Austin Western Railroad
 | |
 An Austin Western train departs Burnet, Texas | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Round Rock, Texas |
| Reporting mark | AWRR |
| Locale | Texas |
| Dates of operation | 2007– |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Length | 154 miles (248 km) |
| Other | |
| Website | www |
The Austin Western Railroad (reporting mark AWRR) is a Class III short-line railroad headquartered in Round Rock, Texas.[1] AWRR is a subsidiary of 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,[2] 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 shares trackage with the CapMetro Rail Red Line between Leander and Austin. It interchanges with the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway; both at McNeil, Texas. Two other interchanges exist at Elgin and Giddings, but are not in service as of 2026.
The Austin Steam Train Association (ASTA) operates excursion trains over the AWRR's trackage between Cedar Park and Burnet.
As of April 2026, AWRR employees are unionized through the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET) division of the Teamsters.[3][4]
History
[edit]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.[5]
In 2015, BNSF named AWRR its "shortline of the year."[6]
In 2024, Austin Western began to install distributed power (DPU) systems in some of its locomotives.[7] While DPU systems are common on Class I railroads, AWRR is one of the only Class III shortline railroads to use the system.
Traffic
[edit]AWRR moves nearly 60,000 carloads a year. Traffic includes aggregates, crushed limestone, recycling, calcium bicarbonate, lumber, beer, chemicals, plastics and paper. [8][9]
An incomplete list of AWRR customers, as of July 2025:
| 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 |
| ICU Medical | Medical Devices | Austin, TX |
| Balcones Resources | Recycling | Austin, TX |
| Tex Mix Concrete | Aggregates | Austin, TX |
| Texas Materials - Manor Terminal | Aggregates | Manor, TX |
| Plains States Commodities | Fertilizer | Elgin, TX |
| Texas Materials - Giddings Terminal | Aggregates | Giddings, TX |
Roster
[edit]| Road Number | Model | Lineage | Livery | Rostered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GMTX 3407 | EMD SD45T-2 | ex-SP | Oldcastle Materials Texas green+black | 2016- |
| GMTX 3408 | 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 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
[edit]- ↑ Nunez, Jenifer (23 October 2015). "BNSF names Austin Western Railroad its shortline of the year". RT&S. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ↑ "Watco short line takes on distributed power in Texas - RailPrime | ProgressiveRailroading". RailPrime. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ↑ "n/a". Facebook. 7 Apr 2026. Retrieved 26 Jul 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Joyce, Bill (2026-03-02). "BLET chalks up another organizing win as Austin Western workers say yes to union representation". Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
- ↑ "Austin Western Railroad (AWRR)". Watco. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
- ↑ editor, Jenifer Nunez, assistant (2015-10-23). "BNSF names Austin Western Railroad its shortline of the year". Railway Track and Structures. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Communications, Watco Corporate (2024-03-05). "Austin Western Pilots DP System". Railway Age. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
- ↑ "Austin Western Railroad (AWRR)". Watco. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
- ↑ "2024 Texas Rail Plan: Appendix A" (PDF). 2024. Retrieved 2026-02-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
