Why www.cn ".ca" and ownership

[trainiac]

I've heard all about the big fuss of calling the company "CN" and not "Canadian National"... whatever, I still call it Canadian National! Funny how CP has done the exact opposite--after experimenting with a North American image ("CP Rail System") they became about as Canadian as they could get with the railroad spelled out and the Beaver crest.

It's interesting that the ES44DC's delivered after the SD70M-2's have traditional CN features (at least appearance-wise) making them the most distinctive GEVO's out there. I hope the second order of SD70M-2's will be the same.

[GrandTrunk]

They Actually started to rename the police department (U.S. Side) all CN.

You'll notice the markings on their car and they have new patches as well going out. The U.S. Side was tired of being confused for Canadian Cops with the Candian National on their door.

[mikec880]

www.cn.ca "ca" really means the server is in canada.

[2spot]

If you'd prefer, try www.cnrail.com/ It seems like their 'international' page.

[Clyde]

Mikec880 is right.

*"www.cn.ca "ca" simply means the server is in canada.*

And speaking about CN privatization, there was no other ways to keep this RR on tracks I guess. Having worked myself many years for CN at the time it was a crown company, I can tell that it was a total waiste of government money years after years. The word "profit" was unknown for CN at this time. I'm afraid that the pendulum goes too far at the opposite now..

Clyde

[james_h]

The head office of CN is in Montreal because it is required under the Act of Parliament that privitized CN.

Thank you, most people forget about this act. I'm sure without it, CN's ownership would now be over 50% foreign investment and they would have move their HQ to somewhere else, and dropped the Canadian part of the name. Have you ever noticed that Canadian National doesn't like calling it's self Canadian National, but prefers the just to use CN so it doesn't sound so Canadian. Thank goodness the act forces them to remain somewhat of a Canadian company.

James.

[Tadman]

Wasn't IC a fairly well-run road before the merger? If so, could CN be considered a well-run road now? And regardless of our railfan proclivities toward steam, branches, and fun-oriented operations, I'd rather have a well-run road going thru my backyard than certain other North American operations.

And as far as not calling using the full names of railroads, but rather initials - as CSX, BNSF, CN do, and KCS almost does - why not rename to Canada & New Orleans? That fits to CN, and describes the railroad!

[lock4244]

CN was well run and a top performer before IC came along. Paul Tellier had a big job turning CN around from a joke to a powerhouse, and he and his team did a good job of it... selling or abandoning secondary lines and branches, streamlining operations, closing underutlized facilities, and pretty much stopping the practice of rebuilding old, worn out locomotives in favor of buying new ones. He also fired ALOT of employees (that wasn't pretty).

And remember, CN paid alot for IC, so it's not like they were short of cash before the arrival of Harrison. He inherited a well run, profitable CN... Pual Tellier did most of the heavy lifting and CN employees bore the brunt of this.

[Tadman]

I definitely won't argue that CN and its employees did some very heavy lifting on the road from "government service" to "fine tuned machine". It's impressive it took less than a decade, sometimes that job takes 20-30 years.

[Tadman]

This just in - Jim Cramer, the stock guru, says one of the most profitable IPO's can be the demutualization. IE, the CN privatisation. While CN wasn't exactly a mutuality, there is some similarities (If IHB or Conrail Shared Assets were to be spun off, that's more of a true demutualization). But supposedly the money to be made is huge.

[CROR410]

CN paints their web site on equipment as: www .cn “.ca” not “.com” Is this a Canada thing? Shouldn’t they be using the proper term if they want to be a major player in the US. Must be a lot of people looking for them on the web and not finding their site.

What about all the American companies operating in Canada.....don't see them using ".ca".

Those that want to find CN, have no trouble....its called Google.

[gp9rm4108]

And as it was mentioned before ... its CA cause the server is in Canada!!!!!!!!!

CN.COM works as well and takes you to the same page.

[CROR410]

Where the server is located has nothing to do with it....its a busines decision. I own a web site and I have five domains (.ca, .com, .net, .org, and .biz) all pointing to the same site.

[nickleinonen]

When all is said CN is largely operated by former IC management. Control is not from Canada. As I understand it its mostly from Illinois.

...Like those SD70M-2's that were built to NS specs! The cab-mounted headlights and lack of teardrop windows elicited complaints from both railfans and crews almost before the units were delivered. They're hardly adapted to the conditions faced on many of CN's lines.

that was a money and timing thing... NS had their units being built on the line, and cn needed new power, and did not want to wait/pay for retooling so they [cn8000-cn8024] came as NS units in cn colors.. the next batch will be a little better, but not much [will have 2 screens for fastbrake and be equipped with DP controls]