The Dispatch March 2024

Scholarship Applications Due April 1

High school seniors, apply today to earn a $2,000 scholarship.

To be considered, you must be:

• An eligible dependent of a Watco team member

• In good academic standing

• Planning to attend a post-secondary institution within one year of graduating high school.

Complete the scholarship application here Questions? Email watcogives@watco.com.

February 1 - Goodyear/Ingenia Switching (TX) - 11 years

February 1 - Bronx Dedicated Terminal (NY) - 9 years

February 1 - Brooklyn Dedicated Terminal (NY) - 9 years

February 1 - Chicago Heights Transload Terminal (IL) - 9 years

February 1 - Euclid Transload Terminal (TBT) (OH) - 9 years

February 1 - Roanoke Transload Terminal (TBT) (VA) - 9 years

February 1 - Willis Transload Terminal (MI) - 9 years

February 3 - Port of Vicksburg (MS) - 3 years

February 4 - Linden Dedicated Terminal (NJ) - 4 years

February 10 - Hammond Switching (IN) - 2 years

February 11 - Dallas Zacha Transload Terminal (TX) - 2 years

February 15 - Gillette Thunder Basin (WY) Switching - 2 years

February 15 - Port Arthur Dedicated Terminal (TX) - 9 years

February 16 - Columbus Transload Terminal (TBT) (OH) - 9 years

Take Steps to Plan for Retirement

Whether you’re at the beginning of your career, nearing the end, or somewhere in between, it’s always a good idea to plan for retirement. One way you can do that is by participating in Watco’s 401(k) plan. This benefit is available to all team members and is administered through BOK Financial.

How to Open a 401(k) Account

Open and/or manage your 401(k) account at any time. There are three easy ways to enroll:

• Go to the Start Right website. Or visit go.watco.com and in the HR and Benefits section, select the BOK Financial 401(k) icon. If you’re a new user to the site, select Register for online access and follow the prompts.

• Call a BOK Start Right Participation Services Representative at (800) 876-9557.

• Complete the Quick Enrollment Form (provided to you by the benefits team or people service manager) and send it to benefits@watco.com

There’s an App for That

View and make changes to your 401(k) plan on your mobile device or tablet. Download the Start Right Retire Right app available on Apple’s App Store or Google Play.

Company Match

You’re not on your own when it comes to investing in your retirement. Watco matches 50 cents of every dollar you contribute, up to 10% of compensation.

Adjust Your Contributions

You are eligible to start or stop contributions at any time. It’s also possible to increase or decrease contributions throughout the year via the website or app, or by calling (800) 876-9557.

Financial Planning Resources

Workshops are regularly hosted by BOK. Topics range from how to get started planning and investing basics to pre-retirement strategies. Starting soon, team members will receive monthly emails from BOK on retirement-saving strategies.

You can also meet one-on-one with BOK Financial Advisor Corbin Knollman, at no cost to you. Contact him at cknollman@bokf.com or (913) 905-6242.

Watco Team Shows Up After Unexpected Ice Storm

Earlier this winter an unexpected ice storm uprooted trees, closed roads, and temporarily shut down the town of Toledo, Oregon. Despite the inclement weather, the local Watco team still found a way to report to work at a customer’s paper mill.

Location Manager Nate Burke along with Switchmen Josh Theis, Misha Norton, and Tyler Dzierzek live in town, within a 30-minute walk of the mill. They wore cleats or snow boots to walk from their homes to the mill’s switching site.

Meanwhile, Switchman Brian Kelley, who lives outside of town, spent five nights at the switching site. Burke said: “Brian planned for the worst. He stocked up on food, set up an air mattress, and hunkered down here.”

The ice storm knocked out power across town, including at the paper mill, which typically operates around the clock, seven days a week.

Burke said, “Brian was there when the power went out. He texted me right after to let me know. He was like, ‘It’s pretty spooky here.’”

The loss of power didn’t stop the Watco team from showing up to support the customer. The team worked ahead to load railcars, clear ice from switches, and remove downed trees from tracks. Their efforts helped the customer resume operations once power was restored.

