Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of

CSX Corporation CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger ...

that operates Class II

regional railroad In the United States, a regional railroad is a railroad company that is not Class I, but still has a substantial amount of traffic or trackage (and is thus not a short line). The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has defined the lower boun ...

s covering northern

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to

Rotterdam Junction, New York Rotterdam is a town in Schenectady County, New York, United States. The population was 30,523 at the 2020 census. The town of Rotterdam is in the south-central part of the county. It was founded in 1661 by Dutch settlers, who named it after the ...

. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former Class II regional railroads such as

Boston and Maine Corporation The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, ...

Maine Central Railroad Company The Maine Central Railroad Company was a United States, U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had ...

Portland Terminal Company The Portland Terminal Company was a terminal railroad notable for its control of switching (shunting) activity for the Maine Central Railroad (MEC) and Boston & Maine (B&M) railroads in the Maine cities of Portland, South Portland, and Westbro ...

, and Springfield Terminal Railway Company. It was formerly known as Guilford Transportation Industries and was also known as Guilford Rail System. Guilford bought the name, colors, and logo of

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...

in 1998. The company is a subsidiary of

under rail subsidiary

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

since June 1, 2022, Pan Am Railways former parent company was

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsm ...

-based Pan Am Systems. It was headquartered in Iron Horse Park in

North Billerica, Massachusetts North Billerica is an unincorporated village of the town of Billerica, Massachusetts, United States, one of the nine sections (hamlets) that make up the Town of Billerica. It is the home to Faulkner and Talbot mills and the North Billerica Trai ...

. Pan Am Railways parent Pan Am Systems was put up for sale in July 2020. On November 30, 2020, CSX Corporation announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to purchase Pan Am Systems. The sale of Pan Am Systems to CSX underwent regulatory review by the

Surface Transportation Board The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is a federal, bipartisan, independent adjudicatory board. The STB was established on January 1, 1996, to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the Interstat ...

, which approved the sale on April 14, 2022. At midnight on June 1, 2022, CSX Corp began operating Pan Am Railways as a subsidiary of CSX Transportation; Pan Am Systems ceased operations.

History

Guilford

Beginning

The company was founded in May 1981 as Guilford Transportation Industries by

Timothy Mellon Timothy Mellon (born July 22, 1942) is an American businessman, and the chairman and majority owner of Pan Am Systems, a Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based transportation holding company. He is a grandson of Andrew W. Mellon and an heir to the Mell ...

, who quickly looked to form a railroad company in the Northeast through purchasing some of the area's bankrupt railroads. The company began by purchasing the

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad Company was a U. S. Class I railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expanded to ...

that same year, and also announced it was interested in purchasing the bankrupt

Boston and Maine The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, ...

, making an offer that year. The company's purchase of the B&M was approved in 1983, adding it to Guilford's network. Even as the B&M purchase was still pending, Guilford announced it intended to purchase the

Delaware and Hudson Railway The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...

from its then owner

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precis ...

on September 1, 1981, marking the company's third acquisition. The next month, Timothy Mellon made an offer of $500,000 for the entirety of the D&H's stock, which was identical to the amount the Norfolk and Western had paid to buy the D&H in 1968. Both the D&H's directors and Norfolk and Western accepted the offer, in part to remove a potential obstacle to the pending merger between the N&W and the Southern Railway.

Expansion attempt

In 1985, Guilford entered into an agreement with

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

(NS) to run trains to St. Louis. NS was attempting to win approval of a plan to purchase Conrail from the U.S. government and proposed allowing Guilford to lease Conrail lines to St. Louis in order to restore competition that would be lost in the merger. The plan would have allowed Guilford to use the Conrail mainline from Toledo to

Ridgeway, Ohio Ridgeway is a village in Hardin and Logan counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 314 at the 2020 census. History Ridgeway was laid out in 1851 when the railroad was extended to the area. Ridgeway receives its name from the Ri ...

, and from

Crestline, Ohio Crestline is a village in Crawford and Richland Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Crestline's population was 4,630 at the 2010 census. It is the third largest municipality in Crawford County. The Crawford County portion of Crestline is part ...

, to St. Louis. Guilford would also purchase of Conrail track and 1,300 freight cars from Norfolk Southern for $53M. NS did not prevail in its attempt to purchase Conrail in 1985, and the Guilford plan was dropped. In 1987, Guilford also placed a bid to buy Southern Pacific. The paper industry provides the largest source of business, with chemicals, clay and pulp inbound, and finished paper outbound. But the railroad has been losing ground to other forms of transportation - particularly trucking. A 2008 report issued by the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

rated Maine at 48th of the 50 states in volume of freight traffic that moves by rail.

