By Michael T. Burkhart

Pinsly Railroad Co. plans to acquire Hondo Railway, a shortline in Texas, just west of San Antonio. Founded in 2006, Hondo Railway serves customers shipping a range of items including flour, corn syrup, ethanol and plastic, Pinsly stated in a release. Hondo interchanges with BNSF Railway and Union Pacific along with 80,000 feet of industrial track for transloading and car storage.

“Hondo Railway is a high-quality asset developed by high quality business leaders,” said Pinsly Railroad Chief Executive Officer Ryan Ratledge. “This railroad and its team are a great addition to the Pinsly family of roads and will further diversify our commodity mix as well as geographic location.”

Hondo Railway founders Don Lee and Mark Holland said, “We are proud of Hondo Railway, and grateful to our many wonderful employees and loyal customers over the years. It has been a joy to build this company together, and it gives us great pleasure to become a part of the Pinsly rail group.”

In the past two years, Pinsly (previously known as Gulf & Atlantic before buying the brand of the iconic short line operator in 2023) has purchased four railroads bringing its total railroad holdings to six, including Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad, Grenada Railroad, Camp Chase Rail, Chesapeake and Indiana Railroad, Vermilion Valley Railroad, and Pioneer Valley Railroad.