Rio Grande Industries, Inc. (RGI) was a name of two holding companies that were involved in the

railroading Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

industry. The original and second company took part in the operations of the

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south fr ...

and the

Southern Pacific Transportation Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

. The first company was formed in 1968 and was later known as Rio Grande Holding while the second company was formed in 1988 and was later known as Southern Pacific Rail Corporation.

History

The original Rio Grande Industries was formed in 1968, its non-railroad operations included construction, real estate, and energy units. The original diversified parent company of the

was headquartered in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. In the early 1980s, after

Philip Anschutz Philip Frederick Anschutz ( ; born December 28, 1939) is an American billionaire businessman who owns or controls companies in a variety of industries, including energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, travel, movies, theaters, arena ...

Anschutz Corporation The Anschutz Corporation is an American private holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, United States.

took RGI over and operated RGI as a subsidiary, they arranged the take over of the

, where new head Robert Krebs (of the SPTC's old parent Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corporation) had recently succeeded Benjamin Biaggini. When the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

denied permission to merge the respective companies' railroad subsidiaries as the Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad, the merged holding company, which retained both companies' non-rail interests, while selling the Southern Pacific Transportation Company to Rio Grande Industries. The original Rio Grande Industries changed its name to Rio Grande Holding (or Rio Grande Holding, Inc.) in 1988 and a new Rio Grande Industries company was formed in 1988; the new Rio Grande Industries took control of the original Rio Grande Industries (now known as Rio Grande Holding). The Denver and Rio Grande Western was placed under control of the original Rio Grande Industries company (Rio Grande Holding) and the new Rio Grande Industries formed SPTC Holding (or SPTC Holding, Inc.) to purchase the Southern Pacific Transportation Company. The new Rio Grande Industries purchased the Southern Pacific Transportation Company and its subsidiaries under SPTC Holding subsidiary. The new Rio Grande Industries company was renamed to the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation in 1993 and merged SPTC Holding into themselves. The new Rio Grande Industries company, now known as the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation, was eventually merged into the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

in 2015. According to the Utah corporation database, it has been suggested that the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation (formerly the second Rio Grande Industries) was merged into

UP Holding Company Union Pacific Corporation is a publicly traded railroad holding company. It is incorporated in Utah and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Its only operating subsidiary is Union Pacific Railroad. Along with BNSF Railway, owned by Berkshire Hatha ...

, a Union Pacific subsidiary, and UP Holding Company was renamed Southern Pacific Rail Corporation, becoming a second incarnation of the Southern Pacific Rail Corporation. It has also been suggested that UP Holdings Company was originally known as "CNW Holdings" (or "CNW Holdings, Inc."). CNW Holdings could be mistaken for the Chicago and North Western Holdings Corporation, the former parent company of the

Chicago and North Western The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

. Subsidiary companies in RGI history: *

St. Louis Southwestern Railway The St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply "Cotton Belt", was a Class I railroad that operated between St. Louis, Missouri, and various points in the U.S. states of Arkansas, Tennessee ...

Alton and Southern Railway The Alton and Southern Railway is a switching railroad in the Greater St. Louis area in Illinois. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad. Overview The Alton and Southern ''Railroad'' was formed in 1910, and in 1913 it ...

*SPCSL Corporation *Leavell Development Company *Rio Grande Motorways *

Frontier Village Frontier Village was a amusement park in San Jose, California, San Jose, California, that operated from 1961 to September 1980. It was located at 4885 Monterey Road (California), Monterey Road, at the intersection with Branham Lane. The site ...

Amusement Park, San Jose CA (1976–1980) *SPTC Holding (or SPTC Holding, Inc.) *Rio Grande Holding II (or Rio Grande Holding II, Inc.)https://cepi.io/companies/rio-grande-holding-ii-inc-/us_de/2142824 RIO GRANDE HOLDING II, INC. *

Arrow Development Arrow Development was an amusement park ride and roller coaster design and manufacturing company, incorporated in California on November 16, 1945, and based in Mountain View, California, Mountain View. It was founded by Angus "Andy" Anderson, Ka ...

(1971–1981)

References

{{Authority control United States railroad holding companies Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Railway companies established in 1968 Companies based in Denver 1968 establishments in Colorado