Model Railroad Hobbyist | September 2015 | #67 LITE AND NARROW column larry smith The Woodward Iron Railroad | A specialized railroad you can model ... LIFE AND DEATH OF THE PROTOTYPE MODERN SHORTLINES BEAR NO RESEM- BLANCE TO their predecessors of the last century and before. Beginning in the 1980s with the deregulation of the railroads, leading to the four mega-railroads we have today and their ability to abandon or spinoff the less profitable branches, we have had the rise of shortline holding companies. Some well-known names, Genesee and Wyoming, and less familiar names, Watco Industries, now own and control over 60 shortline railroads. This results in a homogenization in paint schemes and identities of the individual shortlines. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it has saved many communities from the loss of vital rail services. What we have lost is the oft-times quirkiness of the local shortline. Up until the late 1960s there were hundreds of shortlines in X X RAMBLINGS ON THE NARROW GAUGE MRHMAG.COM • TABLE OF CONTENTS • INDEX