DispatchtheThe newsletter for Watco Companies, LLC and Watco Transportation Services, LLC October 2013, Volume 14, Issue10

Dedication of the

1023 Steam Engine

October 12 - Carona Depot

Carona, Kansas

Port San Antonio's East Kelly Railport is break-ing logistics records, with a little help from Watco's San Antonio Central Railroad (SAC) and the Eagle Ford Shale play. Railport Manager German Rico stated that for fiscal year 2012 the SAC moved 5,167 railcars and that number is expected to reach ap-

proximately 10,000 railcars by the end of 2013.

About two-thirds of the volume is frac sand which arrives by train and is transloaded onto trucks for delivery to oil and gas well sites throughout the Eagle Ford Shale region.

“Success at East Kelly Railport is the result of having the right location at

the right time and working with the right partners to capture market opportunities,” said Rico. “When the Railport was launched a few years ago, we saw steady, moderate growth. Eagle Ford has been a game-changer and provides logistics firms at the Railport a strong future.”

Watco and the SAC has played an essential role in the Railport’s growth. Starting in 2012, Watco doubled track at East Kelly from four to eight miles, including a recently completed spur that allows the

handling of unit trains (approximately 100 railcars at a time with the same type of cargo). These additions have grown the Railport’s capacity four-fold—from 5,000 railcars a year before expansion to a current limit of up to 20,000 railcars a year.

The San Antonio Central Railroad, brings railcars from Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway trains outside the Railport and delivers them to Customers’ property within the Railport.

“The San Antonio Central Railroad has been a success story for 2013, nearly doubling its rail vol-umes year over year. I credit our fantastic Custom-ers and first class operations team for our success," said Ryan Williams, Watco marketing manager. "Raul, Mike, Jeff and Mario from our Operations team along with Tina and Felicia from our Cus-tomer Service team have done an out-standing job working with and finding creative solu-tions for our Customers. It’s amazing to think this is only the start. I’m looking forward for what’s to come in 2014 – stay tuned!”

by Travis HerodDirector of Safety

On October 18, 2013, in Jacksonville Florida, history was made at a meeting of the General Code

of Operating Rules Committee. It was time again, to vote new officers to helm the com-mittee that writes the operating rules that gov-erns over 300 railroads and holding companies who have adopted the General Code of Operat-ing Rules (GCOR). In an unprecedented move, one of our own, Gary C. Vaughn, senior vice president of transporta-tion rules and regula-tory compliance, was voted Chairman of the

GCOR Committee. For the first time in the history of this committee, the position of chairman would

be held not by an officer of a Class 1 railroad, but by a member who has spent the last several decades working tirelessly on behalf of the short line indus-try. While the interests of short line railroads and Watco have been well represented by Gary and other short line committee members, having a chairman elected from the ranks of the short line industry is a first in its long history, and a testament to how the industry has grown, not only in size, but also in vis-ibility and recognition by the entire ral industry.

For the next three years, Gary will serve as chair-man of the committee, working with the interests of all GCOR railroads, to ensure the operating rules we live by are clear, concise, necessary, and effec-tive. Throughout Gary's time as a member on the committee, he has helped protect the interests of the short line railroads who have adopted the General Code, while also helping to enact operating rules that are effective for all member railroads in this dy-namic and ever changing industry. He will have his work cut out for him, as during his tenure as chair-man, the next version of the General Code, Version 7, will be finalized and released to the industry. The leadership required in preparation for issuance of an entirely new book of Operating Rules will require

a very high level of teamwork between the Class 1, short line, and passenger railroads who have adopt-ed the General Code of Operating Rules.

Since coming to Watco in 2003, Gary has been continuously driven to ensure that short line rail-roads are as safe and efficient as possible, and his efforts have continuously led to a higher level of vis-ibility, both for Watco, and the short line Industry as a whole. Through his work not only on the GCOR Committee, and the numerous Rail Safety Advisory Committees he serves on, the short line industry has achieved a much higher level of respect, and atten-tion, by our Class I partners, as well as by those in Washington, when considering changes to not only Operating Rules, but also in the regulatory environ-ment of Washington. This honor of being elected Chairman of the General Code Committee, contin-ues this trend, bringing greater visibility not only of Watco, but to the short line industry as a whole, and is an amazing achievement.

This is not the first time Gary has brought credit and recognition to Watco, he was also named as the 2010 American Shortline and Regional Railroad Association’s Safety Professional of the Year, the inaugural year for that award.

page 2Dispatchthe October 2013

Watco Senior Vice President, Gary Vaughn, makes history

Gary Vaughn, Watco's senior vice president of transportation rules and regulatory compliance.

