Mass Coastal Railroad (MC) Discussion

[Falmouth Secondary to Otis]

Interesting. Is that actually a slumbercoach? Rare bird!

Here you go:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chey ... ch,_MA.jpg

Must have been there a long time looking at the brush / tree growth at the siding entrance, Thanks for the info ! Looked up Town property record and it is 3.80 acres which include the sleeper car and the section of siding it sits on along with a couple of small buildings for propane storage built in 1957 and is still presently owned by Amerigas Propane

[Rockingham Racer]

It looks more like a CP/VIA Chateau series sleeping car to me.

[SOCO11]

I grew up near there. It has been there since the at least the late 80's. It was in much better shape. At one point it was primed and roof repaired. Neatly mowed grass all around it. I don't know what the plans were but it has been neglected for a long time.

[riffian]

If that car is Cheyenne River, its not a slumbercoach, but a 7 duplex roomette, 4 section, 3 bedroom, 1 compartment (a little bit of everything) sleeper built in 1950 for the Great Northern "Empire Builder". One of 15 River series cars, all built and lettered for the GN . It may have been transferred to CB&Q ownership at some point as part of their contribution to the train. The original Empire Builder was all Great Northern and a few cars lettered for SP&S. Some new cars came in 1955 (mostly domes), some of which were lettered CB&Q.

[Pat Fahey]

Hi All
Ya, the Sheyenne River # 1266 was at one time part of the Steamtown collection, at Bellows Falls, Vt. And Yes as the above posts are correct, she was built for the Great Northern Empire Builder.
When Steamtown got to Scranton, Pa the car when up for Auction, back in the late '80s.
I have only been inside the car twice, once at Steamtown, in Bellows Falls, and again when it was sold to the person in Sandwich, Mass.
For what I remember the person that brought it, was hoping, to get the car Amtrak Certified, too bad now it is in such Sad Shape.

[bk77]

This just in....

https://www.dailydac.com/363-sale-massa ... -railroad/

[Jeff Smith]

AUCTION SALE OF MASSACHUSETTS COASTAL RAILROAD LLC
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that William A. Brandt, Jr. of Development Specialists, Inc. (“DSI”), as chapter 11 Trustee of San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, Inc. (“SLRG”) is selling SLRG’s 100% Membership Interest in its wholly-owned subsidiary Massachusetts Coastal Railroad LLC (“Mass Coastal”), a 99-mile short line railroad operating on and near Cape Cod, MA, which currently provides freight rail services primarily for various industrial commodities and the haulage of municipal waste.

The Membership Interest will be sold free and clear of all liens, claims, rights, interests, and encumbrances whatsoever. Mass Coastal’s assets and liabilities shall remain unaffected by the sale of the Membership Interest, as the Successful Bidder is essentially buying the stock of Mass Coastal.

The Trustee anticipates selling the Membership Interest in Mass Coastal pending approval of Bidding Procedures filed in the chapter 11 bankruptcy of San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, Inc., United States Bankruptcy Court District of Colorado as case number 19-18905-TBM.

The Trustee and his professional advisors at DSI have received a Stalking Horse Bid for the Membership Interest from Coastal Rail, LLC. The Stalking Horse Bidder is an insider of the Debtor, as defined in Bankruptcy Code section 101(31), and is an affiliate of the current manager of Mass Coastal, which is 100% owned by SLRG.

The Stalking Horse Bid is $952,559, which consists of $625,000 of new cash (the “Cash Purchase Price”) plus a relinquishment of any claims held by Mass Coastal to the $327,559 in net cash currently held by the Trustee on Mass Coastal’s behalf as a result of the assignment of the Section 45G Tax Credits.

Parties interested in submitting a competing Bid must submit an offer to purchase the Membership Interest on substantially the same or better terms as the Stalking Horse Bidder. The aggregate cash consideration proposed by the first competing Bid must be equal to, or exceed, the sum of the Purchase Price set forth in the Stalking Horse Bid plus a further ten percent (10%) of the Cash Purchase Price.

Subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, if the Trustee receives qualified competing bids, an auction will be held on June 19, 2020, at the offices of Markus Williams Young & Hunsicker, LLC in Denver, CO. Also subject to the Bankruptcy Court Approval the following dates shall apply:

Bid Deadline: June 16, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. MT
Auction Date: June 19, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. MT

Copies of the Sale Motion, Motion to Approve Bid Procedures and all other related exhibits, are available (a) upon request by contacting the Trustee’s counsel, or, (b) for a fee via PACER by visiting http://www.cob.uscourts.gov.

Trustee’s Counsel:
Jennifer Salisbury
Markus Williams Young & Hunsicker, LLC
1775 Sherman St., Ste. 1950
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 830-0800
[email protected]
www.markuswilliams.com

Trustee:
William A. Brandt, Jr.
Development Specialists, Inc.
110 East 42nd St., Ste. 1818
New York, NY 10017
(212) 425-4141
[email protected]
www.DSIconsulting.com

[b&m 1566]

The first two potential bidders that come to mind would be P&W or G&U. I wonder if VRS would take a stab at it, they're in the process of purchasing NES right now. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

[BandA]

According to wikipedia, MC is a subsidiary of Cape Rail which is owned by Iowa Pacific. Cape Cod Central is also a subsidiary of Cape Rail. The press release does not mention Cape Cod Central & describe MC as a freight railroad. I think the sale of MC does not include the Cape Cod Central!

[Safetee]

well if the folks at mass coastal fail to buy back their railroad, i doubt that they will be seriously considering hanging around to continue running the cape cod central regardless of ownership issues. right now all tourist train operations not to mention transit, commuter rail, and amtrak are in limbo because of covid 19. Beyond the rail covid reality, until a viable vaccine comes along, the cape itself is not going to be the same robust tourist draw that it usually is.

[MickD]

Well ...Cape Flyer starts up June 26th..so at least there
is that for passenger service..

[Falmouth Secondary to Otis]

True but the Cape Flyer certainly has nothing to do with the future operation or ownership of Mass Coastal and the Cape Cod Central Railroad

[BandA]

The press release says there is a "stalking horse" bid, presumably the local management. So anybody else has to beat that bid & there will be an auction. I assume the CCCR's assets are some coaches & locomotives + "goodwill". Some sort of non-exclusive passenger rights since Cape Flyer route overlaps. What assets does MC own besides locomotives + contract for trash. The freight rights have some value apparently. How often are they re-bid?

[jamoldover]

I believe they also own (directly from CSX) the rights on the Fall River and New Bedford lines.

[Red Wing]

I wonder with the G&U looking to buy Mass Coastal and the G&U rebuilding their line, is CSX going to pull completely out of the South Coast? The only carrier the G&U or MC interchanges with is CSX I believe. I guess time will tell.