Were there any Private owner or locomotive leasing operations that were in existance in the 1960's? There are numerous leasers today (HLCX, GCFX, FURX, WAMX, etc...), i assume that locomotive leasing programs outside of railroad corporations themselves was pretty much non-existant until recently?
I know the GN leased out there older FT's in the mid to late 60's to the Burlington Route and the Colorado & Southern when they didn't need them and before they were traded in to EMD. But, I don't recall any private and/or lease company's.
I don't recall any such companies. But then RR owning/leasing policies were handled differently. Financial strategies, tax laws, etc, were not the same as we have now. During 1968, the Northern Pacific started taking deliveries of new high horsepower units, they leased some surplus F units out to the Penn Central. Boxcab E50
The only locomotive leasing company I can think of close to that era is Precision National, but I don't know when they began operations. As mentioned earlier, some railroads loaned motive power to others in cases of power shortages. I'm sure there were privately owned cars back then, but no names come to mind.
Some info on Precision National. Thanks to none other than SlimJim. Precision National info, and more! Boxcab E50
Morrison-Knudsen had a lease operation by the late '60s or early '70s. They purchased the three Alco C636 demonstrators for a large construction project and upon its completion they were offered for lease to power-short railroads. Also in the lease market about that time would be dealer George Silcott who, on at least one occasion, leased power to the Clinchfield. Many of the iron ore roads in Upper Michigan would lease out their road power in the "off months." Clinchfield and DT&I both recieved six-axle EMDs, SD9s and SD18s, from the DM&IR in the winter and the DT&I also hosted LS&I U25Cs as well.
