TexAmericas Center moves to capitalize on its rail assets

New hire says complex is uniquely positioned

Darrel Thompson is tasked with fulling utilizing TexAmericas' rail assets. (Submitted photo)
Darrel Thompson is tasked with fulling utilizing TexAmericas' rail assets. (Submitted photo)

NEW BOSTON, Texas -- When TexAmericas Center acquired Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant in 2010 as a result of the of an Army downsizing and realignment process a few years earlier, they did not just obtain many acres of land and former Army facilities. They ended up in their possession a considerable amount of rail assets.

"We acquired 36 miles of rail lines," said Scott Norton, TexAmericas Center executive director and CEO. "In addition, it came with a tenant already present, Lone Star Rail Car, who had been on the footprint well before our arrival as a tenant of Lone Star. They used the property to house rail cars.

While the TexAmericas business complex, located about 20 miles west of Texarkana, inherited these rail assets, it was limited in what it could do with them. Then in January, regulatory restraints were lifted and it opened up a lot of possibilities and considerations for what to do next.

It was clear that much could be done with what was already present. And at the time, they had been talking to Lone Star Rail Car and others for advice and expertise. But shortly, it became clear they needed in-house expertise to get serious about the next steps.

"At that point, we created the positions of general manager of Railroad & Transload operations," said Norton. "And in the ensuing candidate search, we decided upon Darrel Thompson to take the position."

Darrell Thompson, originally from the area, was a career professional in various aspects of the rail business.

"I have 30 years in the rail industry," he said. "I started out in the position of track labor, ended up in various positions of train crew, engineer, conductor, train master and so forth. I've served in positions all across the world in the industry. Even as a kid, I loved trains, playing with model train sets and so forth. I've seen things very few have seen and had great experiences."

Thompson has a vision for what comes next.

Besides putting in for grants for funding the upcoming projects, one of the most immediate steps will be reorganization and upgrades of the rail layout on TexAmericas Center's East Campus.

"We recently acquired a grant from the Economic Development Agency for $864,000 dollars," Norton said. "This will be put towards the next projects."

The East Campus rail network will be upgraded to handle heavier rail cars, Thompson said. "The idea is to increase our capacity for greater rail traffic on our footprint."

In addition, they will work on constructing a car storage area for the cars Lone Star Rail Car stores on the campus.

"Right now, they are kind of scattered around the various rail lines," Norton said. "We will be creating a central holding area, better organizing where they are kept. In addition, this will free up the rail lines for incoming traffic to travel freely."

All those moves, however essential, are just a prelude to Thompson's vision of what is to come.

"There is a huge demand for transload rail operations," he said. "Just huge. Not just TexAmericas Center tenants, either. Anyone who needs rail and transload service within 100 miles of our area, or even greater, we could offer such services that no one in that area could match."

He says no one else has operating and storage space quite like TexAmericas.

" No one can match us within that operational radius, if we were to use our potential," Thompson said, and maybe a good distance beyond it. "The construction, engineering, outfits in places like Dallas could not match us. Given the transportation potential developing in the area, the boost to our community in employment and economic activity would be tremendous."

Right now, Thompson is a month in on the job, going through evaluation of assets. Applications for grants and more are going in, to help finance the coming operations.

"I'm excited to be here," Thompson said. "I call this area home, and looking forward to serving this community, helping to create jobs. It is the best thing one can do. Help your community."

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