Pinsly Railroad Company


Pinsly Railroad Company, based in Westfield, Massachusetts, is a holding company of several short line railroads. It is one of the oldest such companies in the United States, having been founded in 1938 and owned railroads ever since. Pinsly owns only one railroad: Pioneer Valley Railroad.

History

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1899, Samuel A. Pinsly received degrees in engineering and law from Northwestern University before briefly serving in the U.S. Army during World War I. Pinsly founded his shortline operating company in 1938 with the purchase of the Hoosac Tunnel and Wilmington Railroad from his father-in-law, fellow shortline operator H.E. Salzberg. While the line was rebuilt and turned a profit, extensive line relocations due to a new dam forced the railroad to be abandoned in 1971. Pinsly went on to acquire a number of lines throughout New England and the Southeast until his death in 1977.
Pinsly sold their 3 Florida shortlines to 3i RR Holdings GP, LLC and subsidiaries in November 2019.

Historic List of Pinsly Railroads

These are the railroads that were once under the common ownership of Pinsly, listed in order of acquisition.