Iron Road Railways
Encyclopedia
Iron Road Railways Incorporated (IRR) was a railroad holding company which owned several short line railroads in the U.S. state of Maine
, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec
, New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia
.
IRR was formed in 1994 and headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia
. Its president was Robert T. Schmidt and officers included Benjamin F. Collins, John F. DePodesta, and Daniel Sabin.
IRR owned the following subsidiaries:
and New Brunswick Southern Railway
applied to the Surface Transportation Board
for permission to operate former BAR lines that served major industrial customers in northern Maine. CN was granted permission to operate from Van Buren, Maine to Madawaska, Maine
, while NBSR was granted permission to operate former BAR lines from Brownville Junction south to Searsport and north to Madawaska; neither applications became necessary after the BAR lines were sold.
The BAR, CDAC, and part of the QS/NV were sold in October 2002 to Rail World, Inc.
which reorganized the lines under its newly-formed subsidiary Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
.
The NV south of Newport to Wells River, Vermont
was purchased by the state of Vermont
and operation contracted to Washington County Railroad.
The VBB had been operated on tracks leased from owner CP Rail
. In January 2003, CP Rail sold this small line to CN
.
Former IRR president Robert T. Schmidt retained ownership of the Windsor and Hantsport Railway
while another former IRR officer Daniel Sabin took ownership of the Iowa Northern Railway
.
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
IRR was formed in 1994 and headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
. Its president was Robert T. Schmidt and officers included Benjamin F. Collins, John F. DePodesta, and Daniel Sabin.
IRR owned the following subsidiaries:
Subsidiaries
- Canadian American RailroadCanadian American RailroadThe Canadian American Railroad was a railroad that operated between Brownville Junction, Maine and Lennoxville, Quebec between 1994 and 2002...
(CDAC) which operated between Brownville Junction, Maine and Lennoxville, QuebecLennoxville, QuebecLennoxville is an arrondissement, or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometers south of downtown Sherbrooke....
. The 178 mi (286.5 km) line from Brownville Junction to Lennoxville was a former CP RailCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
mainline consisting of the Moosehead and Megantic subdivisions; at the time of acquisition it was operated by CP Rail as the Canadian Atlantic RailwayCanadian Atlantic RailwayThe Canadian Atlantic Railway is a historic Canadian and U.S. railway that existed from 1988 to 1994.The CAR was created in September 1988 as a business unit of CP Rail System to serve the Maritime Provinces and state of Maine...
. Operation was transferred by CP Rail to CDAC in early January 1995 and officially sold in March 1995. Canadian American Railroad was formed in 1994 as a joint venture by IRR (Alexandria, VAAlexandria, VirginiaAlexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
) and Fieldcrest Cannon Inc. (Kannapolis, NCKannapolis, North CarolinaKannapolis is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte. The population was 42,625 at the 2010 census, which makes Kannapolis the 20th largest city in North Carolina...
); this joint venture lasted for 8 months in order to complete the acquisition of the former CP Rail property, at which time IRR purchased the interest of Fieldrest Cannon in CDAC to assume complete control. In 1996, CDAC was extended west by 60 mi (96.6 km) to Farnham, QuebecFarnham, QuebecFarnham is a town located in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Brome-Missisquoi regional county municipality, in the administrative region of Montérégie. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 7,809, making it the second most populated community in the RCM.- History :The...
following purchase from CP Rail. At that time, CDAC received trackage rights from CP Rail over the remaining 40 mi (64.4 km) into Montreal.
- Bangor and Aroostook RailroadBangor and Aroostook RailroadThe Bangor and Aroostook Railroad is a defunct United States railroad company, that brought rail service to Aroostook County, Maine. Brightly painted BAR box cars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives operated on BAR until they were museum pieces...