“I didn’t know what to expect from my team,” Burke said. “But they showed up and helped out. Their dedication is incredible.”

Austin Western Pilots New Train System

Watco’s Austin Western Railroad (AWRR) is nearing the completion of a project that is very rare for a short line to undertake: equipping 10 of their locomotives with a distributive power system.

Distributive power (DP) allows the Austin Western to place their locomotives at different points in the train, usually at each end. All the engines communicate with each other and are operated by a single train crew. The system is a significant investment and the installation and conversion of the locomotives are time consuming.

“Distributive power gives our crews better control of their trains,” said Ben Tarran, director of locomotive support and lead on the project. “The Austin Western is a great place to implement this system due to the area’s geography and the commodities the railroad hauls.”

The AWRR regularly hauls heavy rock trains, and the line’s steep grades and curves present a challenge when all the locomotives are located on one end. They can be placed at each end, but without distributive power, it requires a second crew. Now, one crew can control all the locomotives.

“Typically, we might use five locomotives at the front of the train,” Tarran said. “That can make the locomotives bog down on hills and curves. Now, if we put DP locomotives at the front and the back, one engineer can control all the locomotives’ throttles and brakes as they negotiate the track conditions.”

The benefits of DP make the investment worth it. By simultaneously pushing and pulling the train, it lessens the forces on knuckles that couple the cars together as they navigate the slopes and curves of the AWRR.

This reduces wear and tear on the railcars. Better control also increases safety. The AWRR passes through many communities and even shares the rail with Austin’s busy commuter line.

DP creates fuel-saving opportunities. It takes fewer locomotives to do the same job, and since the team can push and pull at the same time, they don’t have to rev the engines as high.

“In the past, they might be running five engines at notch 8 to get up some of these hills,” Tarran said. “Now, we might have four locomotives at notch 6. There’s definite fuel savings there.”

Installation was no easy task. Supply chain issues delayed delivery, and when the components arrived, it took extensive work from the AWRR team and their vendor, Precision Train Control Services, to make it all work. It’s not simply plug-and-play. Wiring harnesses and circuit boards had to be built from scratch before the control units could be integrated. Another aspect of DP is the Fast Brake system. This meant the old braking system had to be torn out of the locomotives and completely replaced with an electronic braking system.

Finally, the AWRR crews had to be trained. DP-equipped trains handle differently. The team worked with trainers at the Safe Performance Center (SPC) to create an AWRR program for their locomotive simulators. The SPC’s mobile simulator was set up with the AWRR’s track conditions and new DP capabilities and brought on-site so engineers could gain valuable experience before physically handling the new system.

Team Leaders Shine in New York

What makes for a great leader? Words like helpful and patient come to mind. And according to AVP of Operations Paul Suarino, Operations Manager Leon Bangari and Supervisor Ansil Antoine possess these qualities and more.

Bangari oversees the dedicated terminals in the Queens and Brooklyn Dedicated Terminals and Antoine serves as a site leader at the Brooklyn facility. Both locations are devoted to serving the same customer in New York City.

The team’s at these locations are responsible for transloading containers from the customer’s facility to truck and then rail. They often work 10-hour shifts, six days a week.

Among his team, Bangari is considered an expert in operating a reach stacker. He trains all new team members on how to safely use it to move containers back inside the customer’s facility. Suarino said: “Leon’s training procedures are not your standard procedures. Okay is not good enough. There’s little room for error.”

Antoine’s typically the first person to arrive at the Brooklyn terminal. He gets there early to ensure everything is ready for the crew to start their day, from starting heavy machinery and equipment to putting up blue flags to protect crossings.

“Leon and Ansil are special,” said Suarino. “It’s because of them that we have a safe, family-like work environment at both terminals.”

