The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) on Jan. 7 reported that Ronald “Ron” Batory, Kedrick Earl Durden and Henry Posner III have been selected to join the Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame. They will be inducted April 8 at the association’s Annual Conference & Exhibition in Denver, Colo. Durden, a short line railroad owner who served as ASLRRA Chair, will be honored posthumously.
The Short Line Hall of Fame, established in 2020, recognizes “short line railroad visionaries who through their dedication, commitment, and achievement best exemplify the qualities of innovation, entrepreneurialism, perseverance, and service that have advanced the short line railroad industry,” according to ASLRRA.
“The short line industry is one of the All-American success stories, built over more than 100 years by hard working entrepreneurs, who saw potential where others did not,” ASLRRA President Chuck Baker said. “The Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame recognizes extraordinary contributors to our history. This year’s inductees, Ron Batory, Earl Durden and Henry Posner, are a unique class of leaders—three individuals who not only transformed small railroads into significant economic contributors, but each in their own way advanced the industry through dedicated leadership and advocacy. Their contributions have changed our industry for the better, and we look forward to honoring each of them at our Annual Conference in April.”
Ron Batory: ‘Five Decades of Railroad Operation, Policy Expertise’
“As the story goes, Batory’s father, a car checker with the New York Central Railroad, did not want his son to ‘waste a college education on a railroad,’” according to ASLRRA. Nevertheless, Batory found his calling in the rail industry, eventually serving as head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).
Before leading the FRA, Batory spent five decades working directly for railroads, starting in 1971 with a union craft position for Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad Company (DT&I), and progressing in management positions with Grand Trunk Western Railroad; Chicago, Missouri & Western Railroad Company; Southern Pacific Transportation Company; and The Belt Railway Company of Chicago, where he led the switching terminal company “to an array of unprecedented safety, service and financial performance records,” noted ASLRRA. His success in Chicago prompted CSX and Norfolk Southern to recruit him in 1998 to manage the partitioning of Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) as part of the merger. He was later appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Conrail, a position he held until his retirement in 2017.
Batory was nominated as the 14th FRA administrator and was confirmed in the Senate by unanimous voice vote in 2018. Since the end of his FRA tenure in 2021, he has continued to be active in the railroad industry, serving in advisory and governance roles for rail-related business. In December 2024, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a member of the Amtrak Board of Directors.
K. Earl Durden: ‘Transformational Leader for Communities, ASLRRA’
Durden played an instrumental role in the development of the association as it exists today, supporting a merger of the American Short Line Railroad Association and Regional Railroads of America in 1997, according to ASLRRA. Durden also served as ASLRRA Chair for many years and was a member of several of the association’s committees including the Finance and Administration Committee and Legislative Policy Committee. Additionally, he was influential in the legislative arena and helped work to get the first 45G short line railroad tax credit passed, ASLRRA reported.
Durden in 1980 founded Rail Management Corporation and Rail Switching Services, Inc. Through Rail Management Corporation, he owned and operated 16 short lines across the U.S.
Outside of railroads, Durden was active in communities across Alabama, Georgia and Florida. “When Florida Trend magazine released its 2004 list of Florida’s 100 Most Influential People, Durden was named one of the ‘Most Influential in Business,’ recognized for his efforts in local economic development, particularly with advancing transportation improvement projects,” ASLRRA said.
Durden died in 2010 at age 73 after a battle with cancer.
Henry Posner III: ‘Self-Described Life-Long Railway Activist’
Posner, a Pittsburgh, Pa. native, began his career as a self-described “railway activist,” according to ASLRRA, which reported that he worked in Amtrak ticket sales and held summer jobs at the Official Railway Guide and Rock Island Railroad.
In 1987, Posner and Bob Pietrandrea formed Railroad Development Corporation (RDC). RDC made its first investment in the Iowa Interstate Railroad in 1991, followed shortly by an investment in Argentina’s Urquiza Railway, launching RDC in both the United States and overseas. Today, RDC’s portfolio includes freight and passenger businesses in the United States, including Iowa Interstate and Pop-Up Metro, LLC, and in France, Germany, and Peru. RDC is also part of the RailPulse coalition.
Posner serves on the Transportation Research Board’s Agriculture and Food Transportation Committee and is Co-Chair of the newly formed Surface Transportation Board (STB) Passenger Rail Advisory Committee.
Along with work in the private sector, Posner is active in education and is on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), an Emeritus Trustee and former President of the Winchester Thurston school, and a Board member of the Independent School Chairperson’s Association.
Robert Grossman, Lowell “Jake” Jacobson and Rick Webb were selected for the Hall of Fame in 2024.
In related developments, Railway Age is now accepting nominations for its 2025 Short Line and Regional Railroad of the Year program; the deadline is Feb. 5. Small roads in the U.S., Mexico and Canada are eligible for an award. The 2025 honorees will be recognized at the ASLRRA 2025 Annual Conference & Exhibition. Articles covering their achievements will appear in Railway Age’s March 2025 issue, which will be distributed at the show. Additionally, nominations are open for ASLRRA’s Business Development Awards; nominations are due Jan. 10.
