Canadian Railroads > RIP Tom Payne 1949-2017

Tom Payne passed away in Washington State on October 1st,2017

Tom Payne started one of the first new shortlines in Canada when he took over the former CN (CNor) route from Morrin Junction AB to Camrose and created the Central Western Railway. He later took over the CP Coronation Sub. from Stettler to Compeer, just west of the Saskatchewan border.

Later he was a partner in Railink Enterprises which operated a network of former CN and CP routes in Alberta and Ontario

When RailAmerica took over Railink, Tom Payne took a buyout and eventually moved to Washington State.

Payne, among his many ventures, was a formidable advocate of short-line running rights on CN in Western Canada. His Ferroequus Railway Co. sought regulatory permission to run grain trains over CN’s main line from the Prairies to the export terminal at Prince Rupert, B.C., in the early 2000s. While his bid eventually came to naught, he put a real scare into CN. The issue of Class 1 railway market power remains a key issue for Western Canadian grain producers to this day.

Tom also partnered with the rail heritage movement.

Because the Central Western Railway took over a route which had passenger service into the 1980's, many of the former Canadian Northern stations along the line were still intact.

The Canadian Northern Society was formed to restore these stations, resulting in the preservation of Camrose, Meeting Creek, Big Valley and Rowley stations. In the case of Meeting Creek and Rowley, the trackside grain elevators are preserved.

At Donalda, north of Stettler, a small CNor station was moved from another site.