The Austin Western Railroad (reporting mark AWRR ) is a Class III short-line railroad headquartered in Round Rock , Texas .[ 1] Watco . It is the contracted operator of 126 miles (203 km) of ex-Southern Pacific trackage, now owned by Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority . AWRR operates the line from Fairland, Texas to Giddings, Texas , in addition to 6.4 miles (10.3 km) of branchline from Fairland to Marble Falls, Texas . Another 28 miles (45 km) of track remain out of service between Fairland and Llano , having most recently seen revenue service in 2005. This portion comprises the Austin and Northwestern Railroad Historic District .
The AWRR interchanges with the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway ; both at McNeil, Texas.
The AWRR shares trackage with the CapMetro Rail Red Line between Leander and Austin.
The Austin Steam Train Association (ASTA) operates excursion trains between Cedar Park and Burnet .
History The Austin Western Railroad was founded in 2007, with Watco winning the bid to operate the line after the Austin Area Terminal Railroad's contract with Capital Metro ended.[citation needed
Traffic AWRR traffic includes aggregates, crushed limestone, calcium bicarbonate , lumber, beer, chemicals, plastics and paper.[citation needed
An incomplete list of AWRR customers, as of March 2024:
Industry
Commodity
City
Capitol Aggregates - Delta Materials/Pugmill
Aggregates
Marble Falls, TX
Lhoist Marble Falls
Aggregates
Marble Falls, TX
Heidelberg Materials Aggregates
Aggregates
Marble Falls, TX
Guthrie Lumbie & Distribution
Lumber
Cedar Park, TX
Builders FirstSource
Lumber
Cedar Park, TX
Austin White Lime
Various
McNeil, TX
ICU Medical
Medical Devices
Austin, TX
Balcones Resources
Recycling
Austin, TX
Texas Materials - Manor Terminal
Aggregates
Manor, TX
Plains States Commodities
Fertilizer
Elgin, TX
Texas Materials - Giddings Terminal
Aggregates
Giddings, TX
Roster
As of March 2024
Road Number
Model
Lineage
Livery
Rostered
HLCX 8161EMD SD40-2
ex-BN
Helm blue
2015-
PRLX 2832EMD SD45T-2
ex-SP
Oldcastle Materials Texas green+black
2016-
PRLX 2842
EMD SD45T-2
ex-SP
Oldcastle Materials Texas green+black
2016-
WAMX 4143
EMD SD40-2
ex-BN
Watco black+yellow
2011-
WAMX 4144
EMD SD40-2
ex-BN
Watco black+yellow
2011-
WAMX 4145
EMD SD40-2
ex-BN
Watco black+yellow
2011-
WAMX 4146
EMD SD40-2
ex-BN
Watco black+yellow
2011-
WAMX 4226
EMD SD40
ex-SP
Watco black+yellow
WAMX 4228
EMD SD40-2
ex-BCOL
Watco black+yellow
WAMX 4229
EMD SD40-2
ex-BN
Watco black+yellow
WAMX 4249
EMD SD40-2
ex-UP
Oldcastle Materials Texas green+yellow+gray
2014-
WAMX 4251
EMD SD40M-2
ex-SP
Patched CIT gray
2019-
WAMX 4252
EMD SD40M-2
ex-ATSF
Patched CIT gray
2019-
WAMX 4276
EMD SD40-2
ex-BN
Patched Helm maroon
WAMX 4277
EMD SD40-2
ex-BN
Patched Helm blue
WAMX 5007
EMD GP50
ex-CNW
Austin Western red+silver paint
2007-
WAMX 5013
EMD GP50
ex-CNW
Watco paint
2007-
WAMX 6013
EMD SD60M
ex-NS
Patched NS horsehead
2019-
WAMX 6014
EMD SD60M
ex-NS
Patched NS horsehead
2019-
WAMX 6015
EMD SD60M
ex-NS
Patched NS horsehead
2019-
WAMX 6016
EMD SD60
ex-CNW
Watco black+yellow
2021-
WAMX 6017
EMD SD60
ex-CNW
Watco black+yellow
2021-
WAMX 6018
EMD SD60
ex-CNW
Watco black+yellow
2021-
WAMX 6036
EMD SD60M
ex-UP
Watco black+yellow with AWRR logos
2022-
WAMX 6037
EMD SD60M
ex-UP
Watco black+yellow with AWRR logos
2022-
WAMX 6038
EMD SD60M
ex-UP
Watco black+yellow with AWRR logos
2022-
WAMX 6039
EMD SD60M
ex-UP
Watco black+yellow with AWRR logos
2022-
WAMX 6040
EMD SD60M
ex-UP
Watco black+yellow with AWRR logos
2023-
WAMX 6041
EMD SD60M
ex-UP
Watco black+yellow with AWRR logos
2022-
WAMX 6045
EMD SD60M
ex-UP
Watco black+yellow with AWRR logos
2024-
References External links
