Why CSX is Buying Pan Am Railways

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Why CSX wants Pan Am Railways. Like Mount Everest, because it's there? Seriously Harrison, that report and reporting was brilliant! There's nothing I can say but well done, one of your best efforts yet! Have you linked this on the "Trains" Forum yet? You should! You'd be doing everyone a service!

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Already done, and thx!

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@NorthCountryTrains Good to hear!

[@WeatheredRails]

Great Video!!!! This really recaps in detail the current Pan Am, and soon will be a video full of what it use to be.

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Thank you so much!! I couldn't cover it all but I discussed what interested me and hopefully it interests others.

[@gregmilliken5538]

I have never understood why Guilford's owners wanted the name of a failed airline. Their railroad infrastructure and rolling stock has suffered from lack of maintenance since they took over the B&M and Maine Central. I'm amazed the Transportation Board has allowed them to limp along as long as they have.

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Pan Am Failways…

[@rickledges4412]

Mellom reportedly has a pilot's license and owns a small airfield in Guilford CT, which is where the name Guilford Rail System came from.

[@NorthCountryTrains]

@@rickledges4412 Interesting, didn’t know that!

[@Salvador_but_he_plays_gd]

I mean Pan Am Railways was a successful company for a long time

[@dank2716]

Maybe they wanted to keep the name alive?

[@PoconoMountaineer405]

Great video!! Lots of good to know information

[@Richb750]

It’s going to be nice seeing 22K/23K running double stack on the B&A. I’m excited! Great vid your extremely knowledgeable!

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Thank you! It will be exciting, I’m most looking forward to the Albany Main being used and CP-VO once again becoming a junction. Now that Boy Scout railfan platform will be much more useful…

[@Richb750]

@@NorthCountryTrains no prob! I agree it’s going to be awesome seeing it in VO too. That’s my fav spot in upstate NY

[@charlesmtrainzproductions4220]

Awesome video of places I have been to, or frequented over the years! Though I’m in Maine we have made many trips to and from New York almost annually!

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Other way around, I’m in New York and take a yearly trip to Maine. Thanks for watching

[@davvonmckenzie3911]

Great video @North Country Trains.

[@quinnwhite2648]

Atleast in my observations, the whole rush to get to Saint John seems like it is going to be the next bust. The port fell out of favor the first time around due to the tides being the most dramatic in the world, which is one thing that cannot be fixed. Not only that, but Saint John only has room for two ships at a time, which will make it hard to compete with any port on the east coast. Not only that, but the NBSR has been reluctant to welcome any additional traffic, since it is used more or less as a conveyor belt for raw materials for other JD Irving owned businesses at Saint John. Just look at the millions CP spent to get everything to 40 on the former CMQ, while Irving refuses to upgrade anything above 25 MPH. Had it not been for the SD40-2's being so worn out, NBSR probably wouldn't have purchased any of the SD70's they recently got. As for the port of Portland, there isn't any business to be had. The port is configured so that it isn't even close to being easy when it comes to loading containers on trains. Plus the port is extremely shallow, so only the smallest of container ships can dock there.

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Thanks for your insight, I agree that St. John isn't quite the sweet spot... now if only CSX will expand domestic intermodal service to Waterville and Portland...

[@masonschade6566]

One other aspect I saw was the potential of Vermont Railway acquiring the St. Johnsbury to Whitefield and eventually interchange with the St. L&A from Pan Am, as they still own it. This would mean competition between the G&W and CP via better traffic to areas such as Montreal or Sherbrooke. Several customers are also on the route along with an interchange for the Conway Scenic. If this were to happen, Vermont railway would see a potential uptick in traffic along with even better G&W ties on their routes.

[@NorthCountryTrains]

That’s something I never thought of, but sounds like a really cool concept. Unfortunately I think it’s too late now.

[@natgass8102]

nice job in running through the past and the potential new future

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Thanks, hope you enjoyed 👊

[@sunnysiderails397]

Very well done video, had no idea about this acquisition, up to speed now. Sub'd and Liked

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Thank you kind sir, glad I was able to inform you of what could become the New England rail shakeup of the century.

