Pan Am Railways (PAR), known as
Guilford Rail System (GRS) before March 2006, is a
holding companyA holding company is a company that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself, rather its only purpose is owning shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow the...
that owns and operates a
Class IIA Class II railroad in the United States is a mid-sized freight-hauling railroad, in terms of its operating revenue. , a railroad with revenues greater than $20.5 million but less than $277.7 million for at least three consecutive years is considered a Class II railroad...
regional railroadIn the United States, a regional railroad is a railroad company that is not Class I, but still has a substantial amount of traffic or trackage . The Association of American Railroads has defined the lower bound as of track or $40 million in annual operating revenue...
covering northern
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
from
Mattawamkeag, MaineMattawamkeag is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States located where the Mattawamkeag River joins the Penobscot River. The population was 825 at the 2000 census.-Railroad History:Mattawamkeag's history is inextricably linked to the railroad....
to Rotterdam Junction, New York. The primary subsidiaries of PAR are
Boston and Maine Corporation ,
Maine Central Railroad CompanyThe Maine Central Railroad was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...
,
Portland Terminal CompanyThe Portland Terminal Company was a terminal railroad notable for its control of switching activity for the Maine Central Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad in the Maine cities of Portland, South Portland, and Westbrook....
, and
Springfield Terminal Railway Company ; BM and MEC are operated under lease by ST. PAR is a subsidiary of
Pan Am SystemsPan Am Systems is a privately held transportation and airline holding company that controls the following divisions: freight rail; manufacturing and energy; transportation related brands; and a now-defunct airline division.-History:Guilford Transportation Industries was formed in 1977...
, formerly known as Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI). GTI bought the name, colors and logo of the Pan Am airline in 1998. The company headquarters is located in
North Billerica, MassachusettsNorth Billerica is an unincorporated village of the town of Billerica, Massachusetts, United States, one of the nine sections that make up the Town of Billerica. It is the home to Faulkner and Talbot mills and the North Billerica Train Depot. The Middlesex Canal was built through the village in...
(an unincorporated village within the town of
BillericaBillerica is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,981 at the 2000 census.- History :Billerica's prehistoric history, represented by a Native American burial site, dates to circa 1000 B.C....
).
History
GTI developed as a child of railroad deregulation in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The passage of the
Staggers Rail ActThe Staggers Rail Act of 1980 , signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on October 14, deregulated the railroad industry...
allowed GTI to execute a business plan unlike those of earlier railroads in
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
. It revolved around the idea of buying up as many local railroads as possible, to create full
“horizontal integration”In microeconomics and strategic management, the term horizontal integration describes a type of ownership and control. It is a strategy used by a business or corporation that seeks to sell a type of product in numerous markets...
over New England and the northern Mid-Atlantic states, gaining efficiencies of scale.
GTI started by purchasing the MEC in 1981 from U.S. Filter Corporation. This was followed by its 1983 purchase of the BM, and in 1984 it purchased the
Delaware and Hudson RailwayThe Delaware and Hudson Railway is a railroad that operates in the northeastern United States. Since 1991 it has been a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway, although CPR has assumed all operations and the D&H does not maintain any locomotives and rolling stock.It was formerly an important...
(DH). Its network sprawled from the border between
MaineThe State of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is the northernmost portion of...
and
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally bilingual province in the confederation. The provincial capital is Fredericton...
to
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
, west to
AlbanyAlbany is a city in the United States of America; it is the capital of the state of New York and the county seat of Albany County. Albany is roughly 136 miles north of the city of New York, and slightly south of the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The city sits on the Hudson River and...
, north to
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
, and south (via trackage rights) to
New YorkNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, Philadelphia, and
WashingtonWashington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
.
Following the purchases of MEC, BM and DH, GTI began several major changes to the operations of these railroads and their workforces. One of the first changes took place with new management, followed by consolidation of
locomotiveA locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
repair work at the MEC shops at
Waterville, MaineWaterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,605 at the 2000 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the commercial, medical and cultural center of the region.-History:The area now known as...
, resulting in repainting of locomotives from the predecessor companies into GTI corporate colors.
In the mid-1980s, GTI began to eliminate marginal low-density routes, particularly in Maine. Fully one-third of MEC trackage was eliminated, including the “Mountain Division” from
Portland, MainePortland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2007 estimated city population was 62,875. Portland is Maine's cultural, social and economic capital. It is also the principal city of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, with...
to
St. 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 10 miles northwest of the Connecticut River and 40 miles south of the Canadian border.St. Johnsbury is the major town in the Northeast...
; the “Rockland Branch” from Brunswick to
Rockland, MaineRockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 7,609. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination...
; the “Calais Branch” from
BangorBangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine. It is also the principal city of the Bangor, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Bangor and all of Penobscot County...
to
Calais, MaineCalais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States, and a port of entry situated on the St. Croix River at the border with St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. The population was 3,447 at the 2000 census. The local pronunciation of Calais rhymes with palace...
