the Broe Company, whose principle owner is Pat Broe, a Denver-area real estate developer.

OmniTRAX was formed in June 1993 to take over the management activities of Great Western Leasing. Parent company of both Great Western Railway and OmniTRAX is Broe Companies, owned by Mr. Pat Broe, of Denver. Original shop located in Loveland, Colo. (Great Western Railway).

Shops located in:
Wichita, Kansas (Kansas Southwestern Railway)
Cicero, Ill. (Manufacturers' Junction Railway)

The first locomotive to carry the OmniTRAX lettering was ex-C&NW 4560. In 1995, OmniTRAX owned a fleet of over 400 former C&NW, AT&SF, and SP locomotives; many were in regular service on its affiliated railroad companies, and in lease service for industrial customers. Managed until about 1996 by John Gallagher, former superintendent of C&NW's Oelwein, Iowa, shops.

OmniTRAX operates these railroads:

Carlton Trail Railway (CTRW), Saskatchewan (Canada)
Central Kansas Railway (CKRY), Wichita, Kansas
Chicago Rail Link (CRL), Chicago, Ill.
Chicago, West Pullman & Southern Railroad (CWP), Chicago, Ill.
Council Bluffs Railway (CBGR), Council Bluffs, Iowa
Georgia Woodlands Railroad (GWRC), Washington, Georgia
Great Western Railway of Colorado (GWR), Loveland, Colorado
Great Western Railway of Oregon (GWR), Lakeview, Oregon
Hudson Bay Railway (HBRY), The Pas, Manitoba (Canada)
Kansas Southwestern Railway (KSW), Wichita, Kansas
Manufacturers' Junction Railway (MJ), Cicero, Ill.
Northern Ohio & Western (NOW)
Newburgh & South Shore Railroad (NSR), Cleveland, Ohio
Okanagan Railroad (OKAN), British Columbia
Panhandle Northern Railroad (PNR), Borger, Texas

Oxford Leasing

Oxford Leasing was set up as a separate company by some of the principals who were also involved in Wisconsin Central, and is the owner of some of the railcar fleet leased by WC. Wisconsin Central does not own their railcars or locomotives directly, but instead leases them from a subsidiary known as WCL Railcars, Inc. (WCRLI)

According to Dobnick & Glischinski's Wisconsin Central book, Oxford Leasing still owns railcars, but they no longer own locomotives.

The WC-Oxford ex-UP/MP SD40s in the "MoP-meatball" paint scheme were some of the units that were theirs. Others included the ex-SP and N&W SD45s that were repainted in full-WC paint, retaining their SP and N&W numbers in the 89/9000 and 1700 series respectively. All of these units were on lease to WC for a few years. Later on, many of them were on the W&LE, still in Oxford blue or WC paint. It is not known if they were still owned by Oxford Leasing at that time or if they were sold to W&LE or another locomotive lessor, such as Helm Financial.

Oxford Leasing also owned some of the SDL39 units leased to WC for awhile (probably 586-590). They did a trade (with WCLRI?) for some other units to have all of the SDLs under common ownership. (from Thom Anderson, April 12, 1999)

Pacific Rail Dismantlers, Inc., Colton, Calif.
(Pacific Rail Industries?)

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Pacific States Steel Corp., Decoto, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Pacific Terminals, Inc., Long Beach, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Pan-American Engineering Co., Dallas, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Peaker Services Incorporated, Brighton, Michigan

Peaker started in 1971 as a service company near Detroit doing maintenance on EMD engines used in stationary power plants, called "peaker" units, hence the company's name. The company moved to their present location in 1978 and greatly enlarged their facilities in 1984. Because of their expertise with EMD engines they got into rebuilding EMD switchers, and are now a supplier of rebuilt locomotives and locomotive components.

Still in business during mid 2000, possibly moved to South Lyons, Mich. Flagpole at Brighton location was supposedly from an EMD 16-cylinder engine, possibly from UP DD35 72B.

During May 1986, Peaker Services offered the stripped frame from UP 72B to the State of Michigan for use a a road bridge, for the cost of $10.00. The state declined the offer and the frame was scrapped by Peaker in June 1988. (from Ann Arbor Press, via Bob Schrepfer)

Peoria Locomotive Works, Peoria, Ill.

