The next one location opened in late August. This one, in Wallula, WA, is a very small but important place right on the edge of the mighty Columbia River. It’s a major shipping point for Washington State produce, and our Harbor Rail employees do the same work as in Delano, CA switch the cars, run the locomotives and inspect and repair any bad order cars they find. Look for news upcoming on the third location in this set of contracts! On the receiving side of these cars.

Welcome to the new employees who work with us at Delano, California and Wallula, Washington!

Mandy Vila says her team is great to work with because they like each other, they get along and they cross train. Each day, the car mix is different and so each day is a different challenge, but the different production teams help each other.

They also get along really well with the UP switch crews. The Harbor team has even shifted their hours to start work at midnight or 3am to make sure the cars are ready for the crews to pull by late morning.

Congratulations to the Jonesboro team for maintaining a successful operation! Keep up the great work!

In years past, Tacoma Rail in Tacoma and Genesee and Wyoming, parent company to our partners PSAP in Aberdeen and VCRR in Oxnard, have all won Jake Safety Awards. In 2015, Buckingham Branch was given the Most Improved Safety Record. That same year, Fort Worth and Western won best safety record for a railroad of its size.

We are lucky to work for some of the nation’s safest shortlines who have helped us with some of our new safety initiatives. The partnerships strengthen our safety programs and help improve our overall safety culture. Thank you to our customers for being the best!

Car flow at the plant has ebbed and flowed throughout the years and there have been other employees who worked there. At one point, they had 9 on the team with a supervisor, but now that car flow has slowed to a regular pace, the team of four keeps the operation running smoothly.

They even know their cars! “We can tell which one is which by the graffiti!” The same cars often come back to the plant after they have delivered their loads. Some even go on to KCRP and then come back to Springfield.

We met at the local tavern for lunch to celebrate their seven years of being together. “We like working together,” says Location Manager, Chuck Barlow. “It’s nice to be part of a good team.” Congratulations to the Springfield team for seven years of success!

The operation for the GM plant in Arlington, TX is so big that it actually requires two locations in one. The team at Arlington works right near the plant, which manufactures the high end Cadillac Escalades, Chevy Tahoes and Suburbans. The team at Mesquite works over 30 miles away, in the large Union Pacific receiving yard.

Eating lunch together and taking a break from the work is how the teams celebrated the occasion. The company provided lunch at each location, and the teams enjoyed the down time to chat about what they like about working at the railroad.

Albert De Leon, our Multilevel Division Manager, started with Harbor as the Location Manager here at Arlington-Mesquite. Harbor is fortunate to have Albert overseeing all eight locations across the country who do multilevel prep.

Albert says “The strength of the team is very important at any location. The team at Arlington-Mesquite, led by Salvador Tirado, is great.”

Congratulations to our Arlington and Mesquite teams!

Adolfo Garcia, Manager of Border Operations, took our new BNSF location under his wing, and he will continue to oversee all our border locations.Mike Kettlewell, Alonzo Narvaez, and Steve Zaragoza transferred from our KCRP location to support Adolfo. Mike is now the Location Supervisor, Alonzo is the Day Shift Lead, and Steve is the Night Shift Lead. Fernanda Soto, pictured right, is the Admin for the location who is working out of our current Eagle Pass office to support the team.

A big thanks to all involved in the startup!

To put it in perspective, Geanta shared that each person in the U.S. requires the movement of about 40 tons of freight every year: 40 percent of that freight is moved via rail. There are also an impressive 1.6 million railcars carrying freight in the U.S. alone. Each one of these needs to run efficiently, smoothly, and, most important of all, safely. This is where Harbor Rail Services comes into the picture.

Harbor Rail Services provides quality railcar repair and maintenance, FRA inspection, cleaning, and pre-trip services. Its current customers include Class I railroads, short lines, regional railroads, railcar owners, and shippers.

“Railroads are in the business of moving freight. We’re the ones who help keep these railways and their customers moving,” Geanta said.

Quality

This 30-year-old company has seen a lot over its history, and has recently experienced a great track record of growth. Mark Myronowicz, Founder of Harbor Rail Services, attributes this success to keeping high standards of quality and sticking to the company’s core values.

According to Geanta, the rail world is a pretty close-knit community where it takes time to earn the big players’ trust. With Harbor Rail Services’ sustained efforts, competitive pricing, and work ethic, the rail community has awarded the company contract after contract.