Delaware & Hudson bankruptcy

Guilford completed its acquisition of Delaware & Hudson Railway in 1984, purchasing the assets from

holding company Dereco. When planned western expansion failed to come to fruition, and with few prospects for growing freight traffic, Guilford cast Delaware & Hudson into bankruptcy and abandoned its operation in 1988. By

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to elimina ...

emergency order,

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in t ...

provided directed service under subsidy until the line was sold to

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

in 1991.

Pan Am Railways (2006-2022)

In 1998, Guilford bought the name, colors, and logo of

. In March 2006, Guilford Transportation Industries changed its name to Pan Am Railways (PAR). Then in March 2009, PAR was ordered to pay the largest corporate criminal fine in Massachusetts history — $500,000 — due to the company's negligence to report a spill of hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel in violation of state and federal environmental laws and regulations. As of 2011, PAR employed 750 people and had a $40-million payroll. The company continued to operate with subsidiary entities bearing the names of former railroads which over time formed the company. The company's assets were housed separately in these various subsidiaries for various reasons. For example, the Boston and Maine Corporation owned the railroad property itself while the Springfield Terminal branch operated the railroad (most of the company's employees were under the Springfield Terminal umbrella.) Meanwhile, the Maine Central entity owns rolling stock. In 2011, PAR repainted two

EMD GP9 The EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1954 and 1959. The GP9 succeeded the GP7 as the second model of EMD's General Purpose (GP) line, incorporating a new sixteen- cylin ...

locomotives into heritage schemes commemorating the company's predecessors; GP9s number 77 and 52 were repainted into the Boston and Maine maroon and gold"

Minuteman Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

" paint scheme and the Maine Central "Pine Tree Route" green and gold livery, respectively. Both were sold to the

Heber Valley Railroad The Heber Valley Railroad (HVRX) is a heritage railroad based in Heber City, Utah. It operates passenger excursion trains along a line between Heber City and Vivian Park, which is located in Provo Canyon. The HVRX carries over 110,000 pass ...

in May 2018.

Partnership with Norfolk Southern

On May 15, 2008, NS announced that it had come to an agreement with PAR to "create an improved rail route between

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

, and the Boston, Massachusetts, region, named the Patriot Corridor. The STB approved the deal on March 10, 2009, with each railroad owning 50% of a new company known as Pan Am Southern (PAS). PAR's trackage between

Ayer, Massachusetts Ayer () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally part of Groton, it was incorporated February 14, 1871, and became a major commercial railroad junction. The town was home to Camp Stevens, a training camp for Massa ...

, and

Mechanicville, New York Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,196 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents. The city is lo ...

, was transferred to PAS, while its operations and maintenance were handled by PAR's ST subsidiary. NS transferred to PAS cash and property valued at $140 million. Improvements to the route included track and signal upgrades, and expansion of terminals, including construction of new automotive and intermodal terminals in Ayer and Mechanicville. In March 2012, the

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail sa ...

awarded a $2-million grant to the

Massachusetts Department of Transportation The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Session of t ...

for preliminary engineering on removing 19 obstacles to allow double stack container trains to use the Patriot Corridor route. The project included raising clearance by two feet in the

Hoosac Tunnel The Hoosac Tunnel (also called Hoosic or Hoosick Tunnel) is a active railroad tunnel in western Massachusetts that passes through the Hoosac Range, an extension of Vermont's Green Mountains. It runs in a straight line from its east portal, al ...

Disputes with local governments

The company was criticized for dumping used

railroad ties A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper (Australian English, Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the Track (rail transport), rails in railroad tracks. Generally la ...

that contain

creosote Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics. Some creosote types were ...

rather than sending them for safe disposal or recycling.

CSX acquisition

Pan Am Railways parent Pan Am Systems was put up for sale in July 2020. On November 30, 2020, an agreement was announced for

(parent company for

) to acquire Pan Am Systems.