; and the “Lower Road” from
AugustaAugusta is the capital of the U.S. state of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine . The city's population was 18,560 at the 2000 census. Located on the Kennebec River at the head of tide, it is home to the University of Maine at Augusta.- History :The area was...
to Brunswick.
When the Calais Branch was cut, service was kept on a now-orphaned section of trackage running between Calais and a
pulp millA pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber source into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...
in nearby
WoodlandWoodland is a census-designated place in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,044 at the 2000 census.Woodland is a part of the town of Baileyville...
; these tracks ran for several miles through
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally bilingual province in the confederation. The provincial capital is Fredericton...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and their only remaining connection to the North American rail network was with
Canadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. Its rail network stretches from Vancouver to Montreal, and also serves major cities in the United States such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City...
(CPR) at
St. Stephen, New BrunswickSt. Stephen is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.The town is situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River at ....
. Following the Calais Branch abandonment, CPR agreed to haul MEC traffic from the interchange at Calais to an interchange with MEC at
MattawamkeagMattawamkeag is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States located where the Mattawamkeag River joins the Penobscot River. The population was 825 at the 2000 census.-Railroad History:Mattawamkeag's history is inextricably linked to the railroad....
. In spite of the fact that new labor agreements had removed the requirement to use a caboose at the end of each train, and crew size had been reduced from as many as five employees to just two, GTI leased the operation of the remaining portions of the Calais branch to its tiny Springfield Terminal subsidiary, which had much more advantageous labor agreements.
Springfield Terminal Railway
The
Springfield Terminal Railway was a
shortlineShort Line is a brand name for three different Coach USA companies, Hudson Transit Lines, Hudson Transit Corporation, and Chenango Valley Bus Lines that provide local, commuter and intercity bus service in lower New York State, primarily along the Route 17 Quickway and Southern Tier...
connection from
Springfield, VermontSpringfield is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 9,078 at the 2000 census.-History:One of the New Hampshire grants, the township was chartered on August 20, 1761 by Governor Benning Wentworth and awarded to Gideon Lyman and 61 others...
, to
Charlestown, New HampshireCharlestown is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,749 at the 2000 census. Charlestown includes the villages of North Charlestown, South Charlestown and Hemlock Center...
, that was owned by the
Boston and Maine RailroadThe Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
.
From 1897 to 1921, it was known as the
Springfield Electric, and was converted from electric to diesel power in 1956. Passenger service lasted until 1947, and freight service was discontinued in 1984.
The ST had once been an
interurbanAn Interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad that enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were unpaved and could become nearly impassable during...
, and following typical interurban and shortline practice, it had a union agreement that allowed fewer crew members per train and operation without cabooses. By the time Guilford took over, the operation had been cut back to a stub of a few hundred yards serving one customer and operating infrequently. The tracks have since been removed and the route is now a rails to trails bike/walking path.
Labor disputes and recent history
More branch lines were subsequently leased to the Springfield Terminal, and eventually all of the B&M and
MECThe Maine Central Railroad was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...
were operated by ST. This saved GTI money, but angered labor. In 1986, GTI endured a lengthy and extremely bitter strike by its workforce, which required the intervention of President
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
's administration. In 1988, GTI declared the D&H bankrupt and the employees of the railroad took it over, with the
New York, Susquehanna and Western RailwayThe New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also known as the Susie-Q, or simply the Susquehanna, is a Class III American freight railway operating over 500 miles of track in the northeastern states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was formed in 1881 from the merger of several...
managing it. The employees then sold out in 1991 to the
Canadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. Its rail network stretches from Vancouver to Montreal, and also serves major cities in the United States such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York City...
.
In the years that followed, GTI forced many management and salary changes, resulting in other strikes over wages and work rules.
The paper industry provides the largest source of business, both inbound chemicals, clay and pulp (although PAR has lost a lot of that business to truck), and outbound paper. Rail had a slightly more than 50% market share for outbound paper shipments from Maine, most of which used PAR (truck and boat carry the balance). By comparison, rail has a better than 80% market share from mills in Wisconsin (primarily served by
Wisconsin Central TransportationWisconsin Central Ltd. is a railroad subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway. At one time, its parent Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation owned or operated railroads in the United States, Canada , the United Kingdom , New Zealand , and Australia .- Overview...
). A 2008 report issued by the
American Society of Civil EngineersThe American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
rated Maine at 48th of the 50 states in volume of freight traffic that moves by rail. The Maine Motor Transport Association web page reports that trucks transport 94% of total manufactured tonnage in Maine.
In some years, PAR rail traffic had trended up somewhat, following national rail industry trends. However, as of recent times, PAR rail traffic has dropped considerably. A report issued by the
Maine Department of TransportationThe Maine Department of Transportation, also known as MaineDOT, is the bureaucratic office of the state government charged with the regulation and maintenance of roads and other public infrastructure in the state of Maine. MaineDOT reports on the adequacy of roads, highways, and bridges in Maine...
listed rail traffic on the Maine Central Railroad as being 162,658 loads in 1972. As of 2008, PAR rail traffic over the remaining portions of the MEC was estimated to be no more than 69,000 loads. Interestingly, in this same time period, the
Association of American RailroadsThe Association of American Railroads is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America . Amtrak and some regional commuter railroads are also members...
estimates that rail traffic in the United States has more than doubled.
