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CP in a post Hunter era. Interesting editor's note to article.

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Posted by Ulrich on Friday, October 19, 2018 1:24 PM

Dmacleo

 

 
Ulrich

 

 
Convicted One

 

 
Miningman
Hunter would be very happy seeing Keith Creel as CEO of a transcontinental Class I,

 

Personally, this is what I suspected EHH intended to do when he went to CSX in the first place.

 

 

 

 

For a paltry $20 million, that goal could have been realized through the purchase of the former MMA. This would have rendered CP a coast to coast transcontinental operation once again.. A golden opportunity.. missed.. 

Railroads work very well together now.. they share infrastructure, locomotives, and rolling stock... thus there's less incentive to merge than in the past. Mergers would also reduce operational fluidity.. i.e. now (for example) NS can partner with UP or BNSF on various moves.. a merger with one or the other would make it more difficult to partner with a competitor. The best of both worlds is pretty much what we have now: class 1s who compete with one another on some business and collaborate on other business.. and share resources for mutual beneficial gain. 

 

 

 

 

would have cost lot more than that, drive by the northern maine junction yard a lot and see the shape of the equipment MMA was running. slowly getting better but still has to have cost a ton of $$.

 

 

Fortress paid 17.25 million for it.. in my opinion they got one heck of a great deal.. which CP could have and should have had. 

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Posted by Dmacleo on Thursday, October 18, 2018 4:01 PM

Ulrich

 

 
Convicted One

 

 
Miningman
Hunter would be very happy seeing Keith Creel as CEO of a transcontinental Class I,

 

Personally, this is what I suspected EHH intended to do when he went to CSX in the first place.

 

 

 

 

For a paltry $20 million, that goal could have been realized through the purchase of the former MMA. This would have rendered CP a coast to coast transcontinental operation once again.. A golden opportunity.. missed.. 

Railroads work very well together now.. they share infrastructure, locomotives, and rolling stock... thus there's less incentive to merge than in the past. Mergers would also reduce operational fluidity.. i.e. now (for example) NS can partner with UP or BNSF on various moves.. a merger with one or the other would make it more difficult to partner with a competitor. The best of both worlds is pretty much what we have now: class 1s who compete with one another on some business and collaborate on other business.. and share resources for mutual beneficial gain. 

 

 

would have cost lot more than that, drive by the northern maine junction yard a lot and see the shape of the equipment MMA was running. slowly getting better but still has to have cost a ton of $$.

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Posted by kgbw49 on Monday, October 15, 2018 6:24 PM

I still think there will ultimately be two East-West US Leviathans and the Soo Line and Grand Trunk Western-IC will get some mainly north-south tendrils to append to their systems for Prince Rupert and Vancouver import traffic to have access to the 2/3 of the American population that lives in the eastern 1/3 of the US. The one corrollary that whoever of the two Canadian roads finally takes the plunge with KCS will also get access from Meridian to Atlanta. So there will remain a duopoly in the US West and Canada, but the Eastern US and the eastern half of Texas will have at least a triumvirate. Time will tell, of course but it will be interesting to watch what actually transpires.

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Posted by Miningman on Monday, October 15, 2018 11:58 AM

New provincial government elected Oct 1/18 in Quebec is to the right, but a Quebec right, which is different. French language laws will be further strengthened and enforced so unless everyone in Omaha speaks French there is no way. I think the hurdles of cross border mergers will be insurmountable. If anyone could get it done it would be the Railroads and the CP VP seems to think it can. Can't see it myself.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, October 15, 2018 11:31 AM

MidlandMike
Following precedent, UP + CSX would be called Union Pacific.

But its name in the community would follow the precedent of the 1982 Mopac merger, MOP-UP, and be called CSX-UP, pronounced 'sucks-up')

BNSF + NS would become BNSFNS.

Like the punchline of the old advertising joke about Doyle Dane Bernbach merging with Batton, Barton, Durstein and Osborne ... the merged roadname would be BNSFNS tha-tha-that's all, folks!

Integrating with the Canadian roads would wait until a later round.

Much later.  Especially for BNSF unless the Canadians can make a really strong case the merged railroad things can be managed better in Montreal than Omaha... which is highly doubtful. 

However, I still have to wonder about the fit of KCS with CN/IC now that NAFTA-by-another-name is up and running ... or KCS and CP if some south-central 'competition' is wanted, as Rams Guy said.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, October 15, 2018 11:30 AM

MidlandMike
Following precedent, UP + CSX would be called Union Pacific.

But its name in the community would follow the precedent of the 1982 Mopac merger, MOP-UP, and be called CSX-UP, pronounced 'sucks-up')

BNSF + NS would become BNSFNS.

Like the punchline of the old advertising joke about Doyle Dane Bernbach merging with Batton, Barton, Durstein and Osborne ... the merged roadname would be BNSFNS tha-tha-that's all, folks!

Integrating with the Canadian roads would wait until a later round.

Much later.  Especially for BNSF unless the Canadians can make a really strong case the merged railroad things can be managed better in Montreal than Omaha... which is highly doubtful. 

