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Kedrick Earl Durden, known as Earl, did not get his start in the railroad industry until more than a decade after he graduated in 1954 from Rehobeth High School in Dothan, Alabama. Durden first served four years in the U.S. Air Force and later transitioned to the Air Force Reserves while managing a furniture store and working toward his bachelor’s degree. Durden got his first job with a railroad in 1967, working as vice president, general manager and director of the Chattahoochee Industrial Railroad, which was owned by the Great Northern Nekoosa Corporation, a paper company at which he had been employed for several years. Through his work with the Great Northern Nekoosa Durden gained more experience in both business and transportation, particularly rail. In 1980 Durden founded the Rail Management Corporation and Rail Switching Services, Inc. Through the Rail Management Corp. Durden owned and operated 16 short line railroads across the U.S. Durden sold his switching business in 1995 but continued managing short lines until ASLRRA member parent company Genesee & Wyoming Inc. acquired them in 2005. |
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As a short line railroad owner, Durden played an instrumental role in the development of ASLRRA as it exists today, supporting a merger of the American Short Line Railroad Association and Regional Railroads of America in 1997. Durden was also influential in the legislative arena and worked tirelessly to get the first 45G short line railroad tax credit passed.
Durden served as chair of ASLRRA for many years and was a member of several of the Association’s committees including the Finance and Administration Committee and Legislative Policy Committee. ASLRRA honored Durden for his work at its 1999 Annual Conference in New York City. The Association also had an annual award named after Durden, the Efforts in Advancing Rail Legislation, or EARL Award, to recognize those who, like the award’s namesake, demonstrated excellence in that area.
Outside of railroads, Durden was active in communities in Alabama, Georgia and Florida. He was a member of the Executive Committee of Tri-Rivers Waterway Development Association, the Transportation Committee of the Georgia State Chamber of Commerce and numerous other organizations. He was chairman of the Florida Transportation Commission and chair of a subcommittee of the Florida State University-Panama City Presidential Blue Ribbon Committee, served on the Bay County Economic Development Alliance, and was on the board of the Florida Council of 100.
For his work, Durden has been recognized by the communities he served. When Florida Trend magazine released its 2004 list of Florida’s 100 Most Influential People, Durden was named one of the “Most Influential in Business,” recognized for his efforts in local economic development, particularly with advancing transportation improvement projects. In 2006 Durden received the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) Transportation Achievement Award, bestowed on someone who has made significant contributions to transportation. And in 2010, Florida named a four-mile segment of State 79 the “K. Earl Durden Highway.”
Durden passed away in 2010 at the age of 73 after a battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Karen, son Michael, and stepsons Patrick and James Green.
