Massena Terminal Railroad

Last updated

Massena Terminal Railroad
Massena Terminal Railroad Logo.svg
Massena Terminal Railroad Bridges.jpg
The company's current and former bridges over the Grasse River
Overview
Headquarters Massena, New York
Reporting mark MSTR
Locale Massena, New York
Dates of operation1900–present
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length4 miles (6.4 km)
Other
Website Official website
Route map
Massena Terminal Railroad
Legend
BSicon SHI4+rq.svg
BSicon ENDEeq.svg
BSicon STR+l.svg
BSicon SHI4lrq.svg
Alcoa
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon SHI4+lq.svg
BSicon ENDEeq.svg
Grasse River
BSicon SKRZ-Ao.svg
State Route 37B
BSicon eBHF.svg
Massena
BSicon SKRZ-Ao.svg
State Route 37
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
Raquette River
BSicon STRq.svg
BSicon ABZqr.svg
St. Lawrence Subdivision; Montreal Subdivision

The Massena Terminal Railroad( reporting mark MSTR) [1] is a Class III terminal railroad operating in the U.S. state of New York. It operates over 4 miles (6.4 km) of track from the CSX Transportation yard in Massena north to the Alcoa plant, the railroad's only customer. It was built in the early 20th century, beginning operations in 1900. [2] In 2005, the railroad was purchased by holding company RailAmerica. Shortline holding company Genesee & Wyoming acquired the Massena Terminal Railroad in 2012 as part of its purchase of RailAmerica. The railroad's traffic comes mainly from aluminum and petroleum products. The MTR hauled around 4,300 carloads in 2008.

Contents

History

A 1950 map shows part of the Massena Terminal Railroad's route, labeled "N.Y.C. R.R. - Massena Terminal R.R.". 1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - New York (NY) - St. Lawrence County - Massena - ED 45-56 to 70 - NARA - 24519683.jpg
A 1950 map shows part of the Massena Terminal Railroad's route, labeled "N.Y.C. R.R. - Massena Terminal R.R.".

The Massena Terminal Railroad was incorporated in May 1900, to connect a power plant of the St. Lawrence Power Company to the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad and Grand Trunk Railway at Massena. [3] [4] [5] [6] The New York Central Railroad took over rail operations for the MTR in 1915, with the latter remaining owner of the physical infrastructure. [7]

Significant traffic was carried by the Massena Terminal Railroad during the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway; new tracks were laid to support the project, and then removed upon its completion. [7] When the company had its bridge across the Grasse River replaced in 1946, it included an Alcoa-designed all-aluminum bridge span that was reportedly the first in the world. [8]

The New York Central Railroad announced an agreement to purchase the MTR from Alcoa in 1966, with Alcoa citing "improved operating efficiencies" as the reason for the sale. [7] Alcoa ultimately continued to own the railroad until 2005, when it was purchased by shortline holding company RailAmerica. [9] [2] The railroad was assigned to RailAmerica's Northeast Region in 2008. [1] RailAmerica was itself purchased by fellow shortline holding company Genesee & Wyoming in 2012, which became the Massena Terminal Railroad's owner. [10] The railroad received a $1.6 million grant from the New York State Department of Transportation in 2013 for infrastructure improvements. [11]

Operations

The company's primary customer is an Alcoa facility in Massena. The MTR connects this facility with a CSX Transportation line also in Massena. [11] In 2008, the company reported approximately 4,300 carloads. [2] As of 2019, the Massena Terminal Railroad has a total of 4 miles (6.4 km) of tracks. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay Line Railroad</span> Class III railroad in Southeastern United States

The Bay Line Railroad is one of several short line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operates between Panama City, Florida, and Dothan, Alabama, including a branch from Grimes to Abbeville, Alabama, reached via trackage rights on CSX's Dothan Subdivision between Dothan and Grimes. The line interchanges with CSX at Cottondale, Florida and Dothan, Alabama, and with the Hilton & Albany Railroad at Hilton, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RailAmerica</span>

RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, was a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conecuh Valley Railroad</span>

