Kansas company buys Wisconsin & Southern Railroad

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A Kansas-based company is buying controlling ownership in Milwaukee-based Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co.

The financial terms involving Watco Transportation Services LLC, based in Pittsburg, Kan., were not disclosed.

Watco is America’s largest privately held short line railroad company and employs 2,200 people.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Wisconsin & Southern employs about 250 people. No layoffs are planned as a result of the agreement.

Wisconsin & Southern will retain its corporate structure and name. Its headquarters will remain in Milwaukee.

The Wisconsin & Southern operates on more than 600 miles of track throughout south-central Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois.

Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com