Wichita Terminal Association

[SFbrkmn]

I'm spending my spare time doing  a research project on the history of the Wichita Term Assn in Wichita, KS. This is the terminal/switching carrier in the north end which serves about a dozen industries. Briefly, the company was founded by the stockyards in 1889 and in 1910 was taken over by the four city rrs (at that time). Today the UP & BNSF are co owners. What is most interesting is that since the 1910 takeover, switch power has been used from the owner rrs on a yr by yr rotation. This is a tradition still going on after nearly a century. Are there other type operations rr using power other than their own all the time?This is what makes WTA unique because you just never know what engine will show up.

[Murphy Siding]

     What is a terminal railroad?

[Railway Man]

     What is a terminal railroad?

Generically, any railroad whose primary purpose is the breakdown, classification, assemblage, and relaying of trains in a terminal (not line-haul) area.

Specifically, a "Switching and Terminal Railroad" is a railroad operated separately for joint account (of two or more railroads), and (a) performing switching service only; (b) furnishing terminal trackage or facilities only, such as union passenger, freight station, or stokaryds, for which a charge is made to its member and non-member railroads for services; (c) performing both switching and terminal services; (d) operating bridges and ferries exclusively; (e) primarily performing switching or terminal services but also conducting a regular freight or passenger traffic.

Generally -- but not always -- the important distinctions of a terminal railroad is (1) it did not participate in through rates but collected a switching fee from the railroad using it, usually on a pe-car basis; (2) it offered impartial switching service to all of its member roads (and sometimes non-members too; (3) consolidated terminal services such as stockyards, passenger stations and switching districts, and reduced duplication of services, facilities, and investment that would otherwise be unavoidable for its member railroads; (4) offered customers one-stop access to multiple carriers.

Terminal railroads were usually owned by member roads on a percentage basis which reflected the relative expected usage and the relative capital investment.  Often minor roads were tenants or had no access; e.g., in Denver, the Denver Union Terminal Company was owned by Colorado & Southern, Burlington, Rock Island, Union Pacific, Santa Fe, and Rio Grande, but not the Moffat Road, which had its own depot a few blocks away.

RWM

[Murphy Siding]

The Wichita Union Terminal Railway Company in 1942 and 1953 was owned entirely by Santa Fe, Rock Island, and Frisco.  If the Midland Valley and MoPac ever owned a piece, it was either earlier or later.

Thanks for the explanation.  A couple questions:  1) How in the world, did/do railroads that compete for traffic get along well enough to collectively own a terminal railroad?  Wouldn't the railroad with the bigger ownership portion get to, or at least try to, run the show?  2) How does ownership in them change?  For example, The WUTR, had 3 owners in 1953.  Through mergers and bankruptcy, the owners now would be: BNSF,BNSF, and Nobody?

[Railway Man]

I'm spending my spare time doing  a research project on the history of the Wichita Term Assn in Wichita, KS. This is the terminal/switching carrier in the north end which serves about a dozen industries. Briefly, the company was founded by the stockyards in 1889 and in 1910 was taken over by the four city rrs (at that time). Today the UP & BNSF are co owners. What is most interesting is that since the 1910 takeover, switch power has been used from the owner rrs on a yr by yr rotation. This is a tradition still going on after nearly a century. Are there other type operations rr using power other than their own all the time?This is what makes WTA unique because you just never know what engine will show up.

Many of the terminal railroads had no locomotives of their own and rented locomotives from their owner/tenant railroads. 

Wichita had two terminal railroads, the Wichita Terminal Association which owned no track but had approximately 7 miles of track owned by its tenant railroads, and the Wichita Union Terminal Railway Company, which in 1942 and 1953 was owned entirely by Santa Fe, Rock Island, and Frisco.  In 1915 the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient also was an owner.  I presume its interest went to the Santa Fe.  Midland Valley and MoPac were not owners.  There was also a Wichita Union Stockyard company which only owned chutes, pens, scales, etc., no track.

