Knoxville & Holston River

Company History: The KXHR opened in 1998 as part of the Gulf & Ohio shortline family to operate 20 miles of former Norfolk Southern track in Knoxville and Marbledale, Tennessee. The line also hosts the Three Rivers Rambler tourist train. 145 cars per week typically move over the KXHR, pulled by a fleet of six switchers. KXHR has two dozen customers. Traffic includes ethanol, lumber, petroleum, plastics, scrap and steel.

Successor/Parent History: Gulf & Ohio Railways is a holding company for four different short-line railroads in the Southern United States, as well as a tourist-oriented passenger train, and locomotive leasing and repair service through Knoxville Locomotive Works. Gulf & Ohio maintains its corporate headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee. The company owns railroads carrying a wide variety of commodities, generating around 40,000 annual carloads over approximately 225 miles of track. Gulf & Ohio Railways was founded by Pete Claussen concurrent with the start up of the first G&O shortline, the Mississippi Delta Railroad in 1985. The Alabama & Florida and Wiregrass Central soon followed as the next additions to the Gulf & Ohio network, beginning operations in 1986 and 1987 respectively.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.