Wood River, IL - On 5/29/13, U.S. Congressman Bill Enyart (D-IL-12) joined representatives from Watco Companies, the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC), and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) for a tour of the Watco Companies' railcar repair shop.

Watco Companies, L.L.C., (Watco) is a transportation company providing transportation, mechanical, terminal & port and compliance solutions to customers throughout North America and Australia. Watco is the owner of Watco Transportation Services, L.L.C., one of the largest short line railroad holding companies in the U.S. with 30 short line railroads operating on more than 4,500 miles of track.

Watco's Wood River Mechanical Shop is a full service railcar repair facility specializing in autoracks, wreck repairs, modification and maintenance. The facility employs 120 workers and is notable for being the only remaining geodesic dome in the world designed by Buckminster Fuller to serve as a roundhouse for railcar repair.

Congressman Enyart first met with representatives from Watco, NRC, ASLRRA, RailWorks Corp., Hayward Baker Inc., and Ironhorse Resources for a safety briefing and overview of the company, followed by a tour of the facility and a Q&A session with workers.

"If we don't have quality people, building quality products, doing the quality work that you do our nation is not going survive because we won't be able to support our families, we won't be able to build that strong America we have today and need to continue working on," Enyart said.