RWM

[Railway Man]

The Wichita Union Terminal Railway Company in 1942 and 1953 was owned entirely by Santa Fe, Rock Island, and Frisco.  If the Midland Valley and MoPac ever owned a piece, it was either earlier or later.

Thanks for the explanation.  A couple questions:  1) How in the world, did/do railroads that compete for traffic get along well enough to collectively own a terminal railroad?  Wouldn't the railroad with the bigger ownership portion get to, or at least try to, run the show?  2) How does ownership in them change?  For example, The WUTR, had 3 owners in 1953.  Through mergers and bankruptcy, the owners now would be: BNSF,BNSF, and Nobody?

1.  Enlightened self-interest.  The cost savings are immense over trying to build and maintain separate facilities; cities put a tremendous amount of pressure on railroads to build union terminals to avoid being strangled by trackage on all sides; and because the terminal railroad was almost always a de novo facility there are no existing strategic access advantages to be dealt with.  Where one railroad believes it has a strategic advantage with its existing terminal facilities it usually is loath to give it up and refuses to participate in a joint facility -- and there are modern-day examples of this.

2.  The way railroads got around having one railroad dominate ownership is that management often rotated among the members -- the general manager would come from Road A in Year 1, Road B in Year 2, and Road C in Year 3, for example, then back to Road A.  Capital expenditure was apportioned according to membership.

3.  Mergers usually result in a change in ownership percentage.  For example, if Roads A, B, and C each own 33.33% of a terminal road, and Roads B and C merge, the merged road BC now has 66.66% ownership.  If it really mattered the road facing a minority position petitioned the ICC for adjustment of percentage as a condition of the merger, and sometimes the ICC made it so.

The interrailroad competition generally works out OK. You have to understand how much railroad companies hate terminals, and view them as a necessary evil on the good days and the bane of their existence on the bad.  And the terminal railroad is usually a non-strategic element (this is key) because it doesn't advantage or disadvantage any of the owners.  The terminal railroad so long as it runs itself, doesn't make waves, and doesn't run a deficit, can be out-of-sight, out-of-mind forever.  Sometimes the terminal railroads attract some very good executives who towards the latter third of their career decide they love railroading but not all the petty politics and internecine warfare of their home railroad's headquarters, and find the terminal railroad a delightful place -- they "volunteer" to go handle the unloved stepchild for a year or two and for the rest of their career find creative ways to never come back.  Sometimes terminal railroads can be a dumping ground for some of the less effective mid-career managers who didn't quite work out but no one wants to admit it, either.

There are some examples of terminal railroads where the competitive battle between the owners has had some very bad results.  I can think of one significant one where the owners have allowed its costs to balloon and its service to stagnate, because no one wants to route through traffic through that terminal.

RWM 

[Gluefinger]

To throw some more wood on the fire, what's up with the Alton and Southern? Formerly owned by MP and CNW- now both have been absorbed into UP. Why are they still quasi-independent?

[edblysard]

Murphy,

I work for a Switching and Terminal railroad, the PTRA, Port Terminal Railroad Association.

Currently, we have 3 member roads, the UP, the BNSF and KCS.

In simplest terms, imaging if all three roads tried to build tracks down into the ship channel area....where refineries are jammed so close together you can't tell where one plant ends and another one begins.

We were created in 1924, with the primary purpose of handling all traffic into the city docks and the growing petrochemical industry.

 

At that time, there were over 18 different railroads serving Houston, so the idea of all of them interchanging at one point, and leaving the actual working of the industries to a single entity made sense, still does today.

We classify their cars, service the plants, classify, block and assemble their outbound trains, often at a cost much less than they could do so themselves.

 

http://www.ptra.com/

check our tariffs.

 http://www.trainweb.org/southwestshorts/ptra.html

some photos

http://www.trainweb.org/southwestshorts/ptra.html

The one above shows our customer list...

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/PP/eqpnf.html

 

As for management, the current Superintendent is the former Texas Corridor Manager, from the BNSF.