Shops located in the enginehouse of the Peoria & Pekin Union Raiload

Peter Kierwitz & Sons

(location unknown)

Phoenix Railway Corporation, Spokane, Wash.

Purchased several former BN, CSX, and UP locomotives. Some were resold, and after bankruptcy, the remaining locomotives were sold to various scrap dealers, including several to Pielet Brothers.

Pickens-Mather Co.

(location unknown)

Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Co.

Associated Companies:
Pielet Brothers Trading Co.
Pielet Metal Trading, Inc. (Flossmoor Ill.)
St. Louis Auto Shredding
Illinois Scrap Processing Company
Scrap Service Co.
Scrap Corporation of America
Midwest Metallics

Salvage yard at Joliet Road and 55th Street in McCook, Ill., adjacent to EMD's LaGrange plant.

Salvage yards also in Argo, Ill., and Summit, Ill.

Anyone who has been in this locomotive hobby for more than 10 years will certainly recognize the Pielet Brothers name, and how the company has been the final resting place for thousands of locomotives traded to EMD over the past 40-50 years.

According to Mr. Irving Pielet, in a telephone interview during early 1986, he and his brother, Arthur Pielet, were instrumental in the business of scrapping railroad locomotives in the Chicago area. Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Company was organized in the late 1940s, and from 1954 on, was the exclusive scrapper used by the General Motors Electro-Motive Division when they started their locomotive trade-in program. The company scrapped literally thousands of locomotives before Irving Pielet sold out to his brother in 1975. Arthur Pielet and his sons James and Robert continued to operate the Pielet Brothers company until Arthur Pielet sold out to his son James in December 1986 (the company had stopped scrapping trade-in locomotives for EMD in 1984). James Pielet changed the company name to Scrap Service Company and continued to operate salvage yards in Arlington heights, Joliet, and McCook. At the McCook location, located adjacent to the EMD factory, two men were capable scrapping a single locomotive in one day. During 1985 and 1986, there was also a company known as Chicago Railway Equipment, thought to also be a part of the Pielet organization.

In 1993, James Pielet sold out to his partner Cyrus Tang, who changed the company name to Midwest Metallics. Pielet continued to operate his J. P. Investments firm. Midwest Metallics began having financial difficulties in 1995 due to environmental and hazardous waste concerns following an OSHA inspection in December 1994, and by July 1999 had declared bankruptcy. During mid 1995, Midwest Metallics was the largest automobile scrap recycler in the Midwestern states. Their remaining locomotives were sold to Larrys Truck Electric of McDonald, Ohio, who moved them to various locations for rebuilding, or to be salvaged for parts.

Upon selling his interest to his brother in 1975, Irving Pielet organized Pielet Brothers Trading Company, located in Des Plaines, in northwest Chicago. As a subsidiary, he organized St. Louis Auto Shredding, which operated a salvage yard in East St. Louis, Ill., and beginning in 1978, another Pielet subsidiary known as Illinois Scrap Processing was located on the 9300 block of Ewing Avenue in southeast Chicago. The Chicago salvage yard was sold to Cozzi Iron & Metal in 1988. Beginning in 1975, the St. Louis location scrapped hundreds of former UP, BN, AT&SF, and C&NW railroad locomotives, but stopped bidding on railroad locomotive scrapping business in 1988.

Scrap Corporation of America operated a salvage yard at 130th Street, where hundreds of rail cars were cut up during the 1986 to 1993 time period. This company was also operating under the Pielet corporate umbrella.

Last known as B&B Scrap, the McCook location was closed and abandoned in February 2000.

Article from American Metal Market, a Cahners Publishing trade publication, dated May 12, 1999:

Scrap Veteran Pielet Dies.

NEW YORK — Arthur Pielet of Highland Park, Ill., former co-owner of Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Inc., died earlier this month following a lengthy illness. He was 80.

Pielet served in the U.S. Navy "Seabees" during World War II and was stationed in the Philippines for two years.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Dorothy; three sons, Robert, James and Charles; two daughters, Patricia Pielet Kaplan and Addie; and 10 grandchildren.