Port San Antonio’s East Kelly Railport breaking logistics records

Congressman Ryan on rail industry visit

U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan, Wisconsin 1st District, recently visited Nordo – a manufacturer of railroad maintenance of way equipment and rail inspection services and technologies based out of Oak Creek, Wisc. While at Nordco’s Oak Creek Headquarters, Congressman Ryan at-tended a briefing from Norco executives followed by a tour of the facility. The visit showcased the Nordco headquarters and maintenance-of-way facility and highlighted the importance of the rail contractor and supplier industry.

Representatives of the Canadian National Rail-way and Wisconsin and Southern Railroad were also present to discuss the continued challenges facing our nation’s railroad infrastructure. The event was hosted by the National Railroad Con-struction and Maintenance Association (NRC).

Pictured (l-r): Ryan Williams, Watco Marketing Manager; Caroline Diaz, Executive Assistant Port San Anto-nio; Celia Gonzalez, Railport Opera-tions Coordinator Port San Antonio; Raul Ramos, General Manager San Antonio Central Railroad; and Ger-man Rico, General Manager East Kelly Railport, Port San Antonio.

Pictured (l-r): German Rico, General Manager East Kelly Railport, Port San Antonio; Lupe Salinas, Director of Busi-ness Development, RLI; Loy Garcia, President, RLI; and Ryan Williams, Watco Market-ing Manager.

Pictured is Congressman Ryan accompanied by a brand new Spike Pulling Machine manufactured by Nordco.

Upcoming Watco U Courses: 101 October 8-10

201 October 15-17

RAIL Course of the Month: “Leading Innovation”

Watco University Completions101 - Jennifer Beattie, human resource manager, Corp., Petersburg, MI; Heath Covey, trainmaster, SKOL, Cherryvale, KS; Claude Childers, general manager, TIBR, Silsbee, TX; Jose Saavedra, Supervi-sor, Mech., Hockley, TX; Ruben Rodriguez, supervi-sor, mech., Coffeyville, KS; Troy Sickle, corporate mechanic, WTS, Houston, TX.201 - Terri Klapperich, Customer service man-ager, WSOR, Milwaukee, WI; Tom DeLafosse, VP of compliance,Corp., Pittsburg, KS; James Sullins, trainmaster, SLWC, Stroud, OK.

by Bob McElweeTraining and Development Specialist

What Watco group is designed and obligated to Improve Customer Satisfaction, Improve Company Profitability, help establish long term relationships, improve the work climate at all locations, decrease turnover, improve communications within Watco, improve Watco’s safety record, improve commu-nity relations, plan company social and community events, and help train Watco’s future leaders? An-swer: Each location’s TS&IC (Team Safety & Im-provement Committee). According to Rick Webb, Watco CEO, this often undervalued and misunder-stood group is an important and permanent tool in supporting Watco’s commitment to “continuous improvement.” The local TS&IC is intended to be

the answer to many questions and problems. The TS&IC is not just charged with finding problems at its location. Instead, the group’s members and leader are charged with discovering creative and innovative solutions to problems that are identified at their location. The TS&IC leader then meets with the manager on a monthly basis to offer and discuss those solutions.

When Terry Towner, Watco president, first con-ceived the idea of each location having a TS&IC to support and assist the location’s manager, he en-visioned a group whose existence would assist all team members in being engaged in the company's progress and vision. This team member engage-ment is essential to our continuous improvement and constant growth. Towner wants Watco’s team members to think of their working at Watco not just as a job, but as a career. All team members as well as their ideas and creativity are important to Watco. The existence of the TS&IC is a physical and power-ful symbol of that reality.

The Team Safety and Improvement Committee at each location is designed to enhance communi-cation between our company and our Customers, among our team members, and between our team members and the communities in which those team members live and work. Webb is convinced that the

success and growth of our company does not de-pend so much on the strength, talent, and quality of our managers as it does on the strength, quality, and talent of our front line team members who supply a service to our Customers.

“The TS&IC helps us make sure that we are doing what we say we will do to support and serve the “front line” team members who support and serve our Customers,” said Webb.

He added that he envisions the role and function of these groups to grow and evolve as the company expands, and as the needs of our Customers change.

In a recent interview, Watco’s CEO explained that as important as social and community events are in improving location morale, and as focused as we should all be on company safety, the TS&IC needs to expand its role in assisting managers to support and serve their internal and external Customers. Manag-ers should use these groups to stay in touch with the needs of their internal and external Customers.

In addition to serving managers and Customers, the TS&IC also helps support Watco’s “promote from within” policy. By training TS&IC leaders in the Watco way of leadership and management, the program helps ensure a steady supply of potential company leaders who know, believe, and manage according to the Customer First Foundation Prin-ciples.

the crossingwhere learning meets leadership

page 3Dispatchthe October 2013

One responsibility of the TS&IC is finding community service projects to get involved in. Team members on the WTPS Stroud Team collected donations for the lo-cal firefighters last year. Pictured are (l-r): Marty Rob-bins, Joel Reeder, Jeremy Shepard, Craig Long, Jason Moore, Chet Ackerman, and Tommy Dervin.