[@johnathanlewis2049]

Now I wonder what moves or acquisitions NS will make to counter CSX

[@NorthCountryTrains]

NS should be happy running their intermodal trains double stacked through the southern route. Besides that, NS doesn’t seem to want more into New England… they have an entire railroad to fix to begin with.

[@tonygyder9717]

None…. NS barely wants anything north of enola

[@buccaneerrailfanning1776]

I wonder what will happen to the dash 8 standard cabs CSX gave to pan am? I would expect CSX to use the wide cab dash 8s again since they are coming out of storage, but what about the standard cab dash 8s?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

They will most likely go to B&E

[@buccaneerrailfanning1776]

@@NorthCountryTrains Hope so, thoes units are only about 25-30 years old, the EMDs csx still uses are 50 and older

[@NorthCountryTrains]

@@buccaneerrailfanning1776 As my friend Jim Lafayette used to say, “The EMDs will always be Cadillacs to me”. The GEs work great but have few comforts.

[@OfficialSEIC2K6]

However Pan Am Railways still exists as a subsidiary of CSX Transportation which is the main subsidiary of CSX Corporation. Pan Am Railways isn't forgotten.

[@LeahK2018]

HEY....I live near Blasdell NY and I work for CSX since 1999, but have been off on a Medical Leave of absence since 09/22. If your looking for any CSX info just ask. Only thing is I never went East of Buffalo. I worked lines west towards Cleveland, Crestline and Willard Ohio. when I first hired out. Since then I worked everything else here in Buffalo including RCO switching, pulled pins on the Hump (Frontiers Hump closed 2009 ish), transfer runs, and switched out customers on what we called industry jobs (others may call the job a local or a traveling switcher).

[@TexasandPacific]

Pan am railway 156 got preserved at Oklahoma railway museum

[@NorthCountryTrains]

MEC 609, MILW 156

[@StephenHuffre]

How do I find radio frequency for Waterville Maine

[@MatthewMello]

0:30 That is one really awesome engineer. :D

[@RDC2003]

I have a question: is Waterville a good yard to buff at, and general area wise as well?

[@moroteseoinage]

They’re buying it to part it out slowly to short line RRs, Amtrak, and the MBTA.

[@WarrensTrains]

Great video

[@NorthernNewEnglandRailfan]

Finally! Class I freight in Maine! Took em long enough

[@NorthCountryTrains]

At least somebody’s happy…

[@NorthernNewEnglandRailfan]

@@NorthCountryTrainstheres a good side and a bad side. What exactly troubles you?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

@@NorthernNewEnglandRailfan I’m just saying I’ll miss Pan Am, that’s all. It’s all for the best.

[@NorthernNewEnglandRailfan]

@@NorthCountryTrains I'll miss it too, but csx= heritage units. I also have an old picture of me when I was like 6 at Waterville watching an SD40.

[@p51mustangflyer3]

I hope CSX has a few locomotives painted in the Pan Am Railways livery, I was a fan of them and saddened that we most likely see Pan Am painted Locomotives

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Pan Am Heritage Unit Confirmed!1!

[@p51mustangflyer3]

@@NorthCountryTrains Oh Wonderful!! Do you know if they are gonna keep the FP9s for possibly passenger excursions?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

@@p51mustangflyer3 Sorry I was being sarcastic, I think the FP7s are going elsewhere.

[@district2productions]

@@NorthCountryTrains didn’t Larry’s truck and electric but them or some other random company

[@RailBrothersProductions]

Love the in-depth video.

[@FLRailroaddog]

Awesome 😎

[@caboosech]

I had seen the Guilford merger back in the '80s take place I watched them destroy the Boston and main the main Central in Delaware and Hudson watched Pan am be merged and watched them go downhill and it's just going to get worse this time comes to CSX runs the former Pan am railways well let's just hope they do better

[@slr_393p]

1:23 Well thanks 😅 but there is stuff up here.

[@stevenconnolly7907]

If the Hoosac Tunnel built in the late 1800s were to collapse, it would cost millions to excavate if this were economically feasible. The railroad would become almost landlocked, except for interchanges at Ayer, Mass. and northern Maine. The aging Hoosac Tunnel is why I believe this railroad was sold. 🚂🗻

[@NorthCountryTrains]

We saw how crazy things got when the tunnel partially collapsed back in 2020, the only good alternative is the Southern Route.