Routes
The main line runs from
Mattawamkeag, MaineMattawamkeag is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States located where the Mattawamkeag River joins the Penobscot River. The population was 825 at the 2000 census.-Railroad History:Mattawamkeag's history is inextricably linked to the railroad....
, to
Mechanicville, New YorkMechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,019 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents....
, via the lines of the following former companies:
- Maine Central Railroad
The Maine Central Railroad was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...
: European and North American RailwayThe European and North American Railway is the name for three historic Canadian and American railways which were built in New Brunswick and Maine....
, Maine Central Railroad main line
- Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
: B&M main line, Lowell and Andover RailroadThe Lowell and Andover Railroad was a branch line of the Boston and Maine Railroad and was organized in 1873, after the Boston and Lowell Railroad's monopoly on Boston to Lowell service ended in 1865...
- Boston and Lowell Railroad
The Boston and Lowell Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in Massachusetts. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state...
(B&M subsidiary): Nashua and Lowell RailroadThe Boston and Lowell Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in Massachusetts. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state...
, Stony Brook RailroadThe Stony Brook Railroad was a short line railroad that ran off the Nashua and Lowell Railroad's main line from the village of North Chelmsford to Ayer where it connected to the Fitchburg Railroad....
- Fitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, USA, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel...
(B&M subsidiary): Fitchburg Railroad main line, Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, Troy and Greenfield RailroadThe Troy and Greenfield Railroad, chartered in 1848, ran from Greenfield, Massachusetts, to the Vermont state line. It was leased to the Troy and Boston Railroad in 1856, then consolidated into Fitchburg Railroad 1887 which in turn was acquired by Boston and Maine Railroad by lease in 1900....
, Southern Vermont Railroad, Troy and Boston RailroadThe Troy and Boston Railroad was chartered April 4, 1848 and organized November 22, 1849. It completed a railroad from Troy, New York to the Vermont state line in 1852. This was also the main track of the Troy and Rutland Railroad, Rutland and Washington Railroad, and the Western Railroad of...
, Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway
Proposed expansion
In 1985, the company, then known as Guilford Transportation Industries, entered into an agreement with Norfolk Southern to run trains to
St. LouisSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
. Norfolk Southern was attempting to win approval of a plan to purchase
ConrailThe Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail , was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. The federal government created it to take over the potentially profitable lines of bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and...
from the United States government and proposed allowing Guilford to lease Conrail lines to St. Louis in order to restore competition that would be lost in the merger. The plan would have allowed Guilford to use the Conrail mainline from
ToledoToledo is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio within the Great Lakes Region and the county seat of Lucas County. Named after Toledo, Spain, it is located on the western end of Lake Erie, on the Michigan border. It is the principal city in the Toledo Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the 2000 census,...
to
Ridgeway, OhioRidgeway is a village in Hardin and Logan counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 354 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ridgeway is located at ....
and from
Crestline, OhioCrestline is a city in Crawford and Richland Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 5,088 at the 2000 census. It is the third largest city in Crawford County...
to St. Louis. Guilford would also purchase other Conrail track for $35 million. Norfolk Southern did not prevail in its attempt to purchase Conrail in 1985, and the Guilford plan was dropped.
Partnership with Norfolk Southern
On May 15, 2008, Norfolk Southern Corp. announced that it had come to an agreement with Pan Am Railways to "create an improved rail route between
Albany, New YorkAlbany is a city in the United States of America; it is the capital of the state of New York and the county seat of Albany County. Albany is roughly 136 miles north of the city of New York, and slightly south of the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The city sits on the Hudson River and...
, and the Boston, Massachusetts area called the 'Patriot Corridor'."
On March 12, 2009, the
Surface Transportation BoardThe 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...
approved the deal. Each of the two companies will own 50% of a new company to be known as
Pan Am SouthernPan Am Southern, LLC is a freight railroad jointly owned by Norfolk Southern Railway and Pan Am Railways . PAS owns trackage known as the Patriot Corridor between Albany, New York and the greater Boston, Massachusetts area, utilizing rail lines formerly owned by the Boston and Maine Corporation...
(PAS). PAR's trackage between
Ayer, MassachusettsAyer is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated in 1871 and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Fort Devens, an army camp established in the Civil War, until its closure in 1994...
and
Mechanicville, New YorkMechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,019 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents....
will be transferred to PAS and will continue to be operated and maintained by PAR's Springfield Terminal Railway subsidiary. NS will transfer to PAS cash and property valued at $140 million.
Planned improvements to the route include track and signal upgrades, and expansion of terminals, including construction of new automotive and intermodal terminals in Ayer, MA and Mechanicville, NY.
External links