Rio Grande Industries was the diversified parent company, headquartered in Denver, of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...

. Formed in 1968, its non-railroad operations included construction, real estate, and energy units. In the early 1980s, after Philip Anschutz

Philip Anschutz

Philip Frederick Anschutz is an American entrepreneur. Anschutz bought out his father's drilling company in 1961 and earned large returns in Wyoming. He has invested in stocks, real estate and railroads...

's Anschutz Corporation took RGI over and operated RGI as a subsidiary, they arranged a merger with the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, where new head Robert Krebs

Robert Krebs

Robert D. Krebs has headed three major United States railroads in succession, leading the Southern Pacific when it was acquired by Santa Fe Industries, rising to lead the resulting Santa Fe Pacific Corporation, and finally being chosen to head the new Burlington Northern Santa Fe when Santa Fe...

 (of the SPTC's parent SPSF Corp.) had recently succeeded Benjamin Biaggini

Benjamin Biaggini

Benjamin Franklin Biaggini was president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of Southern Pacific Railroad, from 1964 to 1976 and chairman of the Board of Directors from 1976 to 1983.- References :...

.

When the Interstate Commerce Commission

Interstate Commerce Commission

The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...

 denied permission to merge the respective companies' railroad subsidiaries as the Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad

Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad

In the 1980s, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and Southern Pacific Transportation Company attempted a merger. It began with the merger of holding companies Santa Fe Industries and Southern Pacific Company on December 23, 1983 to form the Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corporation , which...

, the merged holding company, which retained both companies' non-rail interests, while selling the Southern Pacific to Rio Grande, RGI changed its name to Southern Pacific Rail Corporation.

Companies owned by RGI:

• Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
  Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
  The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
  
  
• Southern Pacific Transportation Company (1988–1996)
• Leavell Development Company
• Rio Grande Motorways