After Walter Rich died how was the SUZYQ ownership spilt up?

[gearhead]

I know that CSX and NS got some of it and his wife and kids may own some stock in a trust. The problem seems that NS/CSX does not want this railroad to run passengers and aggressively solicit freight like in the good ol days with Walter Rich. What is the corporate structure? Should this railroad be sold to someone like Genesee and Wyoming or go public on its own?

[NYSW3022]

Why should the railroad be sold? The current ownership regime seems to be running a profitable business and is paying its bills and its employees on time. I don't understand why it should be sold simply because railfan trips are currently not allowed.

[Steamtown Observer]

Delaware Otsego (NYS&W) was a public company until the Conrail split up. Walter Rich and a few other members of the management team did a leveraged buyout of the company. In order to finance it the deal included CSX and NS getting an ownership interest as well. There have been discussions over how much NS and CSX own, but it was set up that they had the power to out-vote Walter Rich if they disagreed with something he wanted to do. Since Walter died the company has been run by Nathan Fenno. He has said in public that he is not a fan in any way but a no nonsense manager. I also suspect that his relationship with CSX and NS is probably a lot more agreement than there was in the past. Getting rid of the passenger operations and cars, selling off real estate, and leasing locomotives reflect running a mature business rather than the exciting earlier days of DO/Walter Rich. Since CSX and NS control the company it will never allow it to be sold as a whole - why would you create a competitor into the New York City metro area - that was the mistake Conrail made that created the modern NYS&W in the first place. As to what happened to Walter Rich's stake in the company, it depends on how the shares were owned and what estate planning he did.

[airman00]

Why was the NYSW taken private? Was it not doing well as a publicly traded company?

[charlie6017]

Others here will know better than I, but I don't believe NYSW was ever publicly traded. Walter Rich bought the Susie-Q around 1980 and resurrected it into what it is today. Right now, I "think" the ownership is 40% CSX, 40% NS, and the rest self-owned.

Please correct me if I have some of this wrong.

Thanks!
Charlie

[dano23]

NYSW was indeed a publicly traded stock.

[charlie6017]

Thanks for the correction!

Charlie

[SecaucusJunction]

The "Glory Days" of the NYSW are all over. The second they signed that "buyout" with NS and CSX was the last time they could ever think independently. I don't see anything new and exciting for this railroad in the foreseeable future. They are now really slaves to whatever NS and CSX tell them and can only gain local traffic over their own routes. Fracking may help them a bit but the days of constant intermodal are long gone and not coming back. I'm actually surprised they survived this long given their weak traffic base in NJ and NY state in the past few years. I think NS wants to just keep them around for tax breaks on the Eastern end of the Tier and CSX may need an emergency detour once in a (very) blue moon.

[Passaic River Rat]

The "Glory Days" of the NYSW are all over. ....

I can see why you would assert that. There are no longer 5 or six big trains a day on the line.

However, the ROW is greatly improved, and as another poster said: they seem to be surviving, paying their bills, and employees. They seem to be doing a lot better that many other companies. I.e. I haven't heard of any layoffs. Thank God.

It could always be worse.

[airman00]

As long as csx and ns control things "survive" is all the nysw will do. Those 2 railroads don't want any competition. Which is ironic because they co-own the nysw. So if the nysw was thriving and expanding their investment would grow thereby earning themselves more money. And yet it appears all they care about is owning the railroad simply to cut off any other class 1 from coming in. (just my thoughts that's all)

[lvrr325]

There is no way to know for certain what the ownership is as it's now a private corporation. It was taken private to pacify Walter and prevent anyone else from buying into the NYC market as a part of the Conrail split-up.

[Passaic River Rat]

I know that CSX and NS got some of it and his wife and kids may own some stock in a trust. The problem seems that NS/CSX does not want this railroad to run passengers and aggressively solicit freight like in the good ol days with Walter Rich. What is the corporate structure? Should this railroad be sold to someone like Genesee and Wyoming or go public on its own?

Here is how things allegedly went back in 1997. http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/7021 ... 000776.txt

Who knows what has happened since.