This new depot in Jerome, Idaho was one of the projects coordinated by the EIRR TS&IC.

The Eastern Idaho Railroad Team is excited to welcome a new Customer on board, Cives Steel. Cives produces custom steel structures for proj-ects such as high rises, stadiums, power plants and hospitals.

The new steel plant in Ucon recently held their grand opening with Gov. Butch Otter and several other community and business leaders on hand to join in the celebration. The facility began operations the following week, with 39 employees manufactur-ing materials for a power plant in the Midwest. The Eastern Idaho Railroad (EIRR) Team worked with

the local economic development to bring this new Customer to the area.

Cives executives say they looked around half of the country before choosing to build their plant in Ucon, noting the community’s strong family val-ues. The 52,000 sq. ft. plant could have the ability to expand to a staff of 150. The Roswell, Ga., company employs about 1,000 people at six plants in six states, all east of the Mississippi River. This is its first plant in the West.

In order to receive carloads at their site, the com-pany built track coming in from the main line and will be bringing in inbound carloads of I-beams and manufactured steel.

The EIRR brought in a locomotive for the open house with Rob Rolph serving as engineer and Hen-ery Dannahl as assistant trainmaster. Other EIRR Team Members that were on hand for the event were Dustin Korell, trainmaster, Idaho Falls; Garrett Bolyard, assistant general manager; John Anderson, roadmaster and Dusty Tenney, marketing manager.

Grand Opening held for new Idaho Customer

The EIRR locomotive sits under the beams of the Cives Steel plant in Ucon, Idaho.

The Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR) recently hosted a group from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Engineering Program to learn about general maintenance and railroad inspections. Approximately 60 students attend-ing the university course - “Maintaining, Reha-bilitating and Upgrading Conventional Railroad Track” were at WSOR’s Johnson Street Yard for a site visit and field demonstration on track tamping, surfacing and regulating track infra-structure. The pieces of equipment used for the demonstration were: Mark IV Tamper, Kershaw Regulator and a Geismar Bolt Machine.

WSOR’s Ben Meighan, superintendent of maintenance of way, and Chris Jacobson, road-master, led the group by starting out with a safety briefing followed by a brief presentation about the WSOR. The group was then escorted into the yard where they observed the process of track tamping and surfacing.

“This field demonstration was an invalu-able part of our course learning," stated Dave Peterson, Program Director of the UW-Madison

Engineering Program. “The WSOR gave our students the opportunity to visually see part of the maintenance process and how the strategies we learned in the classroom are practiced in the field," he added.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering provides curriculums each year that help attendees gain a working knowledge of the basics of track structure performance, causes of common problems, and cost-effective maintenance and rehabilitation techniques. The courses also teach how axle loads, traffic density and operating speed affect your choice of reha-bilitation and upgrading plans.

A big thanks to Ben Meighan, Chris Jacobson, Art Gurney, Gary Westphal Brian Baker and the entire team at WSOR for making this event possible.

page 4Dispatchthe October 2013

The University of Wisconsin-Madison and WSOR “Team Up” to offer courses

Top photo: WSOR’s Ben Meighan, Chris Jacobson and Brian Baker welcome the group to the WSOR. Bottom photo: A WSOR Team Member demon-strates the use of the Geismar Bolt Machine.

A "crane" event was recently held in Western Australia by Watco's Mechanical Rolllingstock Group. A call was placed to WWAR by major rail transporter SCT (Spe-cialized Container Transport) to aid in replacing a wheelset at a remote siding location east of Perth named Grass Valley.

Watco Team Members Bruno Ottaviano and Mike Sutton, who head up our Mechani-cal Rollingstock Group, put their expertise to work and assisted SCT in the change-out.

Several large cranes from Boom Logistics were hired and with the assistance of Watco Field Service Techni-cians Rob Mansell and Craig Southerland, a successful lift and change-out was com-pleted.

The change-out was a joint venture with Downer Rail, the SCT's service provider. The recovery went exactly as planned with no injuries and Downer Rail, who is now one of our Customers, was very pleased with the rapid response.

Sutton, said, "We were glad to assist our new Customer SCT and get their big AC traction loco back into ser-vice at the same location that it failed at. I'm pleased with our Mechanical Rollingstock Group and how they are making a name for them-selves in third party work. News travels fast in the rail industry and this opportunity will help us approach other possible Customers with our capabilities."

WWAR's "Crane" event

WWAR Team Members performing the change-out on the SCT locomotive wheelset.

