Why did Guilford decide to call itself Pan-Am Railways? Yes, it was a very famous company and the copyrights were available, bur the name makes no sense in congtext. Pan-Am was a major World Airline that covered much of the americas (Pan-American, Pan meaning "all.") Guilford is a regional system. Heck, Union Pacific is more Pan-American than Pan-Am Rilaways!Will this become a fad: Railroads taking the names of famous bankrupt US airlines? I mean, Trains mag awhile ago mentioned how BNSF and CSX need new names. This might be the solution: BNSF can become "Braniff Railways" and CSX can become "Eastern Airline Railroad" Both names aren't in use right now, and "Airline" could be a tipped hat to "Seabord Airline".
Seriously though, how does Pan-AM make sense in this context? And would anyone like either of my proposed new ames. "Braniff Railways has a bit of a ring to it..."
The Beaverton, Fanno Creek & Bull Mountain Railroad
"Ruby Line Service"
The owner, Tim Mellon, wrote a book. Maybe the answer's in it.
https://timsstory.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Systems
https://books.google.com/books?id=CCvTY8F8jWsC&pg=PA172&dq=%22what's+a+brand+worth%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiknJeAnM_YAhXIu1MKHSeED18Q6AEIMjAC#v=onepage&q=%22what's%20a%20brand%20worth%22&f=true
Well, one railroad does not a trend make. Over the years how many railroads were named the Something & Pacific, when they didn't come near the Pacific?
Guilford is regional, but they probably do not intend to be that way forever, PanAm is a stronger marketing tool.
The test of good advertizing is not whether or not you like it. It is whether or not you REBEMBER it.
Do you think you will EVER forget the name of that RR?
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Phoebe Vet,
Exactly true.
Yes, but wasn't there a railroad that was called "The Seaboard Air Line?" What exactly did they mean by that?
The New York, Westchester and Boston barely made it into Connecticut, much less Boston.
Air Line in the railroad sense meant the shortest and straightest route.
"Air Line" meant straight from one point to another.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
While still related to making fire trucks, the current "Ahrens Fox" line of fire apparatus is simply using the name - there is no direct lineage between the original AF and the current company (HME). They do call them "HME Ahrens Fox."
They seem to make good apparatus, so I don't necessarily see it as a cheapening of the name.
Ahrens Fox was a well respected company whose signature pumpers were equipped with piston pumps topped by a large chrome ball (equalization chamber). They are impossible to miss. In its day, the AF was top of the line.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Unique name. The name was available, so why not. No doubt prompted discussions in forums over the years. No big deal.
I ride my bicycle much of the year on a street right next to the right of way and a rail trail in Northampton, Ma. Every so often I have to stop with traffic at a rail crossing. One stop is at a box plant.
Now I see Amtrak on the same rails since it was re-routed.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Semper Vaporo "Air Line" meant straight from one point to another.
For years, the way from Baton Rouge to New Orleans was the River Road--which more or less followed the bends of the Mississippi. When a shorter highway was constructed it was the named "The Airline Highway."
Johnny
The Mellons bought Pan Am airlines at bankruptcy auction. They are also selling Pan Am airline memorabilia. I don't think Pan Am has anymore airplanes but now they have freight trains.
Deggesty ..... For years, the way from Baton Rouge to New Orleans was the River Road--which more or less followed the bends of the Mississippi. When a shorter highway was constructed it was the named "The Airline Highway."
.....
The Airline Highway fairly closely follows the Louisiana & Arkansas (KCS) RR (which was built much earlier than the highway)
from the Far East of the Sunset Route
(In the shadow of the Huey P Long bridge)
Excerpt from http://www.duxburysystems.org/downloads/holladay/graniteville/hazards/train/panam.htm So when Mellon read in a newspaper that the second incarnation of Pan Am had gone bust in February of 1998, he thought there might be something there. "We are in the transportation business, after all," he says. He tried every number listed for Pan Am until he found one that worked. "Is this airline for sale?" he asked the person who finally answered.
JC UPTON Deggesty ..... For years, the way from Baton Rouge to New Orleans was the River Road--which more or less followed the bends of the Mississippi. When a shorter highway was constructed it was the named "The Airline Highway." The Airline Highway fairly closely follows the Louisiana & Arkansas (KCS) RR (which was built much earlier than the highway)
Growing up in New Orleans, I originally thought the name came from the fact that it was the route to the airport, but later I realized that many other cities in Louisiana had major routes named Airline Highway.
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
pan Am railroad makes more sense than a lot of the marketing names used for computer stuff. Would Adobe Railroad, Firefox Railroad, or Java Railroad be any better?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Murphy SidingPan Am railroad makes more sense than a lot of the marketing names used for computer stuff. Would Adobe Railroad, Firefox Railroad, or Java Railroad be any better?
Or -- much worse while being horribly more plausible -- what about naming rights, as with all too many sports venues?
"Guaranteed Rate Terminal Railroad"?
"Minute Maid Rapid Transit"?
"Arm and Hammer Light Rail"?
I'd encourage speculation ... but suspect I don't have enough Zofran.