Pielet Brothers was founded shortly after World War II in McCook, Ill., and was later headquartered in Argo, Ill. Known as one of the largest auto scrap processors in the region, the former company was purchased and renamed Midwest Metallics LP in the mid 1990s.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Cahners Publishing Company

Potential sources for more information:
Luria Bros. & Co. v. Pielet Bros. Scrap Iron & Metal, Inc., 600 F.2d 103, 115 (7th Cir. 1979).
Pielet v. Pielet, 686 F.2d 1210, 1217 (7th Cir. 1982)

Pielet Brothers Trading Co., Des Plaines, Ill.

(see Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Co.)

Pioneer Railcorp

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Pine Street Salvage

(location unknown)

Power & Fluid Metallics, San Francisco, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Precision National Engineering Co., Mount Vernon, Ill.
Precision National Corporation, Mount Vernon, Ill.
Precision National Leasing Corp.

Originally called Precision Engineering Co. (PECO); name changed to Precision National Corporation (PNC) in March 1970. First known efforts in the railroad locomotive supply industry was in the purchase, and leasing-out, of several former MKT EMD F-units in about January 1970. New, larger facility completed at Mt. Vernon in May 1978 to allow PNC to complete more of its heavier rebuild efforts itself, rather than relying on ICG at Paducah, Morrison Knudsen at Boise, or Rock Island at Silvis.

Precision Engineering Co. (PECo), got its start in Los Angeles, Calif., in 1931 by manufacturing crankshafts. By 1939, the company had expanded by adding plants at Mt. Vernon, Ill., Clarks Summit, Pa., and Waco, Texas (all of which were still active in early 1979). By 1960, the company had expanded further by the purchase of Ford's Autolite Division (which made gray iron castings), located across the street from PECo's Mt. Vernon facility. In 1963, PECo expanded into the locomotive rebuilding business through the creation of its Locomotive Division, its Associated Liner Division, and its Salvage Division. These divisions also dismantled locomotives for usable and saleable parts, such as power assemblies and other engine parts, which could, at times, bring more money than the resale of the complete locomotive. From its first locomotive purchase in 1963, and through early 1979, over 3,000 locomotives had been purchased by PNC, with over 2,500 having been dismantled and scrapped at its Mt. Vernon facility. Between 1972 and late 1978, PNC purchased 1,075 locomotives, all of which were 800 to 1,200 horsepower switchers, 1,00 to 2,000 horsepower B-B units, and 2,400 horsepower C-C units, many of which were dismantled for parts. This group included numerous EMD GP7s, GP9s, and NW2s, and Alco S-2s, which were rebuilt and added to PNC's national lease fleet. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 66 [Oct/Nov/Dec 1978], pp. 18-20, with roster)

Precision National Corporation sold in December 1986 by parent company Stennis Corporation to PNC Corporation of Chicago. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 85 [Jul/Aug/Sep 1986], p. 13)

Precision National was bankrupt in early 1997 (shut down on 10 February 1997). Liquidation auction held on 7-9 October 1997. Shop in Mt. Vernon and remaining equipment sold at auction to National Railway Equipment. The auction included all shop tools and equipment, numerous spare engine blocks and other spare parts, and 83 locomotives in various states of repair and/or rebuilding. (part from Extra 2200 South, Issue 114 [January 1998], page 20)

National Railway Equipment purchased the land and shop buildings of the bankrupt Precision National Corp. The former PNC shop was reopened in December 1997, with NRE hiring many of the former PNC employees. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 115 [May 1998], page 22)

The auction included everything that was at the facility, including buildings, shops, and hulks of locomotives, such as several former UP SD45s, former Southern SD35s, a pair of former BN SD7s, and a lone former MKT S2.

PLM (Preferred Lease Management), Chicago, Ill.

Subsidiary of Rail Car Maintenance. PLM purchased ten ex UP SD40s from Wilson. The units were refurbished by Wilson, painted dark blue, and lettered with large, white PLM lettering on side of unit. All ten units were initially leased by the Delaware & Hudson after full reconditioning by Morrison Knudsen at Mountaintop, Pa. in 1990. The units were later sold to Morrison Knudsen, which continues to use them as part of its national lease fleet.

Prescott Equipment Co.

(location unknown)

Preston W. Duffy and Son (Sons?)

(location unknown)

Progress Rail Services Corp. (PRSX), Albertville, Ala.

Business office:
1600 Progress Drive, Albertville, Ala. 35950 (256) 593-1260

A wholly owned subsidiary of Electric Fuels Corp., Energy and Transportation Group

Remanufactures and repairs all railroad car components. Locomotive sales and repairs. Wheel shop and axle plating. Freight car leasing.