First WWAR distributed power train travels to Cranbrook

WWAR made history on Sept. 20th when they operated their first distributed powered train to Cranbrook for loading from Albany for our grain Customer CBH.

Distributed power units (DPU) give us the ability to place the loco-motives at intermediate points on a train , the most common would be in the middle or on each end of the consist, instead of on the head end of a train. DPU locomotives are remotely controlled from the leading locomotive .

There are many benefits to implementing DPU power in Western Australia. Most of the traffic WWAR moves in WA is generally consits of 52 or more wagons (railcars) in each train therefor, efficiencies in cycle time and man hours will be gained with a locomotive placed on each end of the consist. Switching and set-up time will be reduced be-cause they can now pull in and load or unload and then have the driv-ers walk to the other end and pull out. They can also set up the DPU locomotives with one on the head end and one in the middle when co-loading a train which would alleviate shutting.

Distributed Power technology carries fuel benefits as well because when longer trains are created with DPU there is reduced drawbar pull which will reduce the lateral force between wheel and rail on curves, thus minimizing wear on various components. Lower friction results in fuel savings when running heavier trains.

One thing that Pittsburg, Kansas has that many towns the same size don't is an abun-dance of entrepreneurs. Just like Dick Webb, Watco Founder, other Pittsburg companies were started in the homes of the owner and choose to continue to operate out of Pittsburg once they became successful. Miller's Professional Imag-ing, Pitsco, and Names and Numbers are just a few of the successful area businesses that are a good example for young leaders to learn from.

The Leadership Kansas class was in Pittsburg on September 25, 26, and 27 to visit the area and learn about things going on in Pittsburg and Kansas that will effect the business world. The 40 students came from as far away as Goodland and Garden City to participate in the three day event.

While in Southeast Kansas the class had a chance to tour Historic Fort Scott, visit Big Bru-tus, shoot sporting clays at Claythorne Lodge, tour Pittsburg State University and for those who really wanted to venture out, check out the casinos just across the Missouri border.

Rick Baden, Watco COO, welcomed the group to Pittsburg, and gave them a quick slide show talking about Watco and how the company was started. Following the welcome, a transportation

panel discussed Kansas transportaion issues and answered questions from the audience.

The panel was made up of Sen. Jake LaTurner, Watco CEO Rick Webb, and Mike King, Secre-tary of Kansas Department of Transportation.

page 5Dispatchthe October 2013

Leadership Kansas class visits Watco Companies

The Leadership Kansas panel: "Moving Forward on Rails and Roads; Transportation Infrastructure and the Kansas Economy" moderated by Blake Benson, Pittsburg (Kan.) Area Chamber of Com-merce. The panel (l-r): Sen. Jake LaTurner, Watco CEO Rick Webb, and Mike King, Secretary of Kansas Department of Transportation.

September 2nd was a special day for railroad fans in Idaho. High Iron Excursion, a railroad excur-sion company, rolled into Idaho Falls with four cars and 38 passengers to enjoy the scenic view in East-ern Idaho. The train traveled on the Amtrak line to Idaho Falls on September 1 and the next day the cars were hooked up to Eastern Idaho Railroad's (EIRR) power.

The passengers on the train rode from Idaho Falls north to Ashton and back again. There were a total of four pieces of equipment on the excursion trip; the Caritas, an open platform business car; Cimarron River, a 14 rmte-4 bdr. sleeper; Big Dome, ex-Santa Fe; and Pacific Sands, a 10 rmte-6 bdr. sleeper.

Jim Fetchero, manager of passenger car operations, said, "Thanks for the great job of handling the High Iron excursion train on the Eastern Idaho Railroad. I can't tell you how much we really appreciate how easy it was setting up the trip and how great the crews were that actually ran the train. Our passen-gers thoroughly enjoyed their ride to Ashton and the trip was considered a major success! The parking spot in Idaho Falls was perfect as well. It had great access, water, and nice passenger landing. We will look forward to working with you and Watco again in the future on similar trips."

Excursion train traverses the EIRR

The High Iron excursion cars wait while the Eastern Idaho locomotive circles around to connect to the cars for the ride back to Idaho Falls.

Dispatchthe

The Dispatch welcomes and encourages input from all readers. If you are interested in submitting

articles, story ideas, photos and announcements (wedding, birth, etc.) e-mail them to:

tvan@watcocompanies.com or mail to: Tracie VanBecelaereWatco Companies315 W. 3rd Street

Pittsburg, KS 66762

Improve your health through better time managementWhat could you accomplish if you had an extra hour in your day? Maybe you’d be able to fit in

a workout, go to bed a little earlier, or spend more time with your friends and family. With better time management skills, you’ll have more time to accomplish goals like these, and you can improve your health too. Here are some helpful tips to get you started.

