Patriot Rail Corp. recently promoted C. Lawrence Rutstein from manager of special projects to vice president of contracts and administration, and Sandra Dahl, from the Utah Central Railway’s (UCRY) director of accounting to divisional controller.

Rutstein, who has more than 40 years of legal and business experience, joined Patriot Rail in January 2007. He previously was involved in a number of south Florida public and private ventures as a lawyer, executive and entrepreneur. Dahl, who joined UCRY in 2002, has more than 20 years of experience in accounting and management positions with various transportation companies.

In addition to UCRY, Patriot Rail owns and operates the Tennessee Southern Railroad; Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway; Sacramento Valley Railroad; Louisiana North West Railroad; and Temple & Central Texas Railway.

Meanwhile, the 29-mile Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad (LA&L) announced it will mark its 45th anniversary later this year. The western New York short line operated its first train on April 10, 1965, on a line — long slated for abandonment — that was purchased from the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad.

During the past 45 years, LA&L’s annual carloads have increased from 50 to 5,000. The short line continues to build business with existing customers and attract new shippers, such as Barilla, which opened a $97 million pasta-making plant along LA&L in Avon, N.Y., in 2008.