Shops in:
Albertville, Ala. (car parts reclamation and sales, former Kustom Kar)
Corbin, Ky. (car parts reclamation and sales, former Kustom Kar)
Covington, Ky. (manufacturing)
DeCoursey, Ky.
Exeter, Calif.
Green Cove Springs, Fla. (car parts reclamation and sales, former Kustom Kar)
Kansas City, Mo. (manufacturing)
Northport, Neb.
Patterson, Ga. (former C&F Locomotive facility)
Lowe, Neb.
Waskom, Texas (car parts reclamation and sales)

A note in July 2000 Railway Age says Progress Rail has acquired C&F Locomotive in Patterson, GA. Aside from stating that C&F President Charles Hendrix will be retained as a consultant, no other information is given, including the status of C&F's shop.

Proler Steel Corp., Houston, Texas
(Proler International)

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Purdy Corp.

Locations in:
Carson, Calif.
Ewing, Calif.
Mojave, Calif.
Oakland, Calif.
South San Francisco, Calif.
Walden, Ore.
Lakepoint, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Chehalis, Wash.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Quantum Rails, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida

Renamed from Southeastern Specialists. Reorganized into two divisions: Quantum Rails will do the locomotives, and Rails South, Inc., will do the cars. Recently (mid 1996), the company has been doing minor and major overhauls, and repainting, for Florida East Coast, and some repair work for CSX. As of May 1996, they had two ex Jaxport GP units (numbers 51 and 56) stored on their property. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 110 [published in August 1996], page 18)

Railcar Corp., Colorado Springs, Colo.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Rail Link, Inc., Fife, Wash.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Rail-Rhodes, Monroe, Ga.

(Information needed)

Railserve, Inc.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Rail Steel Locomotives, Tacoma, Wash.

Scrapped several BN and UP units, including BN F units and most of UP's ex-CRI&P U28Bs.

Possibility affiliated with either General Metals or Joseph Simon & Sons.

A sign on the fence of this company showed the name as Custom Iron Co., which may have actually been the name of the previous tenant of the location.

Railway Motive Power Services

Locations in:
Houston, Texas
Mead (Spokane), Wash.

Located in a Spokane industrial park. In the process of constructing a new facility, to be ready by June 1990. (Locomotive Notes II, Issue 135, p. 7)

Purchased several BN U30Cs for possible lease, and several UP GP30s that were sold to BN as part of its GP39 rebuild program.

Railway Supply Co., Inc., Montgomery, Ala.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Railway Switching Services, Dothan, Ala.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

R. B. Hornberger Co.

(location unknown)

RELCO Locomotives, Inc. (Railway Equipment Leasing Corp.), Minooka, Ill.

Business office: 113 Industrial Ave., Minooka, Ill.

Shops in:
Minooka, Ill.
Joliet, Ill. (now closed)
St. Gabriel, La.
Baytown, Texas
Knoxville, Tenn.
Vancouver, Wash.

RELCO has been in business since 1961. RELCO also had a shop in San Gabriel (Los Angeles), Calif., which was actually a large garage that they used for their fleet of service trucks. During 1990, the Los Angeles location was responsible for the maintenance of 32 locomotives leased out to various locations in Southern California and in Texas. (Los Angeles information from Locomotive Notes II, Issue 138, p. 14)

In April 2005, RELCO opened a new locomotive shop in Albia, Iowa. (email from Ken Lanovich, September 9, 2007)

Albia, IA – April 28, 2005 – RELCO Locomotives, Inc. announced today the completion of its new locomotive rebuild and service facility located in southeastern Iowa. The facility, which has been under construction since the second quarter of 2004, will dramatically increase RELCO’s manufacturing capacity and will complement RELCO’s smaller Minooka, IL location. The 95-acre site contains a main locomotive shop, a self-contained blast and paint shop, office space, and over 10,000 feet of track. The 90,000-sq. ft. main locomotive shop houses five tracks, six overhead cranes with a capacity of up to 50 tons, two raised rail pits, a drop-table, state-of-the-art fabrication and component rebuild areas, and nearly 30 miles of track available for locomotive run-in and testing. The facility has direct interchange with the BNSF, and IC&E railroads and close interchange with the Union Pacific. Corporate operations will remain in Minooka, IL. (Relco News Release)

Replinger Equipment Co., Tacoma (?), Wash.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Republic Locomotive Works

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Rescar, Inc.