1. Assess your current habitsUse an activity log to track how you spend your time. Start by writing down everything you do. Rank the importance of each task and record start and end times. Review your activ-ity log after several days to see if you can identify areas for improvement.

2. Keep track of your responsibilitiesStart carrying a day planner or use a smartphone application to record dates and deadlines. Break large projects down into smaller tasks and spread them out on your calendar.

3. Prioritize tasks Make a “to-do” list and organize it with the most important things first. When

you have too much on your list, don’t be afraid to say “no” to new projects. 4. Improve your focus

Put away your phone, shut off your email, and limit other distractions during the time of day

when you are most productive. Make sure to take a break if you need one—you’ll be more focused when you start working again.

If you have a goal in mind but never seem to have time to spend working towards it, follow the tips above. With the time you save, achieving your goal could be easier than you thought.

*Information provided by Coordinated Health/Care

by Eddie ArredondoVice President, Human Resources, Mechanical

My grandfather Eduardo Arredondo Sr. is 103 years young. He is still very active, feeds himself, bathes himself and loves to talk about almost any-thing, although, most of the time he prefers to talk about what happened 50 years ago. My Dad started telling me about 15 years ago, “I don’t know how much longer your grandpa will be around." Well, I guess he had a couple of more years.

Every time I would visit him, he would ask me where I worked and when I joined Watco six years ago, he was fascinated with trains. One day I brought him a Watco cap and he would not take that cap off, others would give him caps but he only wore the Watco cap. He would ask me what it was like to ride on the trains and said how exciting it would be to see the countryside and blow the horn. One day he asked me how much coal it took to move a train, I had to explain to him that we now use diesel engines.

During my visits with my grandpa he would talk to me about where he had been and what he had done; how President Roosevelt did this or that and about the assassination of President Kennedy and who he felt was responsible. It was during this conversation that I asked him, “So with all the things that you have done and places you have seen, what would you like to do that you have not done?” Then

he surprised me by saying, “I would love to drive a train like you and blow the horn. " I never had the heart to tell him before that I am not an engineer/conductor.

As I was telling this story to my co-workers I was reminded that we (Watco) have a railroad in San Antonio, Texas, where he often spends time visiting his daughters.

I spoke to the leadership team at the San Antonio railroad and they were very supportive about allow-ing my grandfather to take a small ride on a private lot. I was nervous because of the safety concerns with my grandfather and talked to the local team in San Antonio. I was stunned by their response. They said, "Don’t worry about your grandfather, nobody gets hurt on our railroad - nobody." I continued to remind them that my grandpa was 103 and although he could walk by himself, he was still very fragile.

They replied, “Eddie, this is not about how old your grandfather is. We own the safety on the San Antonio Railroad and nobody, and we mean no-body, gets injured on our railroad, no matter what needs to happen to prepare, we will be prepared. Because nobody gets injured on our railroad and we take that responsibility very seriously”.

It was then that I realized that no matter what, my grandpa was in good hands. I told my dad that in a couple of weeks I would be taking my grandpa to the railroad. He called me back the next day and told me he had shared the news with my grandpa and he

was so excited that he wanted to know why he could not go now, time is wasting.

What trainmaster Raul Ramos and trainmen Jef-fery Pacheco and Mario Salinas did that day was extraordinary and the experience was more than I could ever have imagined for my grandpa. As my grandpa stated with a grin after the train ride during lunch, “The engine was loud, but the horn was the best."

Thank you San Antonio Railroad team members, Raul, Jeffery and Mario; you gave my grand-father a huge treat. But more impor-tantly, for setting the stage for safety, there is no doubt that your team owns their Safety and they demonstrated that to me that day what the true meaning behind safety is.

This is a true testament to the great leadership and execution of the Watco Foundation Principles.

On behalf of Eduardo Arredondo Sr. and III - thank you.

page 6Dispatchthe October 2013

Eduardo Arredondo, 103, rides in a San Antonio Central locomotive.

Dick Webb purchased what was the old Darby railcar shop in Coffeyville, Kansas in 1985 and with a contract to repair coal cars in hand, Watco's Mechanical Division was born. Things have changed quite a bit since then, Watco now operates 16 mechanical shops and the emphasis is changing to repairing a different type of energy related railcar.

With huge shale plays being discovered across the states, crude by rail has become the new coal move and with that comes the demand for tank cars to transport the crude and crude products in. As the demand for tank cars is increasing so is the need for shops that will perform tank car certifications to en-sure that the cars carrying the black gold to market have met all qualifications needed for a safe trip.

Dion Wilkens, Coffeyville shop manager, said, "We saw this coming down the pipeline. When you calculate the age of the tank cars and the inspections and certifications needed, we knew that in order to meet the Customer demand we had to make some adjustments."