(BAR) operated between Searsport, MaineSearsport, MaineSearsport is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,641 at the 2000 census. Searsport includes the village of North Searsport. The town is known as "the home of the famous sea captains" and the "Antique Capital of Maine." -History:...
to Madawaska, MaineMadawaska, MaineMadawaska is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,035 at the 2010 census. Madawaska is opposite Edmundston in Madawaska County in New Brunswick, Canada, to which it is connected by the Edmundston-Madawaska Bridge. Today many of its residents speak French; 83.4% of...
with branches to Van Buren, CaribouCaribou, MaineCaribou is the second largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. Its population was 8,189 at the 2010 census.-History:Between 1838 and 1839, the undeclared Aroostook War flared between the United States and Canada, and the Battle of Caribou occurred in December 1838...
, Presque Ile, LimestoneLimestone, MaineLimestone is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,314 at the 2010 census. The town is best known for being the home of the Loring Commerce Center...
and HoultonHoulton, MaineHoulton is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, on the United States – Canada border, located at . As of the 2010 census, the town population was 6,123. It is perhaps best known as being at the northern terminus of Interstate 95 and for being the birthplace of Samantha Smith...
. Sale of the 420 mi (675.9 km) system was finalized in March 1995 through a joint venture by IRR (Alexandria, VAAlexandria, VirginiaAlexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
) and Fieldcrest Cannon Inc. (Kannapolis, NCKannapolis, North CarolinaKannapolis is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte. The population was 42,625 at the 2010 census, which makes Kannapolis the 20th largest city in North Carolina...
); this joint venture lasted for 8 months in order to complete the acquisition of the BAR property, at which time IRR purchased the interest of Fieldrest Cannon in order to assume complete control.
- Windsor and Hantsport RailwayWindsor and Hantsport RailwayThe Windsor and Hantsport Railway is a railway operating in Nova Scotia between Windsor Junction and New Minas with a spur at Windsor which runs several miles east, serving two gypsum quarries at Wentworth Creek and Mantua....
(WHR) which operated between Windsor Junction, Nova ScotiaWindsor Junction, Nova ScotiaWindsor Junction is a Canadian suburban community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. It is located 15.6 km north west of the HRM urban core, 3 km north of the Bedford Basin near the communities of Waverley, Fall River and Lower Sackville.-Railway history:The name of the...
to New Minas, Nova ScotiaNew Minas, Nova ScotiaNew Minas is a village located in the eastern part of Kings County in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. As of 2001, the population was 4,300.New Minas borders the town of Kentville to the west and the unincorporated community of Greenwich to the east. The town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia is further...
with a branch from WindsorWindsor, Nova ScotiaWindsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...
to Mantua. This was a portion of a former CP RailCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
subsidiary known as the Dominion Atlantic RailwayDominion Atlantic RailwayThe Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic Canadian railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley....
. Sale of the 56 mi (90.1 km) system was completed on August 27, 1994.
- Van Buren Bridge and Construction Company (VBB) which operated between Cyr Junction, New Brunswick (south of St. Leonard) to Grand Falls, New BrunswickGrand Falls, New BrunswickGrand Falls is a Canadian town located in Victoria County, New Brunswick.Situated on the Saint John River, the town derives its name from a waterfall created by a series of rock ledges over which the river drops 23 metres.-Geography:Grand Falls is located in the valley of the St...
. This was a portion of the former CP RailCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
Edmundston subdivision that used trackage rights over CNCanadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
to access interchange with BAR at the Van Buren - St. Leonard railroad bridge. VBB leased the 7 mi (11.3 km) line in March 1994.
- Quebec Southern Railway (QS) and Northern Vermont RailroadNorthern Vermont RailroadNorthern Vermont Railroad was a former class III railroad that operated in Vermont from 1996-2002.The Northern Vermont Railroad was created by holding company Iron Road Railways on and began operations on 28 September, 1996 on the former Canadian Pacific Railway's Lyndonville Subdivision and the...
(NV), which operated between Brookport, Quebec and Wells River, VermontWells River, VermontWells River is a village in the town of Newbury in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 325 at the 2000 census. The village center is located at the junction of U.S...
. This was the former CP RailCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
Newport, Lyndonville and a portion of the Beebe subdivisions. Sale of the 144 mi (231.7 km) system was completed in September 1996 and extended service to the Vermont communities of RichfordRichford, VermontRichford is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,321 at the 2000 census.Richford is the birthplace of R.G. LeTourneau, American industrialist who founded LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.-Geography:...
