Hunter Harrison of CP wants either IHB or BRC in Chicago. Recall that he very successfully purchased and integrated EJE into CN, which may have been his big career accomplishment.
http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCAKCN0HR28G20141002?sp=true
CP owns less than 10% of BRC and 49% of IHB. Good luck to securing full title to either. I doubt if the Class 1's which own both are interested in giving up these gems.
Ed
He's reportedly selling the D&H; maybe there's a deal in the works that would see the buyer of the D&H offer CP greater accessibility to Chicago.
Ulrich He's reportedly selling the D&H; maybe there's a deal in the works that would see the buyer of the D&H offer CP greater accessibility to Chicago.
He is only selling the southern portion of the D&H, which is virtually all NS traffic. CP will keep the portion from the Canadian Border to Albany, and the short portion to Mohawk Yard near Schenectady.
From what I have been reading, the sale of the southern portion of the D&H may be less about generating cash, as opposed to a trade of the D&H for the new buyer's portion of the IHB or BRC.
Which brings me to another question. Could some of you experts in Chcago RR history tell me what kind of connection did the SOO Line have with the GTW in the period between say 1945 and 1980. Was direct interchange possible or was a third party involved. Being from out of town, as it were, I am not looking so much for operational minutiae as opposed to a more broad stokes answer.
I ask this because todays Newswire story brings to mind ideas that once popped forth many decades ago. Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.
Bruce
EDIT: apologies for the earlier spelling mistake!
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Is it just this poster or does it seem inappropriate for Canadian RRs to control connections in Chicago ? Could make it more difficult for other class 1s to connect by delays for CN & CP priority ?
It's appropriate. Just as it's appropiate to have an American running a Canadian railroad.
Bruce:My guess and only a guess is that Soo and GTW interchanged thru Clearing Yard (BRC).
The tit for tat would be an interesting trade, but assuming they purchase the IHB, they still wouldnt order the entire line, but would have a pretty good chunk.
Assuming they can pickup the IHB, that would give them three yards in Chicago...Bensenville, Blue Island, and Gibson (autorack and bulk transfer). Bensenville would be a pretty valuable chunk of real estate, just south of O'Hare...hmm they could really so some capital expansion with the sale of that land.
Just read an interesting article in "The Milwaukee Railroader" a historical society magazine about the history of Bensenville Yard with aerial photos from the 50's with a recap of operations in 1980. Even in the final years there were lots of trains moving in and out of that yard.
If Hunter can pull this off, he will be a legend above and below the 49th.
ed
I thought IHB was owned by a consortium of all the railroads it interchanges with, so I don't think they would allow it to be sold to anyone.
BRC is owned by a group of carriers.
IHB was 51% owned by NYC - thus 25.5% each by NS and CSX and 49% by Milwaukee Road...now owned by CP.
I believe the mainline from Blue Island north to Norpaul is 50% owned by IHB and B&OCT (the terminal operation for CSX)...but may be incorrect on that.
The "IHB" north (timetable west) from Blue Island is actually owned by B&OCT (probably CSX now) to a point known as Superior, which is in the same square mile of land as the EMD plant. West of there, IHB owns it.B&OCT ownership would apparenly have resumed on the Franklin Park-to-Grayland stretch, which was never built (though part of the line was graded, and is now Forest Preserve Drive).
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Ulrich It's appropriate. Just as it's appropiate to have an American running a Canadian railroad.
Ownership vs the nationality of the CEO are an apples to oranges comparision.
An "expensive model collector"
AgentKid Which brings me to another question. Could some of you experts in Chcago RR history tell me what kind of connection did the SOO Line have with the GTW in the period between say 1945 and 1980. Was direct interchange possible or was a third party involved. Being from out of town, as it were, I am not looking so much for operational minutiae as opposed to a more broad stokes answer. I ask this because todays Newswire story brings to mind ideas that once popped forth many decades ago. Thanks for any help you may be able to provide. Bruce EDIT: apologies for the earlier spelling mistake!
No where close to being an expert, but I pulled out my 1974 Official Equipment Register that lists interchange points.
For the Soo Line, it lists GTW points as being: Chicago (47th street) IL, Chicago IL (via B&OCT, CR&I, or IL NOR), Clearing IL and Franklin Park IL (via IHB).
For the GTW, it lists Soo points as being: Blue Island IL (via B&OCT or IHB) and Chicago (47th street) IL.
Although not in Chicago, another interchange point was listed. Milwaukee WI via ferry.
Jeff
n012944 Ulrich It's appropriate. Just as it's appropiate to have an American running a Canadian railroad. Ownership vs the nationality of the CEO are an apples to oranges comparision.
Not making any comparisons. Just saying both are appropriate in an increasingly global economy.
There's always the possibility that CP will partner with CN for better access to and through Chicago. Given that H Harrison engineered CN's current Chicago routing it isn't a stretch to suggest that he might try to piggyback CP off of that success.
EHH may want to buy IHB and/or BRC but that would also mean that he assumes that the other owner roads are willing to sell. As some above posts have mentioned, that may be a pretty big assumption. Somehow, I don't think that other roads are going to risk giving up the advantages provided by joint terminal railroads such as BRC, especially since BRC has improved its situation enough that it is not a financial burden to its owners. BRC has come a long way since the early 1990's.
blue streak 1 Is it just this poster or does it seem inappropriate for Canadian RRs to control connections in Chicago ? Could make it more difficult for other class 1s to connect by delays for CN & CP priority ?
Bill Gates is CN's largest shareholder...
CN and CP are Canadian in terms of their history and development and also based on where they are headquartered.
nanaimo73 blue streak 1 Is it just this poster or does it seem inappropriate for Canadian RRs to control connections in Chicago ? Could make it more difficult for other class 1s to connect by delays for CN & CP priority ? Would you call them Canadian RRs if they majority of their stock was held by Americans? CP's 4th largest holder is the Royal Bank, which is Canadian, but I don't know about the other 4 listed here. http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/cp/ownership-summary
Would you call them Canadian RRs if they majority of their stock was held by Americans? CP's 4th largest holder is the Royal Bank, which is Canadian, but I don't know about the other 4 listed here. http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/cp/ownership-summary
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
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