Blacklands Railroad
Blacklands Railroad operates two shortline railroads and multiple transloading facilities across East Texas and Northwest Louisiana, providing rail transportation, transloading, storage, repair, and consulting services to industrial shippers and manufacturers via Union Pacific and BNSF interchange connections.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersSulphur Springs, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Blacklands Railroad does
Blacklands Railroad is a privately held short-line railroad operator founded in 1999 and headquartered in Sulphur Springs, Texas (with corporate operations in Longview, TX). The company owns and operates two shortline railroads — the 8-mile Blacklands Railroad (BLR) between Mount Pleasant and Winfield, TX, and the 13.71-mile Henderson-Overton Branch (HOB) — together providing 24/7 switching operations and interchange connections to Union Pacific. It also operates the 27-acre Longview Yard (BNSF interchange) and the Shreveport/LOUP Yard (Union Pacific) under its subsidiary Black Gold Terminals, which specializes in transloading, contract switching, and industrial rail parks with HAZMAT capabilities. Combined track mileage is approximately 22 miles, with rail car storage capacity ranging from 44 spaces at Longview (planned buildout to 389) to 250+ spaces at HOB.
The company's revenue model is transaction-based across five service lines: rail transportation (switching and interchange fees), transloading (rail-to-truck and truck-to-rail at four locations), rail car storage (with repair and re-stenciling), mobile rail car repair, and rail consulting services. Customers are industrial shippers and manufacturers shipping bulk commodities (rock, sand, fly ash, lumber, pipe, steel, plastics, ethanol, petroleum, grain, corn syrup) plus railcar owners and regional economic development organizations. Distribution is direct-sales, with services delivered at company-owned facilities in Texas and Louisiana. Only one customer — Tyler Pipe — is publicly named, with a transload facility opened in October 2023 in the Henderson Industrial Park.
The company was acquired by Public Werks, Inc. in May 2021 and operates as a subsidiary within Public Werks' railroad infrastructure platform, which is structured for further acquisitions. In October 2020, the HOB Railroad received a Federal Railroad Administration CRISI Grant of over $8 million (with total project investment approaching $15 million) to upgrade track to 25mph, expand interchange capacity, and add storage. Blacklands was recognized as Railway Age's Short Line Railroad of the Year in 2011.
Blacklands Railroad firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Blacklands Railroad
- Legal name
- Blacklands Railroad
- Website
- https://blacklandsrailroad.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Blacklands Railroad operates two shortline railroads and multiple transloading facilities across East Texas and Northwest Louisiana, providing rail transportation, transloading, storage, repair, and consulting services to industrial shippers and manufacturers via Union Pacific and BNSF interchange connections.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Blacklands Railroad industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Short Line Railroad Services
- NAICS
- Short Line Railroads (482112), Rail Transportation (482), Support Activities for Rail Transportation (4882)
- SIC
- Railroads, Line-Haul Operating (4011), Railroad Switching & Terminal Establishments (4013)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Short Line & Regional Railroads (General Merchandise) (TLADACAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Rail Freight Yard Operations (Classification, Hump & Flat Yards) (TLAJAFAB), Industrial & Terminal Railroads (Plant/Port Switching) (TLADACAJ), Rail Bulk Commodities Forwarding (Grain, Minerals, Coal, Chemicals) (TLACADAI)
Keywords
Where Blacklands Railroad is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sulphur Springs
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices7 records
Markets served
Blacklands Railroad business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Rail Transportation Services: Short line railroad operations providing freight transportation along designated rail lines including switching operations, rail car movement, and interchange services with Class I railroads (Union Pacific, BNSF). Services include 24/7 rail switching operations.
- Transloading Services: Transfer of freight between rail cars and trucks at transloading facilities, enabling shippers without direct rail access to utilize rail transportation. Services provided through subsidiary Black Gold Terminals.
- Rail Car Storage: Rail car storage at multiple locations with Union Pacific interchange capability. Storage solutions for one car to one hundred cars, including repair and re-stenciling services.
