Iron Road Railways

Last updated
Iron Road Railways Inc.
Private
Industry Rail transport
Founded Alexandria, Virginia
Founder Robert T. Schmidt, Benjamin F. Collins, John F. DePodesta, Daniel Sabin
Headquarters Alexandria, Virginia , United States
Area served
 United States and Canada
Key people
 Robert T. Schmidt (President)
Subsidiaries Canadian American Railroad, Bangor and Aroostook Railroad, Windsor and Hantsport Railway, Van Buren Bridge and Construction Company, Quebec Southern Railway, Northern Vermont Railroad, Iowa Northern Railway

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.

Maine State of the United States of America

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 12th smallest by area, the 9th least populous, and the 38th most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. It is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest respectively. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and the northernmost state east of the Great Lakes. It is known for its jagged, rocky coastline; low, rolling mountains; heavily forested interior; and picturesque waterways, as well as its seafood cuisine, especially lobster and clams. There is a humid continental climate throughout most of the state, including in coastal areas such as its most populous city of Portland. The capital is Augusta.

Quebec Province of Canada

Quebec is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario and the bodies of water James Bay and Hudson Bay; to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay; to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador; and to the south by the province of New Brunswick and the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is historically and politically considered to be part of Central Canada.

New Brunswick province in Canada

New Brunswick is one of four Atlantic provinces on the east coast of Canada. According to the Constitution of Canada, New Brunswick is the only bilingual province. About two thirds of the population declare themselves anglophones and a third francophones. One third of the overall population describe themselves as bilingual. Atypically for Canada, only about half of the population lives in urban areas, mostly in Greater Moncton, Greater Saint John and the capital Fredericton.

Contents

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. [1]

Alexandria, Virginia Independent city in Virginia, United States

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 139,966, and in 2016, the population was estimated to be 155,810. Located along the western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of downtown Washington, D.C.

IRR owned the following subsidiaries:

Subsidiaries

The Canadian American Railroad was a railroad that operated between Brownville Junction, Maine and Lennoxville, Quebec. The railroad later expanded west to Farnham, Quebec and then St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec with running rights on Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) to Montreal, Quebec. CDAC was established in 1994 and operated as a railroad between 1995 and 2002. It was owned by transportation holding company Iron Road Railways.

Lennoxville, Quebec Borough in Quebec, Canada

Lennoxville 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 kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke.

Canadian Pacific Railway railway in Canada

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), also known formerly as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, and known as simply Canadian Pacific is a historic Canadian Class I railroad incorporated in 1881. The railroad is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001.

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 CN 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.

Canadian National Railway railway company

Canadian National is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec that serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.

New Brunswick Southern Railway transport company

The New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited is a 131.7 mi (212.0 km) Canadian short line railway owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company Limited, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.

Surface Transportation Board

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is a federal, bipartisan, independent adjudicatory board. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the Interstate Commerce Commission when the ICC was abolished. Other ICC regulatory functions were either eliminated or transferred to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics within DOT.

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.

Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway

The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway was a Class II freight railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian province of Quebec between 2002 and 2014. It was headquartered in Hermon, Maine.

The NV south of Newport to Wells River, Vermont was purchased by the state of Vermont and operation contracted to Washington County Railroad.

Wells River, Vermont Village in Vermont, United States

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. Routes 5 and 302.

Vermont State of the United States of America

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders the U.S. states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. Vermont is the second-smallest by population and the sixth-smallest by area of the 50 U.S. states. The state capital is Montpelier, the least populous state capital in the United States. The most populous city, Burlington, is the least populous city to be the most populous city in a state. As of 2015, Vermont was the leading producer of maple syrup in the United States. In crime statistics, it was ranked as the safest state in the country in 2016.

The Washington County Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Vermont and a sliver of New Hampshire, forming part of the Vermont Rail System. The WACR began operating in 1980 over the old Montpelier and Barre Railroad in Washington County, which the state acquired to ensure the continuance of rail service, and ceased operations in early 1999. Later that year, after interim service by other companies, operations were transferred to a new WACR subsidiary of the Vermont Rail System. In 2003, operations were greatly expanded through acquisition by the state and operation by the WACR of a former Boston and Maine Corporation and Canadian Pacific Railway line between Newport and White River Junction, which had most recently been operated by subsidiaries of the bankrupt Bangor and Aroostook 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.

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International Railway of Maine

The International Railway of Maine was a historic railroad constructed by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) between Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, and Mattawamkeag, Maine, closing a key gap in the railway's transcontinental main line to the port of Saint John, New Brunswick.

Bangor and Aroostook Railroad company

The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad was a United States railroad company that brought rail service to Aroostook County in northern Maine. Brightly painted BAR box cars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-generation diesel locomotives operated on BAR until they were museum pieces. The economic downturn of the 1980s coupled with the departure of heavy industry from northern Maine forced the railroad to seek a buyer and end operations in 2003.

Northern Vermont Railroad was a former class III railroad that operated in Vermont from 1996 to 2002. NVR was based in Newport, Vermont.

Canadian Atlantic Railway

The Canadian Atlantic Railway (CAR) was a Canadian and U.S. railway that existed from 1988 to 1994.

Iowa Northern Railway

The Iowa Northern Railway is a Class III shortline railroad operating in the U.S. state of Iowa.

The Maine Department of Transportation, also known as MaineDOT, is the office of state government charged with the regulation and maintenance of roads and other public infrastructure in the state of Maine. An exception is the Maine Turnpike, which is maintained by the Maine Turnpike Authority. MaineDOT reports on the adequacy of roads, highways, and bridges in Maine. It also monitors environmental factors that affect the motor public such as stormwater, ice/snow buildup on roads, and crashes with moose.

The Eastern Maine Railway Company Limited is a 99.5 mi (160.1 km) U.S. short line railroad owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.

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Aroostook Valley Railroad railroad between Presque Isle and Caribou, Maine

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The Gull was an international passenger train between Boston, United States and Halifax, Canada. Travel time was approximately 24 hours. Westbound trains left Halifax shortly after breakfast and crossed the Canada–United States border in the late evening, as eastbound trains were leaving Boston's North Station to cross the border about dawn. Travel was over the Boston and Maine Railroad from Boston to Portland, Maine, then over the Maine Central Railroad to the border between Vanceboro, Maine, and Saint Croix, New Brunswick, then over the Canadian Pacific Railway to Saint John, New Brunswick, and over the Canadian National Railway to Halifax.

The Maine Northern Railway Company Limited is a 258 mi (415 km) U.S. and Canadian short line railroad owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.

The lines of the Canadian Pacific Railway operated in the State of Maine were set up as a separate company to comply with Interstate Commerce Commission regulations and were considered a Class I U.S. railroad. The company operated 234 miles in Maine.

NB&M Railways is a holding company controlled by the J.D. Irving group of New Brunswick.

Central Maine and Quebec Railway freight railroad operating

The Central Maine & Québec Railway is a Class III freight railroad operating in the U.S. states of Maine and Vermont and the Canadian province of Quebec with headquarters in New York, NY. It is owned by Railroad Acquisition Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Fortress Investment Group, LLC.

References

  1. ↑ Compilation of rail notices published by the US Department of Transportation between September 16 - 30, 1996 Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine .
  2. ↑ "Iron Road Railways acquires BAR, CAR - buys Bangor & Aroostook and Canadian American from Fieldcrest Cannon". Railway Age. April 1995. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  3. ↑ "Iron Road Railways acquires BAR, CAR - buys Bangor & Aroostook and Canadian American from Fieldcrest Cannon". Railway Age. April 1995. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
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