The adjustments that Wilkens is talking about included tearing down the original shop in order to replace it with a new building to accommodate a four-car spot. The original building, or "heavy barn" as the team called it, was built in the early 1900's.

"Seeing some of the team members reactions who have spent a majority of their careers in the old "heavy barn", you could tell they had a flashback on their careers and all the memories that will never be forgotten," said Bubba Lundy, management trainee, Central Region railcar and grandson of Dick Webb. "You could tell that there was sadness but yet a lot of excitement to see the improvements being made to the shop. I know my grandpa would be very proud of all the accomplishments that his first mechanical shop has made and this is one of the most exciting ones."

In addition to the space in the building, there is track space available for 170 cars. The tank car capa-bilities will be an add-on to what the shop is already doing for current Customers.

"We will keep providing the same service to the Customers that we have served for many years," said Wilkens. "This is just a an additional service that we are providing brought on by following the Customer

First Principles and listening to our Customers needs and working to find solutions for them."

In order to meet the demand for old and new services the location plans to hire 14 new team members.

"We've got a few people hired already but would like anyone interested to visit our website at www.watcocompanies.com and fill out an application," said Nicole Kirby, Watco recruiter. "There are incen-tives available for current team members who refer job applicants who get hired on at the location."

The Coffeyville shop completed its Tank Shop Qualification Audit and should receive its Certifica-tion in October 2013.

Watco's oldest shop getting neW features

The old "barn" in Coffeyville, Kan., was the location of Watco's first mechanical shop.

Demolition of the old "barn" was completed to make room for the new four-car spot building.

San Antonio RR fulfills 103 year-old's dream

Congratulations to the following team members celebrating their anniversaries!

1 Year: Christopher Allen, Crispin Bartley, Rebecca Beaudry, Jordan Bennett, Roger Blaker, Shane Botts, Brandon Briggs, Jean Camphort, Peter Christy, Gerald Clark, William Cooper, Tyler Crawford, Heather Dunagan, Billy Estes, Justin Finley, Horace Frazier, Jo-seph Freeman, Michael Galligan, Jesus Garcia, Daniel Griffin, Mark Hagen, John Harrigan, Samuel Herrera, Quentin Jones, Clinton Kerkman, Victor Klapperich, David Lawson, Jeffrey Liggett, Larkland Linton, Charles Littlefield, Brant Littrell, Timothy Lundy, Carlton Lynch, Carlneil Maxie, Brian Morgan, Austin Osborn, Justin Phillips, Anthony Plathe, Yvonne Rich, Gabriel Smith, Patrick Smith, Jerrold Thurman, Alvaro Tovar, David Wagnon, Timothy Wallace, Richard Wheeler, John White, James Zimmerman, Michael Ziviello2 Years: Joseph Abrahamson, Tyler Bennett, Peter Ber-cier, Wesley Bounds, Bryan Brooks, Jeffrey Buck, Mario Cardoza, Brandon Crawford, Jonathan Dennis, David Doiron, Terry Dunklebarger, Joseph Dziabo, Joseph Entrekin, Lonnie Evans, Thomas Everson, Douglas Frazier, Charles Frerich, Roland Gardner, Shane Gillett, Gabriel Grad, McKenzie Green, Joseph Hartley, Travis Ivy, Trenton Jones, Timothy Joyce, Roy Killman, Brian Manning, Tomas Martinez, Nicholas McMillan, Jarrett McPherson, Erik Mitchell, Juan Montanez, Marilyn Moore, Michael Morales, John Mullen, Paul Ortega, Tanya Paley, Arturo Perez, Jason Pierre, Bryan Pitts, Leonel Ruiz, Salvador Sanchez, Keith Schepp, Michael Sepulvado, Steven Smoke, Robert Sullivan, Michael Tucker, Jeremy Veley, Derrick Williams3 Years: Miguel Auces, Corey Black, Timothy Dykes, William Gray, Joshua Knisley, Charles Montgomery, Valerie Petocz, Kenneth Pettit, Jonathan Randall, Dale Scalisi, William Sorensen4 Years: Bryan Anderson, Rebekah Bolton, Edward Brien, Earl Bruce, Joseph Carlucci, Lynn Clark, Chad Davis, Joseph Degenstein, Tommy Dervin, Mark Dryer, Dale Dunn, Kevin Flammang, Donovan Hudson, Elvis Johns, Todd Johnson, Gerry Knutson, Dennis Neufeld, Peter Pappas, Melissa Parker, Aaron Pattee, Brian Pitt, Joel Reeder, Larry Richardson, Jeremy Sepulvado, Michael Toler, James Walker, Dion Weichel5 Years: Sherrie Baykowski, Mark Bowen, David Cain, Bert Clover, Lucas Conrad, James Culbertson, Guy Ev-ans, Troy Forbis, Michael Harris, David Heller, Justin Huguenin, Jon Johnson, Sharon Novotni, Justin Ray,