[@stevenconnolly7907]

@@NorthCountryTrains Southern Route, the Boston & Albany owned by CSX. The reroutes via Bellows Falls and VRS we're interesting, but I think impractical over the long term. The B&A will now be the main artery for all traffic in and out of New England including Norfolk Southern trackage rights. The B&M west end is now a part of history. 🚂🗻

[@fhowland]

The tunnel is well built. It’s not going anywhere- I’m sure CSX will do some much deferred maintenance.

[@RailPreserver2K]

What will happen to PanAm's f units and office car Fleet

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Going to a private owner I believe

[@RailPreserver2K]

@@NorthCountryTrains I made a community post on my channel regarding something you may want to do a video on mainly because it infuriated me and also made me shake my head as a railfan.

[@andrewcrumb8027]

I'm starting to get nervous. If CSX required Pan Am Railways, what's going to happen to the C40-8's? Are they going to be scrapped forever?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Dash 8 widecabs will go to the B&E, some or all of the standard cabs too

[@andrewcrumb8027]

@@NorthCountryTrains Oh, good.

[@mackfisher4487]

Pan Am Airline? Was there a connection between Pan Am railroad and Pan Am World Airways?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Guilford Transpiration Industries bought the name a while ago.

[@charlesmtrainzproductions4220]

Guilford Rail bought the remaining Pan Am Airways along with it’s name!!! The airline had been defunct and ended going under I believe! My understanding also was the second in command under Mellon owned the Tie company “Guilford “ at the time the Railroad was formed out of D&H, ST, B&M and Maine Central and took the Guilford name!

[@buffaloarearailfan9928]

Well, this Sucks. Sad to see another Class II fall into the hands of a Class I. I really can't see anything positive about this merger especially the fact that some of Pan Am's Classic power may end up being scrapped! Wish I can make it down there to see their final days of operation.

[@NorthCountryTrains]

There are many positives, but also negatives.

[@buffaloarearailfan9928]

@@NorthCountryTrains I guess there may be some positives, but I just hate the fact Class II operations are slowly being absorbed by Class Is. Not only that but there have been and still to this day too many railroad mergers.

[@jeffreyaumand6447]

Pan Am so called is nothing but scrap

[@theappalachianrailfan8310]

What will happen to the old Dash8s

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Berkshire & Eastern will get them…

[@theappalachianrailfan8310]

@@NorthCountryTrains I was hoping csx would get them back

[@Declan_9373]

Wow they want to get to my city wow😢

[@northernvirginiarailfan1621]

Again, nice video! Hit film express does not download viruses right? Im being very protective about my PC lol

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Haha I’ve downloaded it three times and I completely trust them.

[@northernvirginiarailfan1621]

@@NorthCountryTrains Thanks!

[@lyricof3003]

I like ur reasoning but I wanna know what's gonna happen to the rare locomotives I don't want CSX to scrap them nor convert them

[@NorthCountryTrains]

One of the Dash 8s went to Huntington for possible repaint. So far all other units are in service. When more things start happening I will make a follow up video.

[@LeamSerrano]

Well there goes pan am last legacy

[@ocsrc]

SMS delivers to the industrial park Who is going to be doing deliveries now ?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Either CSX or SMS

[@iannarita9816]

Did anyone notice the track? It looks plain awful. Low at the joints and an arch across the rail. No wonder Guilford management dictated 25mph trains. Not sure what else to say. Did Guilford ever post a profit for Mellon?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Mellon ran it into the ground, CSX says they’ll reverse that…

[@northeasttrains2426]

At 4:10, Im not sure if Im understanding this wrong, but does that mean the Delanson to Voorheesville branch will connect to the CSX again?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Yessir! The Albany Main lives!

[@f40phproductions]

Is this actually going to happen or is it unknown for now?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

CSX will take over operations no later than January 1, 2023.

