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Anacostia Rail Holdings said today that David W. Ferryman has joined the short line railroad holding company as Chief Operating Officer. This is a newly created position, effective June 15, based in Chicago and reporting to Peter Gilbertson, ARH chairman and chief executive officer.
Mr. Ferryman is a fourth generation railroader and most recently spent five years as vice president and senior vice president at EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel, Pueblo, Colo. There he was responsible for all Pueblo operations and organizational function responsibilities, including safety, marketing and employee engagement. Both a railroad customer and supplier, EVRAZ Rocky Mountain is a $1 billion operation and the largest of three domestic producers of rail, principally used by large, Class I railroads.
Prior to joining Rocky Mountain Steel, Mr. Ferryman was vice president engineering at CN Railway from 2005 to 2017 after being chief engineer, Southern Region, Chicago, from 2003 to 2005.
Mr. Ferryman started his railroad career at Burlington Northern Railway as an engineering intern in 1989. He advanced to project manager in 1992 overseeing BN’s $30 million construction of a new freight classification switching yard in Lincoln, Neb., and later was appointed roadmaster, Alliance, Neb. in 1995.
In 1997, Mr. Ferryman moved to the Illinois Central in Jackson, Miss. where he served as assistant superintendent Engineering. In June 1999, a year after CN purchased the IC, he became CN’s Division Engineer of the Gulf Division.
At the urging of CN CEO Hunter Harrison, Mr. Ferryman switched career tracks in 2000 to become general manager – Michigan Division, Troy, Mich. Here, he was responsible for train operations, dispatching, mechanical and track maintenance. He also was in charge of service to all customers, including General Motors and Ford.
Mr. Ferryman follows in the footsteps of his great, great grandfather John Ferryman who was a depot agent for the Great Northern Railway in Wenatchee, Wash. His son William “Henri” Ferryman was superintendent engineering for the GN in Seattle. Dave Ferryman’s father, William H. Ferryman, Jr., was chief engineer for Burlington Northern Railway (now BNSF) in Denver.
Dave is an MBA graduate from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University’s College of Engineering.