- Rail Car Repair Services: Mobile repair team providing rail car repairs at customer sites or while in storage, including rolling repairs, safety appliances, bottom-outlet changes.
- Rail Consulting Services: Rail-related consulting services for industrial development and rail infrastructure projects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Custom Rail Transportation Rates |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Blacklands Railroad product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Blacklands Railroad operates two shortline railroads (the 8-mile BLR line and the 13.71-mile Henderson Overton Branch) and multiple rail yards (Longview Yard, Shreveport/LOUP Yard, Winfield) in East Texas and Northwest Louisiana, providing freight rail transportation with 24/7 switching operations, transloading, rail car storage, rail car repair, and rail consulting services. The company interchanges with Class I railroads Union Pacific and BNSF, enabling customers to ship bulk commodities across the broader U.S. rail network.
Product overview
Blacklands Railroad operates as a shortline railroad company offering rail-centric logistics services across East Texas. The core offering consists of two shortline railroads (Blacklands Railroad and Henderson-Overton Branch/HOB) and multiple rail yards (Longview Yard and Shreveport/LOUP Yard) providing 24/7 switching operations. These are supported by a subsidiary, Black Gold Terminals, which handles transloading, contract switching, and industrial rail parks. The product portfolio includes: the Blacklands Railroad (8-mile line with Union Pacific interchange), HOB Railroad (13.71-mile line with Union Pacific interchange), rail car storage at multiple locations (up to 389 planned spaces at Longview), transloading services at four locations (Henderson, Longview, Winfield, Shreveport), rail car repair (mobile services), and freight tariff management. The company leverages its infrastructure to provide end-to-end transportation solutions including rail consulting services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Henderson Overton Branch (HOB): Short line railroad operating 13.71 miles from Overton, TX to Henderson, TX, interchanging with Union Pacific
- Blacklands Railroad (BLR)
- Longview Yard (LYB)
- Shreveport/LOUP Yard
- Black Gold Terminals
Products and services
- Blacklands Railroad (BLR) Shortline railroad operating 8 miles along the I-30 corridor between Dallas, Tyler, Longview, Texarkana, and Shreveport, providing switching services with Union Pacific interchange and 68 car storage spaces. The line serves industrial customers shipping bulk commodities including chemicals, lumber, and building materials.
- Henderson Overton Branch (HOB) Railroad Shortline railroad running 13.71 miles from Overton, TX to Henderson, TX with Union Pacific interchange. Moves products including liquid asphalt, scrap, lumber, sand, aggregate, and chemicals, with approximately 250 car spaces of storage capacity and a transload yard with 18 spots on 4.5 acres.
- Longview Yard 27-acre rail facility in Longview, TX that interchanges with BNSF approximately 1 mile from the Eastman Refinery Complex. Currently has 44 storage spaces with planned expansion to 389 total, serving chemicals, acid, and resins. The yard offers transloading, rail car storage, cleaning, and associated warehousing.
- Shreveport/LOUP Yard Union Pacific rail yard in Shreveport, LA serving the Ark-La-Tex region with 44 spaces for transloading. Handles products including hydrochloric acid, salt, chemicals, steel, cement, and other commodities through the Blacklands Railroad partnership.
- Transloading Services Rail-to-truck and truck-to-rail transloading services at multiple locations (Henderson, TX; Longview, TX; Winfield, TX; Shreveport, LA) enabling shippers without direct rail access to utilize rail transportation. Services include HAZMAT-capable transloading handled through subsidiary Black Gold Terminals.
- Rail Car Storage Rail car storage at multiple locations with Union Pacific interchange capability, offering full-service storage solutions for one car to one hundred cars. Storage locations include HOB (approximately 250 spaces with expansion of 97 more underway), Longview Yard (44 spaces with planned expansion to 389 total), and BLR (68 spaces). Includes repair and re-stenciling services.
- Rail Car Repair Mobile rail car repair services performed by a dedicated repair team at customer sites or storage locations, including rolling repairs, safety appliances, and bottom-outlet changes. Available as a standalone service or bundled with storage.
- Rail Consulting Services Professional consulting services for rail-related projects and transportation solutions, supporting industrial development and rail infrastructure initiatives for customers in East Texas and Louisiana.