Business office: 1101 31st St., Suite 250, Downers Grove, Ill. (630-963-1114)

Paints UP locomotives under contract at its Hudson, Colo., facility. The Hudson facility was formerly owned by Rocky Mountain Railcar, Inc., which moved in mid 1988 to Hudson from its previous facility at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver. The move to Hudson was needed to allow RMRC to service and maintain several fleets of unit coal train cars, raising its employment from 40 to 100.

Republic Locomotive Works, Greenville, South Carolina

Republic started business as Rail Rhodes, organized by Lewis Rhodes in 1980. Mr. Rhodes started his company while employed at General Electric's Chamblee (Atlanta), Ga., plant. During 1978, he and a representative of the U. S. Navy toured all of the Navy's railroad facilities to review the need to rebuild the Navy's railroad locomotives. Rail Rhodes was first located at Cornelia, Ga., adjacent to Johnson Rail Services, who contracted to do Rhodes' heavy frame and carbody sheet metal work. To expand the services that he could offer, in early 1981 Rhodes moved his company north to Greenville, S.C., and changed the name to Republic Locomotive Works. The shop is the former location of the Piedmont & Northern. The first locomotive to be rebuilt at the new Greenville location was a USMC 80 ton GE from Albany, Ga., completed by Republic in July 1981. By 1986 Republic had rebuilt locomotives for the U. S. Navy, the U. S. Marine Corps, the U. S. Army, and the Defense Logistics Agency.

Facilities at Greenville were sold at public auction in late 1996. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 111 [published in Dec 1996], page 21)

Rio Grande Chemical Sales

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Robinson Iron & Metal Corp., Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

St. Louis Auto Shredding, East St. Louis, Ill.

(see Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Co.)

Samuels Steel Products Co., East Portland (Milwaukie?), Ore.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Safety Railway Services, Victoria, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

S. A. Rose Salvage Co.

(location unknown)

Schiavone & Bonomo (in New Jersey?)
Michael Schiavone

Scrapped NYSW RS1s 232, 242, 248

Schwitzer (Brothers) Steel Corp.

Locations in:
Oakland, Calif.
Rancho Cordova, Calif.
Portland, Ore.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Scrap Service Co.

(see Pielet Brothers Scrap Iron & Metal Co.)

Seaborne Towing Corp., Oakland, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Sesslar, Inc., Eugene, Ore.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

George R. Silcott, Worthington, Ohio

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Sipes Metals Co., Rison, Ark.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Smith & Bell

Located in New Mexico.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Smith & Chambers Salvage Co., Neodesha, Kansas

Organized by George Chambers and James Smith. The company scraps rail cars nationwide, using mobile crews. Their salvage and recycled parts yard is located in Neodesha, Kansas.

Smith & Chambers scrapped UP SD40 4054 (ex-MP 3054) which had been wrecked in Mexico. They also scrapped UP SD40 3112, the cab of which was sold to a private individual in a nearby town for use as part of a restaurant.

Southern Iron & Metal Co., Beaumont, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Southern Rails, Montgomery, Ala.

Known to have rebuilt several Alco switchers into Caterpillar-powered, remote control mine switchers.

Southern Scrap Materials Co. New Orleans, Louisiana

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

South San Francisco Scrap Co., South San Francisco, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Southwest Railroad Car Parts Co.

A subsidiary of South West Railway Service, San Antonio, Texas. Salvage yards in Longview and Newby, Texas.

Stanley Claster, Inc., Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Steelmet, Inc., Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Striegel Supply & Equipment Co., Baltimore, Md.
Streigel Supply

Scrapped several E-L H16-44s and NYSW RS1 244.

Sunfelt Equipment Co.

(location unknown)

SuperSteel Schenectady, Glenville, New York

Opened in about 1996. Subsidiary of SuperSteel Products Corp. of Milwaukee, Wis.

Completed parts of UP SD70Ms under contract to General Motors-ElectroMotive Division.

Refurbished Amtrak Rohr TurboLiner trainsets; first one completed in early November 2002.

