Grainbelt Corporation summary
Grainbelt Corporation (GNBC) is a Class III short line railroad operating in the western Oklahoma area. It’s one of two subsidiaries under Farmrail System Incorporated, a holding company that’s owned by the employees who have direct involvement with the daily operations and overall business. A total of 178 miles of standard-gauge track is used alongside the 171-mile Farmrail Corporation to serve Oklahoma’s 29 communities in 12 counties.
History
Grainbelt Corporation’s parent company, Farmrail System was formed in November 1981 by George Betke to lease and operate 35 miles of the former Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad’s Sunbelt Line from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Operations between Clinton and Elk City began shortly afterwards under Farmrail Corp. In 1987, the company purchased a section of the former Burlington Northern’s St. Louis-San Francisco’s Enid Subdivision. Grainbelt Corporation was formed shortly afterwards to operate the 178-mile line between Enid and Frederick.
Operations
More than 50 consumers use Farmrail Corporation for freight haulage. The territory along the line holds some of the nation’s prime production of hard-red winter wheat, the highest-quality of gypsum deposits, and one of the largest energy reserves in the Anadarko Basin. The one constant freight traffic on the line is rock between Frederick and Clinton. The commodity is delivered from the quarry at Long to Elk City’s distribution center for use in construction projects. Industrial switching is also provided including U.S. Gypsum in Southard.
Nearly a dozen secondhand EMD diesel locomotives provide the motive power on Grainbelt Corp. The bulk of the fleet over the years were the GP9s before being phased out due to the increase in traffic. The variety now ranges from GP10s to GP38s, wearing the livery of the Farmrail System. Extra locomotives are occasionally used for the rock haulage from Frederick to Clinton.
Clinton is where Grainbelt Corporation interchanges with Farmrail Corp. From there, the GNBC connects with the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway in Enid; the Stillwater Central in Snyder; and the Wichita, Tillman & Jackson Railroad in Frederick.
Read more about the Grainbelt Corporation in Trains’ April 2015 issue.