The General Manager/CEO is a former SP division manager.

As for how all the railroads get along, keep in mind RWMs explaination, and keep in mind most terminal roads are just that, a terminus, the end point.

So, once the Class 1 drops off its train, all the problems, the service calls, the bad order cars and the hassles become the property of the terminal road!

Think about this, the Class 1 roads drag in, drop off a 120 car train, and if the crew has time, they pull the outbound and head back out...no worries about switching or blocking out any cars.

Only one out of four of the trains that arrive here at the PTRA are local yard to yard transfers...the rest are road trains, from Tulsa, Lafayette, Chicago, LA...or grain trains...lots and lots of grain trains!

[SFbrkmn]

The Wichita Union Terminal Ry was formed in 1914 to operate the newly built Union Station. It was jointly owned by ATSF, SLSF & RI. The 'company' is still around ,but is only on paper.

[Murphy Siding]

The Wichita Union Terminal Ry was formed in 1914 to operate the newly built Union Station. It was jointly owned by ATSF, SLSF & RI. The 'company' is still around ,but is only on paper.

I'm curious why BNSF and UP are the current owners?  Did UP buy this portion of the RI interest?

[Railway Man]

In effect, yes, UP purchased Rock Island's interests, but not directly.

Wichita Union Terminal Railway was formed by Santa Fe, Frisco, Rock Island, and Kansas City Mexico & Orient.  The Orient's interest went to the Santa Fe when Santa Fe purchased the Orient in 1928.  The Rock Island's interest went to the Oklahoma, Kansas & Texas Railway -- the OKKT -- in 1980.  The OKKT was a MKT subsidiary created with shipper and state support to preserve service on the Rock Island's main line from Herington, Kansas, to Fort Worth, Texas.  The Katy was merged into the MoPac in 1987, and the MoPac into UP in 1997 -- though the MoPac was only a paper entity after 1982. 

RWM 

[diningcar]

Santa Fe Manual No. 81 for 1980 has the following info for The WUT Railway Company:

Incorporated , Kansas, March 27, 1911 -- 50 Years

Renewal of Charter -- 50 years from March 27, 1960

Charter covers lines and terminal facilities in connection with other railroads, and also construction and maintenance of a Union Passenger Station in the City of Wichita, Sedgewick County, Kansas. Estimated length of main line, 5 miles.

Began operating March 8, 1914

Owners in 1980 were: Santa Fe; SL-SF and Trustee for the CRI&P 

 

 

 

[Murphy Siding]

  I work for a Switching and Terminal railroad, the PTRA, Port Terminal Railroad Association.

Currently, we have 3 member roads, the UP, the BNSF and KCS.................

................As for management, the current Superintendent is the former Texas Corridor Manager, from the BNSF.

The General Manager/CEO is a former SP division manager.

 

Ed-How does a terminal railroad keep from favoring one of the owner roads, or a least avoid the perception of favoring one over the other?

     Are terminal railroads run on sort of a *non-profit* basis?  As in,  income should match overhead, on an ongoing basis?

[edblysard]

Murphy...

We are customer driven instead of Class1 driven...

If say, Shell wants to ship 100 tankcars a day on UP...we pull them and set up the train...if Phillips wants 100 hoppers for plastic, and BNSF handles the delivery of the cars to us...we pull and spot Phillips.

Keep in mind the fact that we are "captive" in the sense we don't go anywhere but our own area...anything that comes into us is from a Class1, and the dispatching is done by the joint dispatching center in Spring, which offers no preference to any one carrier.

As for funding...we have the traffic projections for next year, and UP, BNSF and KCS, depending on the projected percent of next years business, and our expected operating cost, new track, maintenance, so forth and so on,  pay into our operating budget, along with funds from the Port Authority, who in reality own us.

BN, UP and KCS are member lines...

If in fact, traffic exceeds what we estimate, and we earn more than enough to satisfy our budget, any excess is "profit", and we are free to spend it as we wish.