In 2000, Super Steel had a five-year commercial agreement with General Motors, in which GM helped pay for the plant construction and agreed to have Super Steel build cars for Long Island Rail Road. The LIRR work was completed by 2000 and Super Steel began working hard at diversifying it customer base. Super Steel benefits from low interest loans from New York state, and employs New York residents who have been retrained following job reductions in other industries.

Super Steel has built or done final assembly work on 46 locomotives for the LIRR and 122 freight and passenger cars for General Motors Electro Motive Division (EMD). Conrail, Norfolk Southern and other companies order freight cars from EMD. Work is also under way during 2000 building 55 locomotives for EMD that were supplied to the Montreal Transit Authority and Union Pacific. Separately, Super Steel had a contract to build 114 "cab sets" for Union Pacific. (A cab set sits on the deck of the locomotive and contains the operator's controls.)

Talgo LRC, LLC, Livingston, Mont.
Livingston Rebuild Center, Inc.

Shops in:
Livingston, Mont.
Ottawa, Ill. (closed)
Richland, Wash. (LRC Railroad Research & Development Division) (closed)

Organized in 1988 to purchase the former BN shops at Livingston, Mont. Owned by the Washington Corp., which also owned Montana Rail Link. Performed all manner of railroad locomotive and car rebuilding work. Reorganized as an employee-owned company in 1993, and no longer affiliated with the Washington Corp. In June 2000, Talgo America and LRC formed a new company, Talgo-LRC, LLC.

The facility at Richland, Wash. (now closed), was formerly operated by the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the Hansford Nuclear Reservation, recently turned over to the Port of Benton, a municipal corporation for industrial development. LRC managed and maintained the DOE locomotives and the 16-mile railroad. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 117 [April 1999], page 19)

See web site for further information http://www.talgolrc.com. (additional information from Talgo LRC, October 2003)

T. C. Taylor

Located in Kansas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Titan Railway Services, Pasco, Wash.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Worked on several WATCO locomotives and a unit used by a paper mill at Wallula, Wash., along with a wrecked BN SD40-2.

Trans-Dynamic Industries

Located in:
Antioch, Calif.
Salinas, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Transglobal Rail, Oelwein, Iowa

Former location of C&NW's Oelwein shops, where C&NW rebuilt so many of its GP7s, GP9s, and SD7s and SD9s.

Transico Rail Service, Alliance, Neb.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Tri-Ad Corp., Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Truck Electric, Stockton, Calif. (Larry's?)

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

UniCapital Rail Group (UGRX)

Started in January 1999. Acted as owner/lessor on five former Soo and CP locomotives. Sold to First Union Rail, December 1999.

Union Iron & Steel, Houston, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

United Railway Supply Co.

(location unknown)

UPL Corp., Paducah, Ky.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Virginia Scrap Iron & Metal Co.

Virginia Scrap Iron and Metal is located in Roanoke, Virginia, on Jefferson Street. It is being dismantled and prepared for sale. It contains four very antique locomotives that The Western Virginia Railroad Preservation Society (TWVRPS) is working to move and restore either to static display or actual running condition depending on the condition of the locomotives. (update via May 4, 2008 email courtesy of Sharon Deckard, President Illinois Prairie Railroad Foundation, and member of board of directors of TWVRPS)

VMV Enterprises, Paducah, Kentucky

Location is the former IC/ICG shops in Paducah. VMV is associated with the Paducah & Louisville Railroad (PAL), which purchased the former ICG line between those two cities.

The VMV initials of the name came from Velma, Marie, and Vera, the names of the wives of the original investors, owners in the PAL and VMV, when they were formed back in 1986. (Information from Steve Wilhelm)

Sold by PAL owners to a group of investors in (?).

Bankrupt in May 2002; all operations shut down, except for a small workforce completing contract maintenance for Locomotive Leasing Partners (LLPX).

Sold to National Railway Equipment in late June and reopened on July 1, 2002. The reported purchase price was $4.5 million, with the state and county adding an incentive of $8.5 million.