However, I still have to wonder about the fit of KCS with CN/IC now that NAFTA-by-another-name is up and running ... or KCS and CP if some south-central 'competition' is wanted.[/quote]

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Posted by CPRcst on Sunday, October 14, 2018 6:39 PM

You can tell Kreel, like Hunter returns to the US every weekend. Neither has figured out that Canada is a separate country. A merger with a big US road, which would really be a takeover of CP, would be blocked by Ottawa, no matter which party were in power. It would make re-election unlikely, particularly with the current occupant of the White House. 

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Posted by kgbw49 on Saturday, October 13, 2018 11:44 PM

Agree on UP. I kind of like Norfolk, Burlington & Coast for the other leviathan.

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Posted by MidlandMike on Saturday, October 13, 2018 8:10 PM

Following precedent, UP + CSX would be called Union Pacific.  BNSF + NS would become BNSFNS.  Integrating with the Canadian roads would wait until a later round.

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Saturday, October 13, 2018 7:42 PM

Paul_D_North_Jr

Pacific, Great Lakes & Eastern (copyright 2018)

- PDN. 

 

And the other one would be Atlantic, Great Lakes & Western. Stick out tongue

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by kgbw49 on Saturday, October 13, 2018 5:37 PM

The corporate tax rate in Canada is at 26.5%.

The corporate tax rate in the US is 21%.

If we have any transcontinental systems in the US it will be the Big Four becoming the Big Two with maybe CP divided up as CP Shared Assets to ensure the Big Two have access to Canadian grain, the Alberta tar sands, and the Port Of Vancouver to export PRB coal.

CN will do just fine and will get access to Atlanta and Texas.

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Posted by Gramp on Saturday, October 13, 2018 3:46 PM

How about naming them Leviathan I & II?

Would rather see them broken up into several railroads that each penetrate their broader market potential.

But that's just me.

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Posted by Paul_D_North_Jr on Saturday, October 13, 2018 2:40 PM

Pacific, Great Lakes & Eastern (copyright 2018)

- PDN. 

"This Fascinating Railroad Business" (title of 1943 book by Robert Selph Henry of the AAR)
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Posted by Miningman on Saturday, October 13, 2018 1:53 PM

Dude-- I didn't know that was the name considered for a BNSF/CN. As to the current NAR will heck just absorb 'em. Grey, blue, black and orange striping would look pretty nifty, a whole new look and steal away the CSX thunder on the other side. 

CSSHEGEWISCH -- Dang! Well buy 'em out. 

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Posted by SD70Dude on Saturday, October 13, 2018 11:15 AM

Miningman

North America Railway ( system)  NAR- that would make the Dude ecstatic and I know he has a colour scheme and logo in mind. 

That's actually what CN and BNSF were going to name the combined company had their merger taken place.

No idea what paint scheme they were planning to use.

Someone else owns the "NAR" reporting mark now, I've started seeing it on some new tank cars in the past few years.

Greetings from Alberta

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Posted by Convicted One on Saturday, October 13, 2018 9:42 AM

I don't think there can be any question what one of the combined entities would be called....UP, the mighty usurper.

For the other, I'm pretty fond of Norfolk & Western...with a swoosh mark, of course.

I doubt that such combined entities would be any more hostile towards one another than they are now, there would be captive shippers and recievers on both sides of the fence, so there would remain some motivation for cooperation. Perhaps even more so than at present because you would have very limited alternatives.

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Saturday, October 13, 2018 6:54 AM

Sorry, but PAR is already taken with Pan Am Railways in New England.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by Miningman on Friday, October 12, 2018 11:56 PM

North America Railway ( system)  NAR- that would make the Dude ecstatic and I know he has a colour scheme and logo in mind. 

The other one, well can't use A&P so I'll go with P&A, the Pacific and Atlantic Railroad ...PAR...lots of things you can do with that.

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Posted by BaltACD on Friday, October 12, 2018 8:37 PM

CMStPnP
 
jeffhergert
I've always heard, even before I hired out, that when the last round of mergers happened, UP would go with CSX.  

That surprises me because that is probably the worst choice of all the railroads remaining.    I would think NS would be a better choice, especially with the T&P routing via the Merdian Gateway (over KCS).........that would beat the pants off any Southern CSX line that is remaining.     Though the SP choice surprised me as well as SP wasn't exactly a financial powerhouse at the time. 

Though I would not discount UP & KCS due to the Mexican Railway option and ever increasing U.S. Mexico trade..........would put UP in a really traffic dominant position, so much so that it might not be approved.

I've been hearing UP from the day CSX was formed.  Over the years a number of officers have jumped back an forth between the two companies.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by CMStPnP on Friday, October 12, 2018 7:35 PM

jeffhergert
I've always heard, even before I hired out, that when the last round of mergers happened, UP would go with CSX. 