Companies that use Blacklands Railroad
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Blacklands Railroad technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Blacklands Railroad partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Blacklands Railroad competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Union Pacific Railroad: Union Pacific is the Class I interchange partner for both BLR and HOB shortlines, providing the trunk-line service that Blacklands' local traffic feeds into.
- BNSF Railway: BNSF is the Class I interchange partner at Longview Yard and the second trunk-line option for Blacklands' shippers, setting the competitive and economic context for shortline service.
Direct peers
- Patriot Rail Company: Patriot Rail operates 13 shortline railroads and rail-related services including transloading and storage, with a similar niche industrial shipper focus and parallel service breadth to Blacklands.
- Watco Companies: Watco is one of the largest privately held shortline railroad operators in North America, operating 50+ shortlines plus transloading, storage, and mechanical services — the closest direct peer to Blacklands' integrated shortline-plus-transload model.
- Genesee & Wyoming Inc. Genesee & Wyoming (now owned by Brookfield Infrastructure) operates 100+ shortline and regional railroads globally with bulk, industrial, and transload services; the most relevant scale benchmark for a shortline-plus-transload operator.
- RJ Corman Railroad Group: RJ Corman operates multiple shortline railroads and rail-served material handling and transloading facilities across the U.S., with a comparable mix of line-haul shortline operations, transload, and rail services similar to Blacklands.
Regional players
- Dallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad: DGNO operates shortline freight service in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, interchanging with Class I carriers, directly comparable in Texas shortline scope and dual-Class I interchange model.
- Fort Worth & Western Railroad: Fort Worth & Western is a Texas-based shortline providing freight service between Fort Worth and Cross Plains, serving similar industrial shippers along a different Texas corridor.
- Texas Pacifico Transportation: Texas Pacifico operates a shortline railroad in West Texas (Brownsville-San Angelo Junction) interchanging with Union Pacific and BNSF, with comparable Texas regional shortline economics and interchange strategy.
- Red River Valley & Western Railroad: Red River Valley & Western operates shortline railroads in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas with grain, fertilizer, and industrial transloading — a comparable South Central regional shortline with similar commodity mix.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Blacklands Railroad social profiles
Digital presenceBlacklands Railroad financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Blacklands Railroad leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Blacklands Railroad subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Blacklands Railroad funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Blacklands Railroad M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Blacklands Railroad
What does Blacklands Railroad do?
Blacklands Railroad operates two shortline railroads (the 8-mile BLR line and the 13.71-mile Henderson Overton Branch) and multiple rail yards (Longview Yard, Shreveport/LOUP Yard, Winfield) in East Texas and Northwest Louisiana, providing freight rail transportation with 24/7 switching operations, transloading, rail car storage, rail car repair, and rail consulting services. The company interchanges with Class I railroads Union Pacific and BNSF, enabling customers to ship bulk commodities across the broader U.S. rail network.
Is Blacklands Railroad a public or private company?
Blacklands Railroad is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Blacklands Railroad founded?
Blacklands Railroad was founded in 1999. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Blacklands Railroad based?
Blacklands Railroad is headquartered in Sulphur Springs, United States, in the North America region.
How does Blacklands Railroad make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Rail Transportation Services are the primary driver. The others are transloading Services, rail Car Storage, rail Car Repair Services and rail Consulting Services.
Who are Blacklands Railroad's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway. Direct peers are Patriot Rail Company, Watco Companies, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and RJ Corman Railroad Group. Regional players are Dallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad, Fort Worth & Western Railroad, Texas Pacifico Transportation and Red River Valley & Western Railroad.
Does Blacklands Railroad have an API?
No public API is recorded for Blacklands Railroad.
What industry is Blacklands Railroad in?
Blacklands Railroad's product category is Short Line Railroad Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLADACAI, Short Line & Regional Railroads (General Merchandise), with a secondary code of TLAJAFAB, Rail Freight Yard Operations (Classification, Hump & Flat Yards). Its NAICS code is 482112 and its SIC code is 4011.