Hiring a director of sales six years ago opened the doors for Harbor Rail Services to explore different markets beyond the Class I railroads. As a result, Harbor Rail Services has seen substantial growth in its short line rail division.

“Customers trust our work, and know that we will keep them in compliance. It’s the way we communicate, the quality of work that we do, it brings people back again and again,” Myronowicz said.

“We jump through hoops to serve our customers,” Geanta added. “We inspect every single car, something that sets us apart from some of the competition. With us, our customers have a lower rate of exceptions from audits by the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) and the American Association of Railroad (AAR).”

These audits are incredibly important to keeping the U.S.’s railways safe.

“Even something that starts small can cause huge damage or derailment,” said Thomas Broderick, Senior Vice President of the organization. “When companies partner with us, their compliance improves tremendously.”

Safety

Hiring a director of sales six years ago opened the doors for Harbor Rail Services to explore different markets beyond the Class I railroads. According to Geanta, safety is almost like a religion to the employees and managers at Harbor Rail Services. Employees start the day with a 15-minute safety briefing and stretching. During the day, managers will check in every two hours to observe employees and make sure they are wearing and using the right equipment and following the company’s safety rules.

One of Harbor Rail Services most recent safety strategies is gaining a lot of ground within the company. Broderick detailed the company’s Safe Track Certification Program.

“Every employee, supervisor, and manager has access to the program,” he said. “All of our company’s information and training on safety is available in one place for anyone who wants or needs to access it.”

The platform provides testing standards in two ways: written tests and field tests, where managers can observe safety conduct on the job.

“In this industry, and especially at this company, safety comes first,” Myronowicz added. “Our main objective is to send everyone home safe at the end of each day.”

Keeping America Moving

Harbor Rail Services keeps America moving. Its high standards for quality and ardent approach to safety have made the company the industry standard for railcar repair and inspection.

“We can react quickly, we can set up and open an operation in a 30 days or less if that’s what the customer needs,” said Broderick.

“Harbor Rail Services is more than a business” said Geanta. “By partnering with the railroads to safely deliver the goods in your neighborhoods, our 500 dedicated employees are honored to play a small role in helping each and every one of you to achieve the American dream.”

Strader also employs a female carman on her team. Terra Thelan has been in the railroad industry for more than ten years. She has worked in car departments and as a locomotive mechanic for various companies throughout her career. She proudly possesses more welding certificates than any other employees at Harbor Rail Services in Tacoma.

Chelsea Morrel also works for Harbor Services as a car repair-person.

Chelsea works in Doswell, Virginia as part of the Buckingham Branch Railroad (BB) car department. She has been working for Harbor Rail Services for just over a year.

Tired of working behind a desk, and equipped with "some" welding experience, Morrel applied to Harbor because "a running repair start up sounded like an adventure." She was not disappointed. The challenging day-to-day keeps her on her toes, presenting new and unfamiliar problems "every other week or so."

Morrel relies on perseverance to get her through tough times and thanks her mother for being a shining example of strength and success. "[She] has been the most influential person in my life," she said.

A welder, firefighter, and federal investigator, Morrel's mother led by example throughout her naval career.

"She didn't raise me to believe in binary career paths or strict gender roles," Morrel said. "It didn't even occur to me until I entered the workforce myself that there were people who considered my interests or talents to be inherently male. Her support, wisdom, and encouragement continue to be a great source of strength for me."

Morrel notes that she has faced many obstacles as a women in railroading, adding, "what women hasn't?" She says that certain situations can be tough and must be addresses in a way that feels most comfortable to each individual. "There's no easy answer," she said. Fortunate that she's never had to deal with mistreatment at Harbor, Morrel feels lucky to have a crew that makes her feel safe and respected.

Looking ahead, Chelsea hopes the industry comes to better understand the unique strengths women bring "to the table"-a keen mind and attention to detail, to name a few. She reminds that the industry relies on a lot more than brawn to succeed. "If this job were all about brute strength, a forklift could do it."

For those young women who may be considering a career in railroading, Morrel offers the following advice:

"Discard the opinions of anyone who belittles you or makes you feel like you belong in this field any less than they do. Internalizing those attitudes is toxic and will only make you doubt yourself."

She adds that friends and mentors that motivate and inspire you are often the greatest learning tools, "Nelu Covaci, our lead, and Bill Ritter, our mechanical supervisor, have been excellent mentors to me over the past year. Find the people who make you better and don't waste your time or energy on anyone who makes you feel like less than you are."