Rising Stars 2025: Michael Crosslin

Michael Crosslin, 32
General manager,
Watco

Nominator’s quote: “Right off the bat, I recognized two things about Michael. The first is that he communicates very effectively with his group and others. The other is his ‘ownership’ of the railroads. He is highly involved. He knows all the aspects of the operations, from daily switching tasks through billing. I’ve never asked him a question that he hasn’t been able to answer. These things really struck a chord with me.” — Watco VP Jason Eliot, as described to Senior VP Keith LaCaze

Formal education: Business studies, Northwestern State University, Louisiana.

Current job responsibilities: Serve as general manager for two Louisiana railroads in the Watco system: the Baton Rouge Southern and the Geaux Geaux. Oversee all operations, maintenance and mechanical departments. Responsible for safety performance and profitability.

Briefly describe your career path.
I started with zero experience or knowledge of railroading, as a conductor in April of 2013 on the Louisiana Southern Railroad (LAS). I had the opportunity to get my train service engineer certification and jumped on it. Three years into my railroad career, I was given the opportunity to be an assistant trainmaster on the LAS. A year or so later, I was promoted to trainmaster. At the end of 2017, I transferred to the Stillwater Central Railroad as a trainmaster and remained there until January of 2022, which is when I was given the opportunity for my current role.

What sparked your interest in the rail industry?
I honestly didn’t have any interest in it. When I first started, it was simply a job that paid more than the one I had previously. Once I got into the industry and began to understand it more, I liked the challenge and complexity. It was stimulating. That got me hooked. I knew that it was something that I could excel in and decided that I wanted it to be my career.

What was your very first job and what did you learn from it?
My first job was working for my dad's landscaping business. That job taught me several things: work ethic, customer service and interacting with all kinds of people. All those things translated to the rail industry, and I would not have been able to accomplish what I have without that solid foundation.

What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?
When I showed up for my first interview for a conductor position on the LAS, I asked the interviewer if the rail industry was fading away, which I now know was not the case at all. I like to tell people that I knew “negative” about the railroad industry (meaning even less than nothing) when I first started. That might be surprising to some people.

Share a valuable lesson that you’ve learned so far in your career.
One former manager once told me, “Common sense to you might not be common sense to someone else.” At that time, I was struggling to always be patient in my role as trainmaster when interacting withnew hires and team members who had little experience. But once I was given that advice, I realized that I had been expecting team members with little experience to have the same knowledge as someone that had been in a role for 10-plus years. I was able to adjust my perspective and approach, and things improved almost immediately.

How do you stay motivated and resilient when things get tough at work or in life?
This one is simple for me. I have a family that relies on me to provide for them, and I want to be able to provide the best life for them that I can. They are my “why.”

If you could share a meal with anyone alive in the world today, who would it be and why?
Ed Orgeron. I would want to talk about how he worked his way from an entry-level position to winning a football national championship as a head coach at Louisiana State University, and the challenges he faced along that journey.

From your point of view, what is the rail industry’s greatest challenge?
I would say a big challenge is how reliant the industry is becoming on technology. It’s a double-edged sword. A challenge is that technological advancements make us (really any business or individual) vulnerable to cyber-attacks and ransomware.

But I’m a huge fan of technology and the ease of access to information that it provides. A big challenge there is keeping up with the advances and integrating new systems with existing ones. I know Watco is constantly looking at ways to enhance existing technology or investigating new ways to do things, including exploring ways to use artificial intelligence.