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

has expressed concern about possible impacts on competition. The sale was proposed as follows: CSX will own and operate between Mattawamkeag, ME and Ayer, MA. Between Ayer and Rotterdam, NY, Genesee and Wyoming Rail will be the operating party. This means the track will be owned by CSX but CSX will not dispatch it. Also, Norfolk Southern will keep its 49% stake in Pan Am Southern (PAS). With the sale, the intermodal traffic between Mechanicville and Ayer will be re-routed over the B&A to Worcester, MA. From there the traffic will come up the Worcester main and into Ayer Yard. On March 25, 2021, after numerous letters questioning CSX's acquisition of Pan Am Railways parent Pan Am Systems from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Vermont Rail System, as well as many other local political figures and community leaders from other New England states, the Surface Transportation Board ruled the acquisition as "Significant" meaning that a more rigorous review process would be necessary. On April 30, 2021, CSX submitted a 478-page plan of purchase outlining a broad range of topics, from implementations of track upgrades to the controversial issue of Norfolk Southern intermodal routing, as well as the fate of Pan Am's hodgepodge fleet of aging motive power, which is made up of EMD and GE locomotives from railroads such as Conrail, NS, CSX, the Milwaukee Road, and Kansas City Southern. On May 26, 2021, the federal regulators of the Surface Transportation Board rejected CSX's purchase application, deeming it "incomplete." The board cited "contradictions" and "lack of necessary information" to properly judge the acquisition, and therefore could not rule on the matter. The STB accepted a revised merger application for consideration on July 30, allowing CSX to move forward with the acquisition. The decision determined that an environmental and historic review are unnecessary and establishes criteria for additional filings, public comments, and a deadline for a final Surface Transportation Board decision. On April 14, 2022 The Surface Transportation Board fully accepted the purchase by CSX Transportation of Pan Am Railways and 50% of Pan Am Southern. According to the board; CSX’s control of Pan Am and subsequent merger of six of Pan Am’s subsidiary railroads into CSX, subject to the voluntary commitments and settlement agreements to which the applicants have agreed, would not likely cause a substantial lessening of competition or create a monopoly or restraint of trade. "The Board found several key benefits flowing from the merger. It would result in much-needed capital investments in the Pan Am network, as well as more consistent maintenance. Also, the Board found that shippers would have additional marketing opportunities and more efficient single-line service, and CSX would have the opportunity to better compete for traffic moving via long-haul trucking. The Board also noted environmental benefits in the form of fuel efficiency and lower emissions resulting from CSX’s use of newer line-haul and switching locomotives, compared to Pan Am’s locomotives." The combination of several

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may ...

agreements in the approved plan will create a new route allowing Norfolk Southern to move double-stack intermodal trains and automobile trains from

Voorheesville, New York Voorheesville is a village within the town of New Scotland in Albany County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany and part of the city's historic metropolitan area. The population was 2,789 at the 2010 census. The village is named ...

(the Southern Route). The Hoosic Tunnel on the Pan Am Southern (the Northern Route), used by NS prior to this agreement, is too low for double-stack trains. Berkshire & Eastern Railroad (B&E), a wholly owned subsidiary of

Genesee & Wyoming Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and formerly Australia. It operates ...

(G&W), will replace Springfield Terminal as the operator of Pan Am Southern. CSX made specific commitments in its filings and entered into settlement agreements with numerous parties that had initially raised concerns about the transaction.

Routes

PAR's mainline ran from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to

, via the lines of the following former companies: *''MEC:''

European and North American Railway The European and North American Railway (E&NA) is the name for three historic Canadian and American railways which were built in New Brunswick and Maine. The idea of the E&NA as a single system was conceived at a railway conference in Portland, M ...

, MEC mainline *''B&M:'' B&M mainline,

Lowell and Andover Railroad The Lowell and Andover Railroad was a branch line of the Boston and Maine Railroad and was organized in 1873, after the Boston and Lowell Railroad's monopoly on Boston to Lowell service ended in 1865. The line opened in 1874 from the B&M's main ...

*'' Boston & Lowell Railroad:'' Nashua & Lowell Railroad,

Stony Brook Railroad The Stony Brook Railroad (formally the Stony Brook Railroad Corporation), chartered in 1845, was a railroad company in Massachusetts, United States. The company constructed a rail line between the Nashua and Lowell Railroad's main line at the ...

*''

Fitchburg Railroad The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main l ...

:'' Fitchburg Railroad mainline, Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad, Troy and Greenfield Railroad, Southern Vermont Railroad, Troy & Boston Railroad, Boston, Hoosac Tunnel & Western Railway

References

External links

*
Pan Am Railways photographs
- NERAIL Photo Archive
Guilford Rail Systems photographs
- NERAIL Photo Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Pan Am Railways United States railroad holding companies Regional railroads in the United States Norfolk Southern Railway CSX Transportation Companies based in Billerica, Massachusetts Companies operating former Boston and Maine Railroad lines Companies operating former Maine Central Railroad lines Companies operating former New York Central Railroad lines Companies operating former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad lines Maine railroads New Hampshire railroads Defunct Massachusetts railroads Connecticut railroads New York (state) railroads Vermont railroads Railway companies established in 1981 American companies established in 1981 Announced mergers and acquisitions