Donald Savage, James Shoop, Bryan Welker, Douglas Wolnik6 Years: Jana Austerman, Billy Barton, Gumaro Castillo, Ryan Gordon, Roger Howard, Richard Johnson, Brad Peck, Rikki Rainville, Steven Roland, Amanda Santana, Jason Seger, Joseph Skitz, Sterling Teague7 Years: Greg Baker, Jocelyn Garrett, Curtis Hanna, Christopher Henning, Cody Johnson, Teri Kinyon, Jesse Lambert, Karl Meyer, Michael Minnich, Valerie Powell, Keith Reed, Michael Richardson, Matthew Stover, Asa Walker8 Years: William Bouse, Christopher Brotzman, An-nette Lane, Scotty Presley, Jose Saavedra, Diana Schef-fel, Thomas Scherzer, Delia Winegarner9 Years: Venson Bell, Galen Dyck, Bo Fox, Travis Herod, Christopher Nielsen, Christian Reid, Jereud Uscola10 Years: Marvin Albritton, Jeff Baum, David Ham-brick, Kyle Kozman, Charles McGinn, Michael Welch, Ricky Wilcox11 Years: William Czapla, Kevin Nugent12 Years: Scott Lynas, James Wren13 Years: David Clapper14 Years: Lisa Berry15 Years: Norman Neal16 Years: Donald Brau, Becky Fearmonti, Heath Mor-gan17 Years: Ivan Ferrin, Phillip Lee, Edward Moore18 Years: Rodney Daugherty, Johnny Guthrie, Steven Korell, Roosevelt Robinson, Steve Sommers19 Years: Richard Heverly, Lori Magee, Christopher Smith20 Years: Cirilo Bueno, Albin Harris, Michael Lavender21 Years: Brian Daentl, Bruce Huerter, Craig Stansbury22 Years: Tony Clark, Jamie Swaynos23 Years: Kevin Welshans24 Years: Eddie Bennatt, Kelvin Matthews, Rogers Waddy25 Years: Michael Allen, James Filegar, Franklin Miller26 Years: Earl Holt, Michael Tappy, Paul Tickner27 Years: James Moore28 Years: Keith Lacaze29 Years: James Nichols, Clarence Parrie, Mark Turner30 Years: Phil Penner32 Years: Lonnie Joyce, Dave Turner33 Years: Bernard Meighan38 Years: Robert Parker39 Years: Ricky Hicks48 Years: E O. Erickson

page 7Dispatchthe October 2013

WAT CO

WO R L D

This section is dedicated to the Watco Team members to give you a chance to share what’s happening in your corner of the Watco World.

OCTOBER ANNIVERSARIES

GraduationsBrenda Caruthers, Stillwater Central Railroad's

Customer Service Representative recently trav-eled to Illinois for a special graduation ceremony. Brenda's son, Anthony Caruthers, 19, graduated from boot camp at the Naval Station in Great Lakes, Ill., on August 30th.Out of 11 divisions, his was the only one that re-

ceived the Battle Efficiency Award. The criterion for the award is the overall readiness of the command to carry out its assigned wartime tasks.Anthony served as the

Athletic Petty Officer of his division. He also played trumpet in the band during his graduation ceremony. Anthony is currently at-

tending the “A” school in the Great Lakes and will soon be moving on to the Naval Station in Norfolk, Va. Anthony graduated from Baxter Springs High

School in May of 2013.

DeathsRobert Virgil "Bobby" Kuehnel Jr., 53, died unex-

pectedly at 11:31 a.m., Saturday, August 3, 2013 at his residence. Bobby worked at Watco's Mechanical shop in Wood River, Ill., since 2005.

He was born in Jerseyville, Ill., on June 9, 1960, to Rob-ert Virgil & Norma (Inger-soll) Kuehnel Sr.He grew up in Jerseyville,

and graduated in 1978 from Jersey Community High School. He was played baseball with the Khoury League as a youth, and was an avid softball player participating in the Jer-seyville City League, Farm Bureau League, and the "Old

Timers" League. He also coached his son's Khoury League teams through the years. He enjoyed golf-ing, hunting, Nascar racing, but his true passion was participating in various Demolition Derby's throughout numerous county fairs. His Demo family, the "Brew Crew" was his life and he enjoyed

Anthony Caruthers

Robert "Bobby" Kuehnel every minute participating and socializing amongst

them.Bobby truly personified "Living life to the fullest"

and will truly be missed by all who knew him.Surviving are his parents, Rob & Norma Kuehnel of

Jerseyville; two sons, Joshua Kuehnel of Godfrey and Justin Kuehnel of Jerseyville; a brother & sister in law, Tim & Ann Kuehnel of Pawnee; a sister & brother in law, Beth & Mark Eldridge of Jerseyville; two neph-

ews; three nieces; along with numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.He was preceded in death by his grandparents,

Richard & Dorothy Ingersoll and William & Viola Kuehnel.Funeral Services were held at the Crawford Funeral

Home in Jerseyville, with the Rev. Ted Engelsdorfer officiating. Burial was at the Oak Grove Cemetery in Jerseyville.