1 Year:

Team Member Anniversaries

Congratulations to the following team members celebrating March anniversaries:

Dixon Aderhold, Phillip Aguillon, Erlin Aragon, Roy Austin, Andres Azahar, Wayne Blackshire, John Brunk, Madison Bryant, Matthew Bullock, Daniel Clarke, Kendal Davis, Eduardo De La Torre, Connie Dodd, Jessica Dues, Sean Ecret, Wendy Feltman, Jeremy Gannan, Bradley Gardner, Robert Garza, Sergio Gomez Jaime, Nathan Goodwin, Elijah Green, Yasmin Green, Pascual Guajardo, Forest Jason Hafen, Tanner Hairfield, Trelon Harris, Austen Hayden, John Hensley, Paul Hernandez, Salvador Hernandez, Logan Hoggle, Mckinley Holman, McKenzie Hood, Derek Howell, Michael Hoying, Kiren Johnson, Stephen Jones, Heather Lang, Dustin Larsen, Nicole Ledford, Jason Lindsey, John Lorenz, Matthew Machell, Ragan

Maldonado, Jeremiah Manning, John McBride, Analise McCormick, Graylin Mckellum, Samantha Munoz, Ebenezer Nwogu, Zane Perry, Nicholas Petrie, Hunter Post, Pierce Rambow, Maria Rivera, Nathan Romanyshyn, Joshua Sahagun, Cinthya Salinas, Lenardo Sanchez, Mais Schulte, Nolan Sheridan, Alexandre Simoes de Lacerda, Justin Skarohlid, Riley Stacey, Corbin Steadman, Zachary Taylor, Jesse Tunoa, Anthony Warn, Ryan Whitacre, D’Ondre Williams, Jaret Willoughby, Christopher Yarber

2 Years:

Anthony Arceneaux, Lisa AuCoin, Rigoberto Barajas, Joshua Beaudry, Lucas Bellamy, Robert Bochenek, Zachary Boehme, Sean Cochran, Shawn Cotter, Chad Crosswhite, Kodi Dean, Brandon Denton, Marcos Dominguez,

Katelyn Dupuis, Cortnie Escobedo, Daniel Ferguson, Linda Galvan, Cameron Gregg, Jonathan Grimes, Dustin Hall, Grant Harris, Heather Harris, Jacob Hollins, Joshua Hyde, Daniel Jaremba, Dustin Jensen, Robert Knox, John Krug, Wayne Lawrence, Alondra Lozano, Zachary Martin, Damien Mason, Sean McCarthy, Ryan Milstead, James Moser, Paul Mounter, Gary Parsons, Joseph Robertson, Sterling Robertson, Francisco Rojas Zuniga, Elizabeth Ross, Saul Salazar Botello, Brandon Schuh, Dorothea Stroup, Dawson Sturtz, Christopher Sutton, Henry Thomas, Kelly Troy, Bradley Varcoe, Randy Vosper, Corey Warner, Jeremy Williams, Maverick Wilson, Desiree Winegarner, Elijah Witte

3 Years:

Ernest Butler, Melissa Castillo, Katia Chiri Flores, Delina-Rae Christoffersen, Rodolfo Crespo, Peter De Jongh, William Diehl, Keith Donelow, Randy Eddy, Stephen Ellery, Ismael Escobedo, Jailene Fierro, Michael Harmon, Brian Harris, Geoffrey Hills, Michael Howell, Rebekah Jeans, Jamaih Joseph, Eric Lavergne, Partner Lolohea, Peter Maurice, Zacharie Maynard, Triston Parham, Joanna Perez, Chelsea Rackleff, Kane Rockwell, Bryant Scallorn, Christopher Senecaut, Allan Spain, Dewey Stafford, Rico Valle, Edward Verlanic

4 Years:

Francisco Alvear, Gelman Aranda Valladares, Aaron Awbrey, Joseph Bell, Kirby Bilsland, Reene Bruce, Ted Buchler, Vincent Caprini, Alberto Cardenas, Lisseth Casco, Radhiah Dutczak, Lawrence

Egbujor, Johnny Fonseca Jr, Sean Fuselier, Luis Granados, Sergio Guerrero, Derick Handegan, Paula Horne, William Horne, Andre Jackson, Cedric Jones, Bernanbe Juarez Camey, Danielle MacKenzie, Derwin Malloy, William Martinez, Julio Melendez, Joe Munoz, Jose Najera, Victor Nerys, Romeo Olvera, Manuel Penaloza, Eric Perez, Lindsey Phillips, Melvin Rodriguez, Joshua Roy, Richard Sosa, Terri Spiller, Danielle Turner, Jesus Vieyra Alvarez, Gregorio Villa, Mario Villalobos

