Canadian Railroads > Irving divestitures

I read yesterday that Irving Oil in NB is exploring options to potentially exit their refinery business. 
I wonder if the Irving family business empire would sell CP the line (the CP original line) between Brownsville Jct, Maine and Saint John, NB.
These are the lines now operated as the Eastern Maine Railway and the New Brunswick Southern Railway.
I am sure CP would like to own these lines again.

GN1969 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I read yesterday that Irving Oil in NB is
> exploring options to potentially exit their
> refinery business. 
> I wonder if the Irving family business empire
> would sell CP the line (the CP original line)
> between Brownsville Jct, Maine and Saint John,
> NB.
> These are the lines now operated as the Eastern
> Maine Railway and the New Brunswick Southern
> Railway.
> I am sure CP would like to own these lines again.

Isn't this the same line that CM&Q had their run-away oil train disaster, took it back, then sold it again. Doesn't sound like CP wants it back a 3rd time. 

joemvcnj Wrote:

> Isn't this the same line that CM&Q had their
> run-away oil train disaster, took it back, then
> sold it again. Doesn't sound like CP wants it back
> a 3rd time. 

No, that was at Lac-Megantic QC, on the Montreal-Brownville Jct line that CP bought from CMQ. Irving owns the Brownvile to Saint John segment which was part of the CP through route historically.

Actually, the runaway happened on MM&A's clock.  CP , in their finite wisdom, decided to sell off everything east of Montreal.
Montreal-Brownville Jct went to MMA
Brownville Jct to St John went  to Irvings 2 RR's...Eastern Main Railway and the NBS.

MMA piled up the tank cars at Megantic PQ...went into bankruptcy.
CMQ was formed to become new operator of Montreal to Brownville Jct, and down the BAR to Bucksport.

Then CP totally reversed themselves, and decided they wanted Montreal to an east coast port, and bought the CMQ.
Now rumors are that Irving may want to sell their Brownville Jct to St John track ...the eastern half of the original CP main east of montreal...back to the CP.  LOL.

Big industry wasting time and money rearranging the deck chairs is nothing new....
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/23 17:55 by pdt.

Both companies are named "IRVING" but they are no longer under common ownership.  I think the current owners are the third generation after KC Irving, and Irving Oil is now separate from JD Irving, the company that runs the pulp and saw mills, and the railway.  NBSR and its Maine subsidiaries are quite tightly integrated in the movement of woodchips from Irving saw mills in northern NB and Maine to the Irving pulp mill in Saint John, and I think that is why they have no interest in selling to CP.

When Irving Oil was receiving CBR, some of it came through Maine and also through New Brunswick on CN.  There was no special effort to route it on NBSR.

GTD

cn6218 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Both companies are named "IRVING" but they are no
> longer under common ownership.  I think the
> current owners are the third generation after KC
> Irving, and Irving Oil is now separate from JD
> Irving, the company that runs the pulp and saw
> mills, and the railway.  NBSR and its Maine
> subsidiaries are quite tightly integrated in the
> movement of woodchips from Irving saw mills in
> northern NB and Maine to the Irving pulp mill in
> Saint John, and I think that is why they have no
> interest in selling to CP.
>
> When Irving Oil was receiving CBR, some of it came
> through Maine and also through New Brunswick on
> CN.  There was no special effort to route it on
> NBSR.
>
> GTD

Thanks for that summary. I don't know if it's the case now, but the New Brunswick Railways Company Ltd used to be the holding company for the Irving railroad properties in New Brunswick and Maine.