The Conecuh Valley Railway, L.L.C. connects with the CSX at Troy, Alabama, and travels 15.04 miles (24.20 km) to Goshen, Alabama. This short line railroad was created after 2001 from the former Southern Alabama Railroad and is currently owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Alabama Railway</span>

Eastern Alabama Railway, LLC is one of many short line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. On November 26, 1990, the line was sold by CSX to the Eastern Alabama Railway, a subsidiary of Kyle Railways. Kyle Railways later sold the EARY to RailAmerica in 2002 and RailAmerica was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Comfort and Northern Railway</span> Railway

The Point Comfort and Northern Railway is a Class III railroad operating in the U.S. state of Texas. The railroad operates over 14 miles (23 km) of track between Point Comfort, Texas, and Lolita, Texas, where the railroad transfers cars with Union Pacific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockdale, Sandow and Southern Railroad</span>

The Rockdale, Sandow and Southern Railroad was a Class III railroad operating in the United States state of Texas. It consisted of 5 miles (8.0 km) of track between Rockdale and Marjorie, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bauxite and Northern Railway</span> Railroad in the United States

The Bauxite & Northern Railway is a Class III railroad operating in the United States state of Arkansas. BXN operates over 7 miles (11 km) of track in Bauxite, Arkansas. Traffic consists of largely of alumina, and the railroad hauls 4,059 carloads per year. In 2005, the railroad was purchased by holding company RailAmerica. In December 2012, Genesee & Wyoming acquired the railroad in its acquisition of RailAmerica. As of 2023, Bauxite & Northern Railway interchanges with Union Pacific in Bauxite, Arkansas and can hold up to 286,000 pounds of supplies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiamichi Railroad</span>

The Kiamichi Railroad Company is a Class III short-line railroad headquartered in Hugo, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina and Virginia Railroad</span>

The North Carolina and Virginia Railroad is a short-line railroad operating in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. Formed in 1987 to operate a CSX Transportation branch, the NCVA operates 56 miles (90 km) of track. It is a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. The company primarily hauls steel, grain, and chemicals, and reported 25,000 carloads hauled in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three Notch Railroad</span>

The Three Notch Railroad runs from a connection with CSX Transportation at Georgiana to Andalusia, Alabama, 36 miles (58 km). This short line railroad was created in 2001 and is currently a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wiregrass Central Railroad</span>

The Wiregrass Central Railroad is a shortline railroad operating 19.5 miles (31.4 km) of track from a CSX Transportation connection at Waterford, near Newton, to Enterprise, Alabama via the south side of Fort Novosel. The company was initially a subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways and began operations in 1987 following the purchase of the Enterprise Subdivision branch line of CSX Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Southern Railroad</span> Freight railroad in Connecticut and Massachusetts

The Connecticut Southern Railroad is a 90-mile (140 km) long short-line railroad operating in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The company was formed in 1996 as a spinoff of Conrail by shortline holding company RailTex and subsequently acquired in 2000 by RailAmerica. Since 2012, it has been a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. CSO is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, site of its Hartford Yard. The company also operates East Hartford Yard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England Central Railroad</span> Railroad company

The New England Central Railroad is a regional railroad in the New England region of the United States. It began operations in 1995, as the successor of the Central Vermont Railway (CV). The company was originally a subsidiary of holding company RailTex before being purchased by RailAmerica in 2000. In 2012, the company was purchased by Genesee & Wyoming, its current owner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart of Georgia Railroad</span>

The Heart of Georgia Railroad is a shortline railroad created in 1999 to lease and operate 177 miles (285 km) of track owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation between Mahrt, Alabama and Vidalia, Georgia, in the United States. The railroad has since expanded to include more than 233 miles (375 km) of track, reaching as far as Midville, Georgia. Initially only the portion from Rochelle to Preston, Georgia was utilized, with the Preston-Mahrt and Rochelle-Vidalia lines out of service. The Heart of Georgia also hosts the SAM passenger excursion train and is owned by parent company Atlantic Western Transportation Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Railroad of Indiana</span> Class III railroad

