WASHINGTON — Ron Batory, K. Earl Durden, and Henry Posner III will be inducted into the Short Line Railroad Industry Hall of Fame at this year’s American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association Annual Conference, the organization has announced.
The induction will take place April 8, 2025, in Denver. Durden’s induction will be posthumous.
“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 in a press release. “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.”
Batory, administrator of the Federal Railroad Admistration from 2018 to 2021, preceded that tenure with five decades in railroading, starting with the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad and advancing to management positions with Grand Trunk Western; Chicago, Missouri & Western; Southern Pacific; the Belt Railway Co. of Chicago; and Conrail, where he was president and CEO from 1998 until his retirement in 2017. He remains active in the industry, most recently having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on Amtrak’s board of directors.
Durden was instrumental in development of the ASLRRA, supporting a merger of the American Short Line Railroad Association and Regional Railroads of America in 1997. He served as ASLRRA chair for many years, was a member of several of its committees, and was influential in the passage of the 45G short line railroad tax credit. He founded Rail Management Corp. and Rail Switching Services, Inc., in 1980, and operated 16 short lines through Rail Management Corp. He died in 2010 at the age of 73 after a battle with cancer.
Posner, whose background includes ticket sales at Amtrak and summer jobs with the Rock Island Railroad and Official Guide of the Railways, founded Railroad Development Corp. in 1987 with Bob Pietrandrea. The company’s interests in the U.S. and abroad include Iowa Interstate Railroad, Pop-Up Metro, partnership in RailPulse, and operations in France, Germany, and Peru. He is co-chair of the Surface Transportation Board’s Passenger Rail Advisory Committee and service on Transportation Research Board’s Agriculture and Food Transportation committee.
More information on this year’s inductees, as well as those previously inducted, is available here.
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Correct abbreviation in headline to “ASLRRA.”
Fixed. Thanks.