, NewportNewport (city), VermontNewport is a city in and the shire town of Orleans County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,005. The city contains the largest population of any government in the county, yet encompasses the smallest area....
, St. JohnsburySt. Johnsbury, VermontSt. Johnsbury is the shire town of Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 7,571 at the 2000 census. St. Johnsbury is located approximately northwest of the Connecticut River and south of the Canadian border.St...
and LyndonvilleLyndonville, VermontLyndonville is a village in the town of Lyndon, in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. Lyndonville's population was 1,227 at the 2000 census.-History:...
.
- Iowa Northern RailwayIowa Northern RailwayThe Iowa Northern Railway is a Class III shortline railroad operating in the U.S. state of Iowa.-History:The origin of the Iowa Northern Railway starts with the major portion of the Manly to Cedar Rapids line which was built in the 1870s by the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad...
(IANR), which operates between Cedar Rapids, IowaCedar Rapids, IowaCedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
and Manly, IowaManly, IowaManly is a city in Worth County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,342 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Manly is located at ....
. IANR was formed in 1980 by several grain elevator operators to maintain rail service over a former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific RailroadChicago, Rock Island and Pacific RailroadThe Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
line while that company entered bankruptcy. The line was purchased by IANR in 1984 and the company was purchased by Iron Road Railways in 1994.
2002 bankruptcy and divestment
In 2002, IRR's "Bangor and Aroostook System" (BAR, CDAC, VBB, and QS/NV) entered bankruptcy protection and service became jeopardized. Both CNCanadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
and New Brunswick Southern Railway
New Brunswick Southern Railway
The New Brunswick Southern Railway and Eastern Maine Railway form a 189-mile railway system operating a former Canadian Pacific Railway mainline between Saint John, New Brunswick and Brownville Junction, Maine....
applied to the Surface Transportation Board
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
for permission to operate former BAR lines that served major industrial customers in northern Maine. CN was granted permission to operate from Van Buren, Maine to Madawaska, Maine
Madawaska, Maine
Madawaska is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,035 at the 2010 census. Madawaska is opposite Edmundston in Madawaska County in New Brunswick, Canada, to which it is connected by the Edmundston-Madawaska Bridge. Today many of its residents speak French; 83.4% of...
, while NBSR was granted permission to operate former BAR lines from Brownville Junction south to Searsport and north to Madawaska; neither applications became necessary after the BAR lines were sold.
The BAR, CDAC, and part of the QS/NV were sold in October 2002 to Rail World, Inc.
Rail World, Inc.
Rail World, Inc. is a rail transport holding company. Its specialties include railway management, consulting, investment, privatizations, and restructurings. Its purpose is to promote rail industry privatization by bringing together government bodies wishing to sell their stakes with investment...
which reorganized the lines under its newly-formed subsidiary Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway
The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway is a Class II freight railroad operating in the U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. Its Canadian subsidiary is the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada Company. The entire system is owned by Rail World,...
.
The NV south of Newport to Wells River, Vermont
Wells River, Vermont
Wells River is a village in the town of Newbury in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 325 at the 2000 census. The village center is located at the junction of U.S...
was purchased by the state of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and operation contracted to Washington County Railroad.
The VBB had been operated on tracks leased from owner CP Rail
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
. In January 2003, CP Rail sold this small line to CN
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
.
Former IRR president Robert T. Schmidt retained ownership of the Windsor and Hantsport Railway
Windsor and Hantsport Railway
The Windsor and Hantsport Railway is a railway operating in Nova Scotia between Windsor Junction and New Minas with a spur at Windsor which runs several miles east, serving two gypsum quarries at Wentworth Creek and Mantua....
while another former IRR officer Daniel Sabin took ownership of the Iowa Northern Railway
Iowa Northern Railway
The Iowa Northern Railway is a Class III shortline railroad operating in the U.S. state of Iowa.-History:The origin of the Iowa Northern Railway starts with the major portion of the Manly to Cedar Rapids line which was built in the 1870s by the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad...
.