I still have the coloring book given to me in 1962 on a class trip to the Pan Am terminal at Idlewild airport. I was 7 at the time. We were given booties to cover our shoes when we went aboard a Boeing 707. It was luxurious to me, but what did I know at that age. The boys got Junior Pilot wings, the girls got Junior Stewardess wings. I lost the booties and the wings, damn it!
Pan Am trademarks were bought out by Guilford owner Tim Mellon in 1999. He then had a couple of flights out a day out of Portsmouth NH and some charter buisness. The airline end then fizzed out.
Randy Stahl The Mellons bought Pan Am airlines at bankruptcy auction. They are also selling Pan Am airline memorabilia. I don't think Pan Am has anymore airplanes but now they have freight trains.
It must be fun working in Pam Am's office. They must get dozens of calls from people who want to book a flight to (say) Rio or Costa Rica!
Enzoamps Well, one railroad does not a trend make. Over the years how many railroads were named the Something & Pacific, when they didn't come near the Pacific? Guilford is regional, but they probably do not intend to be that way forever, PanAm is a stronger marketing tool.
'Pan Am' to most people means international air travel, even if the airline bearing that name has long since gone bankrupt. Would 'Rock Island Line' be a good brand name for an up-and-coming airline?
Perhaps 'Can Am Railways' would have been more appropriate, different enough from 'Pan Am' to avoid confusion but similar enough to piggyback brand recognition. They could still have used the old airline's colours and insignia. 'Can[ada] Am[erica] Railways' also neatly summarises the railway's geographical position and cross-border connections.
[quote user="IslandMan"]
Randy Stahl It must be fun working in Pam Am's office. They must get dozens of calls from people who want to book a flight to (say) Rio or Costa Rica!
I think they do get calls from people that want to buy a vintage stewardess uniform or an ashtray ..
As to telephone calls, going on five years ago, I moved from one of the SW suburbs into the north part of the city, and had to get a new telephone number. Once in a while, I still get a call from someone who asks about the restaurant service, or from some company that wants to sell the restaurant something. Whoeveer it is who calls only knows that my number used to be that for a restaurant.
No, I will not send over another portion of deep-fried squid. This is not the Chinese take-away. You are connected to a private residence on a white, slimlined telephone with last-number redial facility. - Hyacinth Bouquet (Bucket) "Keeping Up Appearances"
Note that the Pan Am route from the Albany, NY area to near Boston is now owned by Pan Am Southern and designated as the "Patriot Corridor". PAS is jointly-owned by Pan Am and Norfok Southern. See (among others):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Southern
- PDN.
Randy Stahl I think they do get calls from people that want to buy a vintage stewardess uniform or an ashtray ..
The 'Story' regarding the "Paul Harvey Rest of the Story side" is quite a 'tale' !
A little drilling down from the 'Wiki' link provided by Paul North @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Systems
Provides some information of interest on the geneology of PAS.
FTL:"...Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) was formed in 1977.[2] GTI entered the railroad business in 1981 with its purchase of the Maine Central Railroad from U.S. Filter Corporation. This was followed by its 1983 purchase of the Boston & Maine Railroad, and in 1984 it purchased the Delaware & Hudson Railway (D&H). In 1988, GTI declared D&H bankrupt. D&H employees took it over, with the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway managing it. The employees then sold out in 1991 to the Canadian Pacific Railway.
GTI purchased the name, colors, and logo of Pan American World Airways in 1998. In March 2006, GTI changed its name to Pan Am Systems.
The company is privately owned by Timothy Mellon, an heir to the Mellon banking fortune, and several other stakeholders including former Penn Central employee David Fink and son David A. Fink..."
And then furth from the link @Wiki: "...
And then there is this for a 'finish' : from the lin provided by Wiki: @ http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080205/BIZ/802050394&sfad=1
This last link really provides "The Rest of the Story" [It almost reads like a 'Hollywood' movie script! ]
IslandMan Enzoamps Well, one railroad does not a trend make. Over the years how many railroads were named the Something & Pacific, when they didn't come near the Pacific? Guilford is regional, but they probably do not intend to be that way forever, PanAm is a stronger marketing tool. 'Pan Am' to most people means international air travel, even if the airline bearing that name has long since gone bankrupt. Would 'Rock Island Line' be a good brand name for an up-and-coming airline? Perhaps 'Can Am Railways' would have been more appropriate, different enough from 'Pan Am' to avoid confusion but similar enough to piggyback brand recognition. They could still have used the old airline's colours and insignia. 'Can[ada] Am[erica] Railways' also neatly summarises the railway's geographical position and cross-border connections.
I think the Can Am motorcycle people may have an issue with Can Am Railways.
https://can-am.brp.com/
A group proposing a major electrical transmission line project has used (and modifed) "Rock Island Line" into Rock Island Clean Line. (Being a RI fan, I am not amused.) https://www.rockislandcleanline.com/site/home
Jeff
I still vote Santa Fe as the best name in raildom. BNSF is awful. Wish they would change.
Semper Vaporo No, I will not send over another portion of deep-fried squid. This is not the Chinese take-away. You are connected to a private residence on a white, slimlined telephone with last-number redial facility. - Hyacinth Bouquet (Bucket) "Keeping Up Appearances"
I simply tell the caller that I have had the number as my residential number for however long it is that I have had it (going on five years now).
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