Dispatchthe

315 W. Third StreetPittsburg, KS 66762www.watcocompanies.com

PRST STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDPRADMAR CORPThe newsletter for Watco Companies, LLC and Watco Transportation Services, LLC

October 2013, Volume 14, Issue 10

Thirty years ago Dick Webb sought to provide a level of service to Customers that was unheard of at that point in time. With this in mind, he began serving the switch-ing needs of Boise in DeRidder, La. Because of his commitment and that of our team members, Watco now serves 27 switching locations includ-ing that first Customer, Boise.

The managers of the Gulf/East Region switching locations recently met in Houston, Texas for an annual Managers Meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to review informa-tion on several topics such as: safety, upcoming policy changes, perfor-mance evaluations, financial per-formance, card reconciliations, and sexual harassment training. Keeping the managers updated on the chang-ing policies and regulations is key in enabling them to better serve our Customers and team.

Penny Wood and Tim Enayati

attended from the Pittsburg, Kansas office to provide instruction on a couple of the topics.

“The meeting was very productive and beneficial for our entire team," said Keith LaCaze, vice president of switching operations and locomo-tive leasing. "The meeting focused primarily on upcoming policy changes and continued focus on our safety culture. With the entire Gulf/East Switching Team together we were able to cover a lot of topics and get a lot of items addressed in a short period of time.” Artis McGinnis, location manager at Monroeville, Ala., said, "I've attend-ed a few switching manager meet-ings and found it to be a necessity when managing my team to work safely and efficiently. It's also a great time for team building and interact-ing with other managers learning from their experiences managing switching locations."

Switching Division Managers Meeting

Attendees at the Switching Managers Meeting were: front row (l-r) Keith LaCa-ze, David Doiron, David Larch, Lewis Barlow, Danyale Norman, Bernardo Cue-vas, Keith Johnson, Ronald Perkins, and Tony Clark. Middle row (l-r) Patrick Holden, Cornelius Jones, Brandon Eddleman, David Bader, Bob Devillier, Artis McGinnis, and David Gibson. Back row (l-r) Don Rudd, David Hambrick, Tony Kirkland, Benny Coward, John Snow, Roger Easterling, Ernie Austin, and Tim Enayati. Not pictured (taking the picture) Penny Wood and Danny Barrington.

The Wisconsin and Southern Railway (WSOR) Team considers every visitor special but on October 19 the team had some special visitors from quite far away. Five managers from Eurosib – a Russian railway company visited the WSOR to learn more about the U.S. Freight Rail Industry. Eurosib Chief Executive Officer Dmitri Nikitin was the special guest and with him were Mikhail Ivanov, director department of develop-ment; Rodan Senekl, director of Eurosib; Ilya Mezhevoy, head of legal department, and Liliya Robinson, Russian / American translator.

Hosts from the WSOR were Dabry Destromp, assistant general manager;Ben Meighan, superinten-dent of maintenance of way; and Ken Lucht, director of government relations.

Driven by Rus-sian National Railway reform efforts, Nikitin was interested in learn-ing how major U.S. Railroads balance privatization with national economic goals and regulatory standards. The vertical integration of the U.S. Railroad Industry was of great interest to Nikitin and the delegation.

More importantly, the delegation was fascinated with how our industry is based on the free market – supply/demand of goods and services. In Russia, the infra-structure & assets are owned by the national government and service and rates are set forth by the government. Learning how successful the U.S. Freight Industry has become since passage of the Staggers Act will help Eurosib prepare itself for complete privatization of the Russian Railroad System, which is currently under discussion.

Eurosib is one of the largest Russian railway operators and logistics providers, owning 14,000 freight railcars, operating two terminals (Saint Petersburg, Novosi-birsk), and operating approximately 20 million tons of freight and container trains across Russia. Eurosib also provides logistic services cooperating closely with Russian state railway company RZD.

After a series of morning meetings, Eurosib Executives took a tour of WSOR’s Headquarters in Milwaukee, stopping at WSOR’s dispatch center for a bit.

Russian Railway delegation visits the Wisconsin Southern

Pictured from left to right is: Ilya Mezhevoy, Dmitry Niki-tin, Rodan Senekl, Mikhail Ivanov, and our own Rich Man-ning of WSOR Dispatch. Shown in part behind Mikhail is Liliya Robinson.