5 Years:

Clarence Brindley, Jose Carrizales, Alexander Dakar, Isaias Diaz, Enrique Garcia, John Garrison, Nichole Grove, Benjamin Hasselbusch, Matthew Inman, Tristan Ivy, Michael Lawson, Devinaire Martinez, Bryan Melgar, Dylan Nesbit, Sara Peak, Hunter Perryman, Jose Piedra, Francisco Ramirez, Travis Robertson, Richard Rockwell, Eduardo Sierra Abarca

6 Years:

Joel Armenta-Delgado, Bobby Baker, Tanner Bond, Linda Cisneros, Antonio Colunga, Talon Cook, Aaron Dean, Kyle Futrell, Jordan Garcia, Jeremy Horning, Laura Jagels, Katelyn Junyor, Jonathan Pierangeli, Davis Rodriguez, Joseph Santucci, Montel Stanley, Dustin Tally, Justin Wooten

7 Years:

Amy Andrews, Justin Cunningham, Brent Eggers, Capus Hendrix, Bobby Irvin, Michael Jackson, Thomas Kaczynski, William Lester, Craig Murray-Smith, Kory Phillips, Joshua Theis

Team Member Anniversaries

8 Years:

Jake Barefield, Myles Black, Anwar Jenkins, Delmer Lydick, Howard Noland, Jared Rahmn, Franklyn Roldan, Zachariah Wilson

9 Years:

Zachery Barajas, Christopher Blackman, Gavin Burrell, Corey Corrick, Michael Dally, Joely Gath, Neil Heerdink, Austin Norris

10 Years:

Cody Brooks, Rasheda Combs, Christian Gomez, Homer Imel, Nathan Kuykendall, Ryan Matthews, Grover Wise

11 Years:

Chance Adair, Bryant Boatman, Travis Bost, Jerry Bruce, Rene Cantu, Michael Hayden, Jerry Morris, Colin Pinson

12 Years:

Jacob Bagby, Brent Killian, Marc Massoglia, Brad Payne, Bradley Seideman, Wesley Smith, Craig Sutherland

13 Years:

David Brown, Taylor Carter, Evaristo Corona, Richard Grant, Norman Jones

14 Years:

Dustin Coester, Anthony Jones, Vicki Langford, Mickel Reeves, Shelly Rustad, Dean Schexnayder, James Trammell, Cesar Valentin

15 Years:

Kenneth Cathell, Richard Chadwell, Timothy Largent, Gerardo Martinez, Bernardino Osorio Vargas, Johnny Rankin, John Rowland, Jon Stonehouse

16 Years:

James Maddux, Brett Norris, Judson Rogers, Lloyd Wilson

17 Years:

Kelvin Banks, Paul Minnis, Christopher Noyola, Danny Sims, Guadalupe Villarreal

18 Years:

Stephen Brath, Michael Colburn, Marlin Garcia, Joe Sandoval, Heather Sepulvado, Gary Westphal

19 Years:

Tyler Batley, Robert Boyd, Michael Galla, Brian Maxey

20 Years:

Brenda Caruthers, Charlene Huskey, Bartolome Marrero, Rocky Ramage

21 Years:

Louie Albarado, David Bullion, Corwon Davis, Frank Davis, Roger Easterling, Andrew Frazier, Mario Garcia, Arturo Guevara, Kenneth Lucht, Ricardo Martinez, Ruben Martinez, George Spencer

22 Years: James May, James Napier

23 Years:

Joshua Kramer

24 Years: Edward Garcia, Andre Ledoux

25 Years:

Sunil Bangari, Woodrow Jackson, Mark Krause, Robert Triebsch

26 Years:

Tim Langlois, Bridget Liden

28 Years:

William Carroll

30 Years:

Mark Green, Steven Morgan

31 Years:

Herbert Lamkin

33 Years:

George Kachmar

35 Years:

Michael Howarth

40 Years:

James Herman

41 Years:

Steven Lowther