ASLRRA names winners of 'Schlosser' service, annual marketing awards

Yesterday, the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) named Mike Ogborn winner of the Thomas L. Schlosser Memorial Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes an individual's commitment and service to the association and its members.

ASLRRA's outgoing chairman and advisory board member who retired last year as OmniTRAX Inc.'s managing director and executive vice president, Ogborn has served the association in various capacities since 1994. He began his career with OmniTRAX in the mid-1980s.

Ogborn has been a "tireless leader and contributor" the past 20 years, ASLRRA officials said during an award ceremony yesterday at the association's annual convention in Atlanta. No one in the organization's past has held as many leadership positions, they said.

The award is named after Thomas Schlosser, the former ASLRRA chairman and Fort Worth & Western Railroad president/CEO who died in October 2011. He held various executive positions in the rail industry, including VP and chief operating officer of the California Railroad; president and COO of Park Sierra Rail Group; senior VP of RailAmerica Inc.’s Pacific Corridor, and later the Western Corridor; and CEO of Global Rail Systems.

ASLRRA also named the winners of its annual marketing awards, which will be presented today during a luncheon at the annual convention. The award recognizes regionals and short lines that demonstrated resourcefulness and an ability to adapt to change to develop new traffic.

The winners are the Alaska Railroad Corp., Gardendale Railroad Inc., New York & Atlantic Railway and Texas-New Mexico Railroad Co. Inc./West Texas & Lubbock Railway Co.

The association honored the Alaska Railroad for arranging the movement of 149-foot wind turbine blades on flat cars from Arkansas to Ferry, Alaska; the Gardendale Railroad for re-establishing rail service in Texas to accommodate increased demand in the Eagle Ford Shale; the New York & Atlantic Railway for quickly recovering from Hurricane Sandy disruptions and damage to serve existing and prospective customers that were impacted by the storm; and the Texas-New Mexico/West Texas railroads for improving and adding infrastructure to handle growing crude oil and frac sand business in the Permian Basin.

— Jeff Stagl