That surprises me because that is probably the worst choice of all the railroads remaining.    I would think NS would be a better choice, especially with the T&P routing via the Merdian Gateway (over KCS).........that would beat the pants off any Southern CSX line that is remaining.     Though the SP choice surprised me as well as SP wasn't exactly a financial powerhouse at the time. 

Though I would not discount UP & KCS due to the Mexican Railway option and ever increasing U.S. Mexico trade..........would put UP in a really traffic dominant position, so much so that it might not be approved.

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Posted by jeffhergert on Friday, October 12, 2018 4:51 PM

I've always heard, even before I hired out, that when the last round of mergers happened, UP would go with CSX.  From a regulatory angle, there probably won't be a better time.  There's been speculation before of the last round starting, speculation from within the industry that is.  Railfans are always speculating just from seeing one railroad's engines on another railroad.

While I wouldn't be too surprised should something develope, I don't think UP senior management is thinking about that now.  They are too busy trying to save their own jobs.  Doing what Wall Street wants before someone or group comes in and does a regime change.

If we should get to two major railroads, They could be called "Us" and "Them" or "We" and "They."  It worked for Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frn_LiljdQ0 

Jeff

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Posted by kgbw49 on Friday, October 12, 2018 1:24 PM

CN may be odd man out and will do quite nicely on it’s own, thank you.

It has a unique niche as a north-south route in the US and “owns” Canada.

Maybe they pick up a route from Detroit and Buffalo down to Atlanta to reach more of the south as a condition of an East-West merger, and KCS to access the massive Texas markets and Mexico, and also get access from Meridian to Atlanta.

My guess - just a guess - is Mr. Creel is looking to succeed Mr. Fritz in Omaha when Mr. Fritz retires.

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Posted by Ulrich on Friday, October 12, 2018 12:59 PM

Montreal, Toronto, Topeka and Western.. 

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Posted by Ulrich on Friday, October 12, 2018 12:57 PM

CSSHEGEWISCH

Except, perhaps, that Halifax isn't quite the major Atlantic port that they're trying to reach.

 

 

That would be Saint John, not Halifax.. but point taken. 

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Posted by SD70Dude on Friday, October 12, 2018 11:12 AM

I nominate Canadian Southern and Seaboard Pacific for names.

The requirement for the headquarters to remain in Canada only applies to CN, and was a condition of the 1995 privatization.  CP has no such requirement.  

I have no idea how that law would affect a potential merger involving CN, but when the CN-BNSF merger was proposed the combined company would have been headquartered in Montreal.

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Posted by Miningman on Friday, October 12, 2018 10:38 AM

Well it could still be done with the added benefit of all that very expensive new track around Lac-Meganatic that the Provincial and Federal Governments are paying for.  

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, October 12, 2018 10:11 AM

Except, perhaps, that Halifax isn't quite the major Atlantic port that they're trying to reach.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by Ulrich on Friday, October 12, 2018 10:05 AM

Convicted One

 

 
Miningman
Hunter would be very happy seeing Keith Creel as CEO of a transcontinental Class I,

 

Personally, this is what I suspected EHH intended to do when he went to CSX in the first place.

 

 

For a paltry $20 million, that goal could have been realized through the purchase of the former MMA. This would have rendered CP a coast to coast transcontinental operation once again.. A golden opportunity.. missed.. 

Railroads work very well together now.. they share infrastructure, locomotives, and rolling stock... thus there's less incentive to merge than in the past. Mergers would also reduce operational fluidity.. i.e. now (for example) NS can partner with UP or BNSF on various moves.. a merger with one or the other would make it more difficult to partner with a competitor. The best of both worlds is pretty much what we have now: class 1s who compete with one another on some business and collaborate on other business.. and share resources for mutual beneficial gain. 

 

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Posted by CMStPnP on Thursday, October 11, 2018 1:39 PM

blue streak 1
How will the Canadian problem of requiring company hearquarters in Canada.  ?

It's not only that Canadian protectionism would attempt to force a Canadian takeover.    Not sure how that would work because CP doesn't have the bond or finance capacity to acquire or merge with UP, nevermind that CSX would not be a fit with UP as much as NS would be (from a financial health perspective).   At this point I would be surprised if CN really wanted CSX.   Maybe CSX will end up with KCS as a merger partner.    Right now KCS has too much debt to interest anyone else.

One reason Berkshire Hathaway picked BNSF was it could afford a full buyout of BNSF stock, it could not do the same with UP as UP was too large at the time.   If anything UP would insist on it being the top dog in any merger and also keeping the Corporate name........causing a political issue in Canada's Parliament among the protectionists there.

As for CN, it is financially stronger than CP so it might strike a deal with NS at some point and it could afford a merger with NS.   If BNSF wanted in or not is another matter.    BNSF is almost transcontinental by itself as it has track into central Alabama from the FRISCO merger, I thought.     Would not be unheard of for BNSF to buy some lines from CSX to the East Coast.    I can't see BNSF merging with CSX though.

I could even see CP and CN picking apart CSX between themselves and letting.  NS merge with UP.

So it reads like a nice dream but I will believe it when I see it.

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