On May 9, Genesee & Wyoming marked its 125th anniversary at the Rochester & Southern, where the global Class II and Class III railroad conglomerate got its start in 1899.
G&W unveiled two locomotives painted in the company’s heritage livery, which was established after Mort Fuller took over the company in 1977. These locomotives will operate on the Rochester & Southern and Buffalo & Pittsburgh. In honor of the 125th anniversary, the heritage livery will be applied to locomotives this year on a few other G&W railroads.
“When you celebrate a milestone birthday, everyone asks how you lasted so long, and I think the answer to that question has three parts for G&W,” said Executive Chairman Jack Hellmann at the May 9 event. “First is the simple physics of the steel wheel on the steel rail and its ability to economically serve customers hauling heavy traffic long distances. Second is the Fuller family, starting with Mort Fuller’s great-grandfather, and then leading to Mort himself who took a huge risk in the 1970s when he purchased a controlling interest in the family railroad. Third is the people of G&W, not only those who led us to where we are today, but the team who will take us to new heights in the future.
“Remarkably, these three elements—the steel wheel, the Fuller family history, and our current team—are all represented in the G&W logo, which was created by the graphic designer Milton Glaser, who is most famous for creating the ‘I ❤ NY’ logo. In the center, you will see a rail wheel and the double line representing the flange. To the left is an arrow pointing to the past, which honors the Fullers and where we came from. And to the right is an arrow pointing to the future and where we are going with the team gathered here today.”
“We’re proud of our past,” said G&W CEO Michael Miller. “We’ve grown from a single railroad to more than 100 freight railroads, established a presence at more than 30 ports to help critical goods flow across the globe, and built industrial development and transload services that are tailored to the unique needs of individual customers. We’ve become industry leaders in safety and service, receiving more than 1,000 safety awards from the [American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association] and achieving our highest-ever customer satisfaction score last year. We’ve been good stewards for the communities we operate in through programs such as Operation Lifesaver and first responder trainings, and have locked hands with the rest of the industry via our memberships with ASLRRA and the Association of American Railroads.
“We’re just as excited for our future. Over the past few years, we’ve made investments in our workforce, equipment, technology platforms, infrastructure, and more to ensure that we are well-positioned to grow and adapt with the entire rail industry. Our goal is to help our current customers move more freight in an even safer, more efficient and more sustainable way, while attracting new customers with the benefits of using rail in their supply chain.
“We’ve also established and enhanced partnerships with customers, suppliers and Class I railroads. We’re actively participating in innovation through collaborations such as the RailPulse coalition to outfit the North American railcar fleet with telemetry devices and sensors. We are also working with a start-up company called Parallel Systems on building autonomous rail vehicles that can reinvigorate business on lower-density, more rural lines and achieve zero carbon emissions while doing so. It has never been a more exciting time to be a part of G&W.”