The Central Railroad Company of Indiana is a Class III short-line railroad that owns 92 miles (148 km) of track between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Shelbyville, Indiana, with trackage rights on CSX to Indianapolis, Indiana. CIND interchanges with CSX, Indiana & Ohio Railway, and Norfolk Southern in Cincinnati, and in North Bend, Ohio, with CSX; an Indiana & Ohio branchline splits from the CIND line at Valley Junction, a railroad location near Hooven, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago, Fort Wayne and Eastern Railroad</span> Short line railroad

The Chicago, Ft. Wayne & Eastern Railroad is a short line railroad offering service from Tolleston, Indiana to Crestline, Ohio, United States over the former Fort Wayne Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It began operations in 2004 as a division of the Central Railroad of Indianapolis (CERA), under the overall corporate ownership of RailAmerica. CFE operates 273 miles (439 km) of rail leased from CSX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolina Piedmont Railroad</span> Class III railroad in South Carolina

The Carolina Piedmont Railroad is a class III railroad and subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. operating in the Upstate region of South Carolina. From an interchange with CSX Transportation at Laurens the railroad runs 34 miles (55 km) to the northwest, terminating at East Greenville.

The Wilmington Terminal Railroad is a shortline railroad serving the Port of Wilmington. It began operations in 1986 over trackage owned by the North Carolina Ports Railway Commission, whose other lines were simultaneously leased to the Carolina Rail Services Company. The company is owned by Rail Link, Inc., a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc., which acquired it from the Rail Management Corporation in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Ontario Railway</span>

The Southern Ontario Railway is a shortline railroad in the province of Ontario, owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc., the Canadian subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operated 69 miles (111 km) of track from Brantford to Nanticoke, Ontario, from 1998 to 2018. The railroad began operations in 1998, and was acquired by RailAmerica two years later. It had interchanges with the Canadian National Railway at Hamilton via trackage rights, Brantford and Paris, and interchanges with the Canadian Pacific Railway at Hamilton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Carolina Central Railroad</span> Railroad in South Carolina, USA

The South Carolina Central Railroad is a class III railroad that operates 42 miles (68 km) of former CSX Transportation trackage in South Carolina. Originally a RailTex subsidiary upon its start in 1987, the railroad passed to RailAmerica following their acquisition of RailTex in 2000 and passed to the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad upon its acquisition of RailAmerica.

References

  1. 1 2 Johnston, John (April 26, 2007). "RailAmerica reorganizes; five smaller regions". Boca Raton News. p. 4. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "RailAmerica's Empire". Trains Magazine. Kalmbach Publishing. June 2010.
  3. ↑ "Terminal Company Chartered". New-York Tribune. May 3, 1900. p. 2. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  4. ↑ New York (State) Board of Railroad Commissioners (1903). Annual Report of the Railroad Commissioners of the State of New-York. C. Van Benthuysen. pp. 1532–1533.
  5. ↑ Allen, W. F. (July 1902). The Official Railway Guide. National Railway Publication Company. p. 42.
  6. ↑ United States Federal Trade Commission (1928). Utility Corporations: Letter from the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission Transmitting, in Response to Senate Resolution No. 83, a Monthly Report on the Electric Power and Gas Utilities Inquiry. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 607.
  7. 1 2 3 "Central to Purchase Alcoa Railroad Line". The Post-Standard. October 14, 1966. p. 39. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Aluminum Bridge Span Installed". The Berkshire Eagle. Associated Press. September 28, 1946. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  9. ↑ "It's official: RailAmerica adds Alcoa's four roads to short-line roster". October 3, 2005. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  10. ↑ Ananthalakshmi, A; Roumeliotis, Greg (July 23, 2012). "Genesee & Wyoming to buy RailAmerica for $1.4 billion". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Rail News - New York, Susquehanna & Western, Massena Terminal Railway receive state funds for freight-rail projects". Progressive Railroading. January 9, 2013. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Massena Terminal Railroad – A Genesee & Wyoming Company". Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.