Transport Food and Grain
The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company (W&LE) handles thousands of carloads of food and grain products every year for over fifteen shippers and receivers. Shipments include:
- Unit trains of corn, soybeans, and wheat
- Canned goods
- Frozen fruit and vegetables
- Flour for bakeries
- Animal feed including soybean meal, corn, bone meal, and liquid whey
- Food grade corn used in snack food production
- Food grade oils
Equipment used includes box cars, refrigerated box cars, covered hoppers, and tank cars.
As the largest regional railroad in Ohio, we offer over 840 miles of track through Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. We have direct connections with three Class I railroads and interchange with 14 Class II and Class III railroads for fast, efficient and more cost-effective transport for food and grain commodities.
Sunrise Cooperative Grain Terminals
W&LE grain shipper Sunrise Cooperative operates and owns one of the largest grain terminals in Ohio at Clarksfield. The terminal has over seven million bushel storage capacity, track space for 100 cars, and loads unit trains for destinations on CN, CSXT, and NS. Sunrise also has three other grain facilities in Ohio on the W&LE.
Transload Partners for Food and Grain Transport
Food customers who do not have direct rail service can benefit from rail service through W&LE transload partners.
Peoples Services
Peoples Services in Massillon, Ohio, has a 100,000 square foot warehouse certified for food grade shipments and is equipped to handle both box car shipments and bulk solid shipments such as flour in covered hopper. The warehouse also has a truck scale and truck wash. Additionally Peoples operates their own truck fleet and has a major rail-served transload facility at Barberton, Ohio. That operation is FDA certified, has steaming capability, has fifty rail car spots, handles food grade oils, and has a truck scale and truck wash.
Railroad Cars for Food and Grain Transport
Empty refrigerated box cars and high cube sixty foot box cars are regularly available on W&LE for customers to utilize for backhaul shipments of perishable products and dry food products to western destinations. W&LE also has a fleet of ninety 4,750 cubic foot capacity grain covered hoppers that are used in primarily local movements of grain.
Transport Food and Grain on Ohio’s Largest Regional Railroad
New W&LE customers include Case Farms, which constructed a $15 million poultry feed mill at Massillon, Ohio, and New Horizons Baking Company at Norwalk, Ohio, which ships in flour by rail for production of hamburger buns and English muffins.
Customers who desire to perform their own transloading or build a rail-served facility on W&LE can learn more about the wide variety of sites and tracks available by contacting us.