Cando Rail & Terminals Ltd. (Commonly referred to simply as Cando, reporting mark CCGX) is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

contractor headquartered in Brandon,

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, founded in 1978 by Gord Peters and Rick Hammond. Cando offers several services, including industrial switching, material handling, logistics, terminal and transload services, engineering and track services, railcar storage, railcar repair and short line operations. The short line operations include the

Central Manitoba Railway The Central Manitoba Railway is a Canadian shortline railway operating in the province of Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is ...

and

Barrie Collingwood Railway The Barrie-Collingwood Railway , commonly referred to as the BCRY, is a shortline railway operating between the towns of Innisfil, Ontario, Innisfil and Utopia in south central Ontario, Canada. The line was started in 1998 and runs on former ...

. In 2017, Deloitte Canada named Cando as one of "Canada's Best Managed Companies" for 2016.

History

Gord Peters and Rick Hammond founded Cando Contracting Ltd. in 1978, as a small rail line dismantling and salvage company in

. They would remove pieces of track and sell the materials. Gord's father Art and brother Doug were also a big part of the company's success in the early years. Cando's first contract was for two abandoned rail lines near Tilston, Manitoba for

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, who at the time was abandoning smaller subdivisions in order to focus on east–west traffic across Canada. Gord and Rick bid on the jobs while having no equipment or experience. When, to their surprise, they got both jobs, Gord drove home with a loan from his father, and started Cando Contracting Ltd. In 1996, the company established an Employee Ownership Program, and in 2017 Cando said that over 80% of the company is owned by present and retired employees. In 1999, Cando bought the Carman and Pine Falls Subdivisions, two recently abandoned

branch lines, from

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

, and started the Central Manitoba Railway. In 2013, Cando changed its name from Cando Contracting Ltd. to Cando Rail Services Ltd., and changed its logo. Cando also changed the livery for locomotives that it owned. In April 2021, the company changed their name again, to Cando Rail & Terminals Ltd.

Locations

While Cando first started in

, and is headquartered in Brandon, they now exist at over 25 sites across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and parts of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In January 2016, Cando announced that it purchased the former Weyerhaeuser sawmill property on Mission Flats Road in Kamloops with the intention to turn it into 1000 spots of railcar storage, 80,000 feet of track and engineering and mechanical servicing areas. Cando opened phase one of the rail terminal in May 2017. The terminal also serves as their B.C. headquarters.

Gallery

File:CCGX 4000, CCGX 4208 at St. James Jct.jpg, CCGX 4000 and CCGX 4208 at St. James Jct. Image:Cando4206andCEMR4002.png, CCGX 4206 and CEMR 4002, bring a freight train into

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Image:CandoCaboose.png, CCGX 200001 on a

Family Day Train on September 9, 2017

References

External links

1978 establishments in Manitoba Rail transport in Canada {{DEFAULTSORT:Cando Rail and Terminals