[@GooseinTheCabooseProductions]

But you killed your own argument, CSX says "bring better service" yet this PSR, which is the worst load of bullcrap to hit railroading in recent decades means they will do EXACTLY what CP did with ignoring general freight traffic. That's the fundamental problem anymore, it's not truly about serving the smaller customers, only the ones that are big enough. This is going to be one of the worst Railroading and takeovers disasters in the last 20 years. Has everyone forgotten about all a character this line has, it will be gone or scrapped in weeks. Goodbye to one of the VERY few bits of true American railroading left

[@alcopower5710]

Did the KCS situation ever work itself out?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Still under review but CP is already making moves for consolidation…

[@yzfmike84]

Don't expect any actual CSX power on June 1st. There could be a few units in 2022. Expect changes to really been seen Jan 1st 2023.

[@NorthCountryTrains]

The longer is takes for the Pan Am power to disappear the better!

[@yzfmike84]

@@NorthCountryTrains its entirely possible to see many trains that run in the west run in southern Maine that is never seen.

[@WashingtonDCAreaRailfan]

Awesome video! What editing software do you use?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Hitfilm Express. 100% free and works great, just make sure your PC is decently beefy.

[@WashingtonDCAreaRailfan]

@@NorthCountryTrains alright thanks!

[@leskeegan9033]

Just think. CSX gets all those engines back that were bought by Pan Am.

[@chrisrotmanthatguyfromtikt1033]

They weren’t bought from csx, they were purchased from GE

[@robertakortsep]

9:27

[@thegreatdh]

At least we can hope for some potential heritage units 😂

[@NorthCountryTrains]

That’s what they’re saying…

[@W4RR3N-AX]

I bet That as soon as Csx gets pan am rail, They’ll just Retired The Ex Pan am engines and Replace them with Either Their Own GEVOs locos or They will buy Newer GE locomotives in the future. Same goes To BNSF buying MRL

[@NorthCountryTrains]

A lot of the power will go to B&E.

[@W4RR3N-AX]

@@NorthCountryTrains What Railroad is that?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

@@W4RR3N-AX Berkshire and Eastern, being created to take over Pan Am Southern.

[@W4RR3N-AX]

@@NorthCountryTrains so basically, all Pan am locos will go to That railroad?

[@NorthCountryTrains]

@@W4RR3N-AX We don’t know for sure yet, a lot of the sidelined locos will be scrapped (those that haven’t been already) and some will go to B&E. CSX will use the rest until they can get more reliable and modern power in place (and purchased).

[@GMan9029]

I can see this going 2 ways, either CSX will be able to bring a market back to New England, or CSX is gonna have to deal with a corpse it won’t be able to get rid of. Either way, I wish CSX and Pan Am the best of luck in this endeavor.

[@NorthCountryTrains]

They’re gonna need all the luck they can get

[@railbus5]

It is NOT pronounced "Banger". There is no E in Bangor.

[@NorthCountryTrains]

LOL At least I got the NY names right, since I’m not a Maine native.

[@armandoperez7967]

Now that this has been approved, maybe CSX should retain the PanAm name and have a real name!

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Better yet, sell it to CP(KCS), since they’ll finally have a true Pan-American railway…

[@jeffreyaumand6447]

Pan Am sucks!!

[@Phoenix_is_Meyerish]

you said bangor wrong i live in maine i know how it is and its (bang - or) not banger

[@NorthCountryTrains]

😂😂 So I’ve been told, oops 😅

[@jeffreyaumand6447]

GTI GRS G ST PAN AM Sewer railroads. All need to disappear... Would not hurt my feelings

[@JasonMuse-ft3hg]

Show me on the chart where Timothy Mellon touched you.

[@chrissaenz6213]

Mass transit is for livestock.

[@jeffntab123]

Csx has spent 2 (+) years scrapping their own infrastructure -can only imagine why they'd buy MORE territory ! Lmfao

[@NorthCountryTrains]

At least they’re still running trains on the Massena Line… maybe all the money they’re saving from tearing out sidings will give them something to put into Pan Am.

[@district2productions]

They already bought them

[@NorthCountryTrains]

Yes, I know. This video is explaining the why and how, rather than the what.

[@MBTAGuyProductions]

aRATIO

[@northridgewood5918]

Simple. Pam Am destroyed the railroad industry in NE single handedly. CSX will finish the job without Timothy Mellon’s incompetency

[@JasonMuse-ft3hg]

It was inevitable. B&M and MEC were still operating like it was the 50's despite declining traffic.