Eastern Maine Railway (1995)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by K7L (talk | contribs) at 19:52, 23 January 2014 (→‎Route: - this will need to be updated once details are published as to how much former MM&A track is incorporated into EMRY, the section from the old CP line north to Millinocket would be the obvious candidate but needs a source). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Eastern Maine Railway
Overview
HeadquartersSaint John, NB
Reporting markEMRY
LocaleMaine, New Brunswick
Dates of operation1995–

The Eastern Maine Railway Company Limited (reporting mark EMRY) is a 99.5 mi (160.1 km) U.S. short line railroad owned by the New Brunswick Railway Company, a holding company that is part of "Irving Transportation Services", a division within the industrial conglomerate J.D. Irving Limited.

Together with its sister company New Brunswick Southern Railway (reporting mark NBSR), EMRY and NBSR form a continuous 189.5 mi (305.0 km) main line connecting Saint John, New Brunswick with Brownville Junction, Maine in addition to another 41.7 mi (67.1 km) of branch lines owned and operated by NBSR in Canada. A sister company Maine Northern Railway (reporting mark MNRY) operates a separate 258-mile railway system connecting Millinocket, Maine with Van Buren, Maine.

History

EMRY was established as a corporate entity on November 10, 1994 by J.D. Irving Ltd. to purchase the 99.5 mile right of way and physical railway assets of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Mattawamkeag Subdivision rail line within the state of Maine, running from its eastern terminus at the Canada–United States border, this being the midpoint of the Saint Croix-Vanceboro Railway Bridge at Vanceboro, west to Brownville Junction.[1]

Both EMRY and NBSR began operations on January 6, 1995 approximately 1 week after Canadian Pacific Railway abandoned operations of its Canadian Atlantic Railway (CAR) subsidiary on December 31, 1994. In addition to owning the former CPR tracks in Maine, EMRY was an operating entity for the first several months of existence and had running rights over its sister company NBSR's tracks from the International Boundary east to the yard at McAdam, New Brunswick. In spring 1995 Irving Transportation Services consolidated its railway operations as Eastern Maine Railway Company Limited came under NBSR operational control.[2]

Route

EMRY's corporate trackage is a continuation of the NBSR mainline at the International Boundary in Vanceboro, immediately across the St. Croix River from the hamlet of St. Croix. From Vanceboro, EMRY's trackage runs 105 miles west to Brownville Junction with a connection along the way to Pan Am Railways (reporting mark PAR) serving southern New England at Mattawamkeag. EMRY connected with the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (reporting mark MMA) at Brownville Junction, which operated part of the north-south former Bangor and Aroostook Railroad trackage in Maine, as well as the continuation of the CPR mainline from Brownville Junction west to Montreal. While most of the MM&A assets went to Railroad Acquisition Holdings (Fortress Investment Group) at auction after MM&A's bankruptcy, some former MM&A track has been incorporated into EMRY.[3]

The tracks between Vanceboro and Mattawamkeag were built as part of the European and North American Railway which connected Saint John, New Brunswick with Bangor, Maine, opening in 1869. The section west of Mattawamkeag to Brownville Junction was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway as part of its International Railway of Maine subsidiary, opening in 1889 to connect Montreal, Quebec with Saint John; this line made CPR a transcontinental railway system. The E&NA tracks from Bangor to Vanceboro via Mattawamkeag were leased in the 1870s and purchased in the 1950s by the Maine Central Railroad and later purchased in 1974 by CPR.

Operations

Today most locomotives hauling trains that operate over EMRY are owned and carry the reporting marks of NBSR. Some maintenance of way equipment is owned by EMRY but the majority of the company's assets are the physical tracks and right of way from Vanceboro to Brownville Junction, as well as the running rights in New Brunswick to McAdam.

See also

References

  1. ^ Maine Dept of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions - Corporate Name Search
  2. ^ NB Southern Railway history
  3. ^ "La vente de la MMA approuvée par les tribunaux". Radio-Canada Sherbrooke. 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
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