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  • CSX Acquisition of Pan Am Railways

  • Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Discussion relating to the current operations of the Boston & Maine, the Maine Central, and the Springfield Terminal railroads (as well as the Delaware & Hudson while it was under Guilford control until 1988). Official site can be found here: PANAMRAILWAYS.COM.
Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Discussion relating to the current operations of the Boston & Maine, the Maine Central, and the Springfield Terminal railroads (as well as the Delaware & Hudson while it was under Guilford control until 1988). Official site can be found here: PANAMRAILWAYS.COM.

Moderator: MEC407

 #1548944  by gokeefe
 
Cosakita18 wrote:That seems like mighty slim evidence to me. That BMO location looks to be a run-of-the-mill retail bank branch in a shopping center... Geographic correlation does not equal causation.
That result was for the search criteria "BMO Financial Group" in Google Maps. You can get the Chicago office by using "BMO Financial Corporation". I didn't check to see if you could get a result for New York or Boston.

I completely agree that geographic correlation does not equal causation. On the other hand ... If CN is your buyer BMO Financial Group is exactly the right bank for the transaction. Publicizing a possible sale is often something that occurs after a buyer has stepped forward not before.

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 #1548950  by bsweep
 
I just can't fathom why the CN would be divesting routes in Wisconsin, Ontario and the U.P. with far more traffic than the majority of Pan Am. But stranger things have happened.
 #1548993  by p42thedowneaster
 
What about the possibility of an outsider coming in for both the railroad and Pan Am brand? Maybe someone also in the rail/air biz like Virgin Rail? Someone like this might even be interested in operating the Downeaster regional passenger rail aspect as well.
 #1548995  by MEC407
 
That's an intriguing idea indeed. I haven't seen any indication that Pan Am Brands is up for sale, however. If I was one of Timothy Mellon's heirs, I'd want to keep it. It's a steady stream of income that requires very little involvement. They can license the brand to whomever and all they have to do is sit back and collect the checks. In fact, there's a new Pan Am board game hitting store shelves this week. I saw it at Target.
 #1548998  by bostontrainguy
 
From the NS earnings call via Trains Magazine:

Squires was asked a two-part question about the potential sale of New England regional Pan Am Railways: Is NS interested in buying the railroad? And what would the impact of a sale to another Class I railroad have on Norfolk Southern’s joint venture with Pan Am in the Pan Am Southern, which provides NS with access to the Boston area?

“Well, Pan Am Southern is an important part of our network,” Squires says. “It is our presence in New England and we’re committed to maintaining a presence in New England as part of our overall network footprint. And let me leave it at that.”
 #1549000  by Cosakita18
 
Not exactly a broad call for growth east of Mechanicville, but that statement makes it seem like they're like they're committed to maintaining a status-quo presence as far as Ayer. I wonder if they're waiting to see if they can snag PAS for a bargain-basement price.

Ayer really does seem like the best place to split the network, if it were to be split. It would allow for traffic from Maine / New Brunswick to easily interchange with both NS and CSX.
 #1549008  by newpylong
 
PAS (or whatever it becomes) would still need to play nice and let whoever operates East of Ayer to access the Worcester Main, probably a condition of the sale. This is simplified today as the ST is the carrier for both paper railroads.
 #1549012  by Gilbert B Norman
 
bostontrainguy wrote: Wed Jul 29, 2020 10:39 am Yeah, it's funny that a Pan Am game comes out now. It shows there is still value to the name.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/debbikickh ... b70e842724
Interesting, Mr. Train Guy

Funny not a peep how the Pan Am rights holder is actually a "not exactly" glamorous railroad.
 #1549023  by bsweep
 
Pure speculation on my part, but I am guessing Springfield Terminal, MEC, and BM all pay some sort of licensing fee to the paper corporation which likely holds the "Pan Am" brand name. I agree it seems far too easy to NOT sell the brand name as well as any railroad property, especially with the simple cash cow that the name is relative to the work maintaining it. Heck, my wife has the Pan Am Stewardess bag which she picked up 5 or so years ago at LGA Airport.

Regarding the NS earnings call and the question about Pan Am - that answer was as close to a yes we are interested in it as you would ever get on an earnings call before an actual announcement.
 #1549025  by gokeefe
 

bsweep wrote:Regarding the NS earnings call and the question about Pan Am - that answer was as close to a yes we are interested in it as you would ever get on an earnings call before an actual announcement.
100% agreed.

They're "in the mix" Mr. Norman.

I would note that this type of transaction does not necessarily have to be "all cash" by any means.

Market Capitalization (stock exchange:symbol)
Canadian National: USD $70.24B (NYSE:CNI)
Norfolk Southern: USD $49.40B (NYSE:NSC)
Canadian Pacific: USD $37.81B (NYSE:CP)

Purchase Price: USD $1B

Canadian National has the deepest pool of shareholder value which they can draw on without fear of dilution. CN's market capitalization is so large that they could easily absorb Pan Am in an all stock transaction.

This could be highly advantageous for tax purposes and also useful to CN as it would avoid the need to create new debt or to spend cash on the acquisition. Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific (who does not appear to be "in the mix") might have a little more trouble with an all stock transaction.

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 #1549029  by pnolette
 
Don't know if this is related or not,but someone posted on Facebook a picture of the 507 out back of Waterville Shops repainted in the Guilford Rail System scheme.Looking at the picture I'm almost 100 percent sure its not photoshopped.
 #1549031  by MEC407
 
Bizarre if true. 507 was rebuilt and repainted in PAR colors in 2015 as part of the GATX sale/leaseback arrangement. The most recent photos I've seen of it are from July 2019. At that time its PAR paint was in good condition and it still had "GATX OWNED" written on both sides of the cab.
 #1549035  by Cosakita18
 
Very bizarre, and based on the photos it looks absolutely identical to the old Guilford Scheme. No obvious changes at all.

Some folks on Facebook suggested that it's a heritage unit? But that makes no sense since:

1) The RR is actively being sold, why invest in new paint if you don't even know where these units will be in a year

2) There are still plenty of active units already in Guilford paint.
 #1549047  by newpylong
 
Is it as bizarre as spending money on two old F units and 4 coaches for a clown train just to look at a couple hundred miles of railroad that isn't even worth looking at?
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