In the United States, a paper railroad is a company in the railroad business that exists "on paper only": as a legal entity which does not own any track, locomotives, or rolling stock.
In the early days of railroad construction, paper railroads had to exist by necessity while in the financing stage. It allowed incorporation of a company and the seeking of capital to build a proposed railroad. In the 1850s, speculation of stock of paper railroads became rampant, causing a bubble of their stocks. This led in large part to the Panic of 1857. [1] Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, this specific connotation of the phrase "paper railroad" was consistent: a proposed, often speculative (and sometimes wildly speculative) venture in which a company stock exists, but no physical assets to run a railroad do. In many cases, these railroads still existed as corporate entities long after plans to build them had been scrapped.
In the context of recent times, the phrase "paper railroad" is still used, but generally refers to railroads which are subsidiaries of larger parent railroads, or formerly existed and still have locomotives or rolling stock in the former railroad's livery. Reasons railroads are operated this way include those of internal corporate structure, tax ownership or locale, or for public relations purposes. If not actually operating, these railroads are "non-operating subsidiaries" of the parent railroad.
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity and recognized as such in law for certain purposes. Early incorporated entities were established by charter. Most jurisdictions now allow the creation of new corporations through registration. Corporations come in many different types but are usually divided by the law of the jurisdiction where they are chartered based on two aspects: by whether they can issue stock, or by whether they are formed to make a profit. Depending on the number of owners, a corporation can be classified as aggregate or sole.
A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought & sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares. Shareholders are able to transfer their shares to others without any effects to the continued existence of the company.
Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883 to 1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company. MLW's headquarters and manufacturing facilities were located in Montreal, Quebec.
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two subsidiaries that belong to the same parent company are called sister companies.
The Seaboard System Railroad, Inc. was a former US Class I railroad that operated from 1982 to 1986.
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding company, the Grand Trunk Corporation. Grand Trunk Western's routes are part of CN's Michigan Division. Its primary mainline between Chicago and Port Huron, Michigan serves as a connection between railroad interchanges in Chicago and rail lines in eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. The railroad's extensive trackage in Detroit and across southern Michigan has made it an essential link for the automotive industry as a hauler of parts and automobiles from manufacturing plants.
The Apalachicola Northern Railroad was a short-line railroad which operated in the Florida Panhandle. It owned and operated a 96-mile (154 km) between Port Saint Joe, Florida, and Chattahoochee, Florida, with a short spur to Apalachicola, Florida. It was founded in 1903 and ceased operating in 2002 when the St. Joe Company, its corporate parent, leased its line to the AN Railway.
Piercing the corporate veil or lifting the corporate veil is a legal decision to treat the rights or duties of a corporation as the rights or liabilities of its shareholders. Usually a corporation is treated as a separate legal person, which is solely responsible for the debts it incurs and the sole beneficiary of the credit it is owed. Common law countries usually uphold this principle of separate personhood, but in exceptional situations may "pierce" or "lift" the corporate veil.
Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR), known before March 2006 as Guilford Transportation Industries and also known as Guilford Rail System, is an American holding company that owns and operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. The primary subsidiaries of Pan Am Railways are Boston and Maine Corporation, Maine Central Railroad Company, Portland Terminal Company, and Springfield Terminal Railway Company. The company is owned by Pan Am Systems.
In business, consolidation or amalgamation is the merger and acquisition of many smaller companies into a few much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group company as consolidated financial statements. The taxation term of consolidation refers to the treatment of a group of companies and other entities as one entity for tax purposes. Under the Halsbury's Laws of England, 'amalgamation' is defined as "a blending together of two or more undertakings into one undertaking, the shareholders of each blending company, becoming, substantially, the shareholders of the blended undertakings. There may be amalgamations, either by transfer of two or more undertakings to a new company, or to the transfer of one or more companies to an existing company".
Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of model railroad supplies and tools.
The Utah Railway is a class III railroad operating in Utah and Colorado, and owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
An operating subsidiary is a subsidiary of a corporation through which the parent company indirectly conducts some portion of its business. Usually, an operating subsidiary can be distinguished in that even if its board of directors and officers overlap with those of other entities in the same corporate group, it has at least some officers and employees who conduct business operations primarily on behalf of the subsidiary alone. The term carries slightly different meanings depending upon the specific context and industry.
Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc. makes scale models in N scale, HO scale, and O scale. The company is based in Hillside, New Jersey, United States. They produce a wide variety of locomotives, rolling stock, and vehicles. Atlas is well known for their flex track and codes 55, 80, 83 and 100 track. Atlas also produces a line of compatible structures and bridges.
The Vermont Railway is a shortline railroad in Vermont and eastern New York, operating much of the former Rutland Railway. It is the main part of the Vermont Rail System, which also owns the Green Mountain Railroad, the Rutland's branch to Bellows Falls. The trackage is owned by the Vermont Agency of Transportation except in New York, where VTR operates a line owned by the Boston and Maine Corporation. The rail line employs about 150 people in Vermont.
Foreign corporation is a term used in the United States to describe an existing corporation that conducts business in a state or jurisdiction other than where it was originally incorporated. The term applies both to domestic corporations that are incorporated in another state and to corporations that are incorporated in a nation other than the United States. All states require that foreign corporations register with the state before conducting business in the state.
The Simpson Investment Company is a company based in McCleary, Washington in the US Pacific Northwest that specializes in manufacture of forest products. Founded as a logging company in 1890 by Sol Simpson, the company now functions as a holding company for the Simpson Door Company, a manufacturer of wood doors.
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; Buffalo, New York; St. Louis, Missouri; and Toledo, Ohio.
The AN Railway is one of several shortline railroad companies owned by the Genesee & Wyoming parent company. It operates between Port Saint Joe, Florida and a connection with the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad at Chattahoochee, Florida. The railroad no longer reaches its namesake city of Apalachicola, Florida, as the rails have been removed between Franklin and Apalachicola. The railroad operates approximately 96 miles (154 km) of track.
Titagarh Wagons is a railway wagon manufacturer based out of Titagarh, West Bengal, India. The company manufactures coaches for the Indian Railways, bailey bridges, and mining equipment. A subsidiary, Titagarh Marines, operates in the shipbuilding industry.