Valley Steel Corp., Tucson, Az.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

W. Silver Co., El Paso, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

WATCO, Inc., Coffeyville, Kansas

WATCO operates switching services for industrial customers. The company started as a unit coal train car repair location. Watco purchased UP's ex MoPac Pittsburg Branch on 13 April 1987, and operates it as the Southeast Kansas (SEKR)

By mid 1992, WATCO was operating three railroads:

South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL), purchased from AT&SF on 28 December 1990.
South East Kansas Railroad (SEKR), purchased from UP on 13 April 1987.
Osage Railroad (ORR)

Plus 14 different switching operations in 11 states.

Some equipment uses the new WAMX (Webb Asset Management) reporting marks.

Western Rail, Inc., Spokane, Wash.

With no physical location in Spokane, this company apparently uses the shop facilities of Pend Orielle Valley Railway (POVA) for actual work on locomotives. Some of the former BNSF GPs stored at LRC-Richland were handled by Western Rail.

Quoting from their web site (http://www.westernrailinc.com/Letter_From_president.htm):

"Western Rail welcomes you to our new web page. I encourage all visitors to review the entire site contents and then call our dedicated sales staff. We are here to serve your needs and look forward to assisting you with locomotive & component acquisitions. In 1998 Western Rail started our new EMD Engine Division. We strive for OEM quality with all remanufactured components and back it with a full OEM warranty. Our workmanship rebuilding power assemblies, EMD crankshafts, governors, etc. is second to none. Additionally, we provide rebuilt Alco and General Electric engine components and stock an entire inventory of EMD, GE & Alco RTO engine parts. Western Rail has proudly served the Rail Industry since 1987. Our staff has a combined experience of over 40 years in the industry."

According to their web site, last updated on 1/20/2000, they have two former AT&SF GP20s, a GP9, a GP10, an SW12, an SW1200, an SD9, a G12, and 20 GP40s and SD40s. All are available for sale or lease.

"They have a lot more locomotives in the marketplace than you would realize...and I expect with their service levels that they should continue to grow. And yes, they have rewired, reengined, etc. locomotives in the recent past." (email to LocoNotes discussion group from Joe Ferguson, February 26, 2006)

May be the same company as Western Rail Dismantlers, also in Spokane.

Western Rail Services, Fontana, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Western Railroad Supply Corp., Mojave, Calif. (Purdy)

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

R. L. White Leasing Co., Brownfield, Texas

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Wilson Railway Corporation, Des Moines, Iowa

Started as D. A. Wilson Co., in the former C&NW shops in Boone, Iowa. Moved to the former Des Moines & Central Iowa shops in Des Moines in (?).

Shops in Des Moines, Iowa. Formerly located in Spanish Fork, Utah, and earlier located in Utah inside the property of Geneva Steel, formerly USS-Geneva Works. Wilson had the maintenance contract for Geneva but lost it in mid 1989 to RELCO. Wilson moved to the former AMF factory in Spanish Fork, located on D&RGW's Tintic Branch. Work done at Spanish Fork on several ex MKT GP7s and WC-Oxford (ex-UP and MP) SD40s. Spanish Fork facility was closed in April 1991.

Wilson was using ex U. S. Steel 33 (BLW DS-4-4-1000) was a switcher at their Spanish Fork facility. Both USS 33 and 35 were owned by Wilson after their contract with U. S. Steel ended in mid 1989. USS 35 had a damage engine and was scrapped by Wilson at Spanish Fork; USS 33 was scrapped by Durbano metals, Ogden, Utah, following Wilson's shutdown in late 1991. (Locomotive Notes II, Number 130, page 12, reported by Ryan Ballard)

Assets of bankrupt Wilson Railway Corp., liquidated at auction in November 1991. (Extra 2200 South, Issue 103 [Apr-May-Jun 1994], page 38, marked at page bottom as Issue 101)

Whistler Equipment Co.

(see Metro East Industries)

Zinmaster Corp., Mojave, Calif.

Purchased, sold, and/or scrapped SP locomotives. (JS)

Sources:
Thanks to Thom Anderson, Ken Ardinger, Roger Beckett, D. Scott Chatfield, Ed Fielding, Roman Hawryluk, John Howell, Andre Kristopans, Ken Lavovich, John Mallory, Bill Maltby, Bruce Mercer, Norm Metcalfe, James Mischke, Rick Morgan, Bob Schrepfer, Russ Stodz, Frank Vollhardt, Joseph Yarbrough, and the subscribers of the LocoNotes discussion group at YahooGroups and eGroups. Entries with (JS) denote information from Joe Strapac.