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Pan Am Systems
FormerlyGuilford Transportation Industries
Company typePrivate
Industryrail transport
manufacturing and energy
transportation related brands
real estate
Founded1998
FounderTimothy Mellon
DefunctJune 1, 2022 (2022-06-01)
FateAcquired by CSX Corporation
Headquarters
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
,
United States of America
Subsidiaries

Pan Am Systems was a privately held Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based[1] Florida corporation composed of rail transport, manufacturing and energy, transportation related brands, and real estate divisions.[2] It formerly held a now-defunct airline division.

Pan Am Systems was put up for sale in July 2020.[3] On November 30, 2020, CSX Corporation announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to purchase Pan Am Systems. The sale of Pan Am Systems to CSX underwent regulatory review by the Surface Transportation Board,[4][5] which approved the sale on April 14, 2022.[6] At midnight on June 1, 2022, CSX began operating Pan Am Systems and its Pan Am Railways; also, Pan Am Systems was merged into a temporary subsidiary of CSX which will eventually merge into CSX.

History

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1981–2020

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Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) was formed in 1981. GTI entered the railroad business in 1981 with its purchase of the Maine Central Railroad Company from U.S. Filter Corporation. This was followed by its 1983 purchase of the Boston & Maine Railroad, and in 1984 it purchased the Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H). In 1988, GTI declared D&H bankrupt. Francis DiCello, an appointed bankruptcy trustee, oversaw the estate while the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway managed it employing the D&H workforce. Susquehanna's management expired in early 1990 and the trustee managed it directly until selling in 1991 to the Canadian Pacific Railway.

GTI purchased the name, colors, and logo of Pan American World Airways in 1998 and Pan Am Systems was established that same year. In March 2006, GTI changed its name to Pan Am Railways.

The company was privately owned by Timothy Mellon, an heir to the Mellon banking fortune, and several other stakeholders including former Penn Central employee David Fink and son David A. Fink.

CSX acquisition

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In July 2020, Pan Am Systems was put up for sale.[3] On November 30, 2020, an agreement was announced for CSX Corporation (parent company for CSX Transportation) to acquire Pan Am Systems. Norfolk Southern expressed concern about possible impacts on competition. The sale was proposed as follows: CSX will own and operate between Mattawamkeag, ME and Ayer, MA. Between Ayer and Rotterdam, NY, Genesee and Wyoming Rail will be the operating party. This means the track will be owned by CSX, but CSX will not dispatch it. Also, Norfolk Southern will keep its 49% stake in Pan Am Southern (PAS). With the sale, the intermodal traffic between Mechanicville and Ayer will be re-routed over the B&A to Worcester, MA. From there the traffic will come up the Worcester main and into Ayer Yard.[7]

On March 25, 2021, after numerous letters questioning CSX's acquisition of Pan Am Railways parent Pan Am Systems from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Vermont Rail System, as well as many other local political figures and community leaders from other New England states, the Surface Transportation Board ruled the acquisition as "Significant" meaning that a more rigorous review process would be necessary.[8]

On April 30, 2021, CSX submitted a 478-page plan of purchase outlining a broad range of topics, from implementations of track upgrades to the controversial issue of Norfolk Southern intermodal routing, as well as the fate of Pan Am's hodgepodge fleet of aging motive power, which is made up of EMD and GE locomotives from railroads such as Conrail, NS, CSX, the Milwaukee Road, and Kansas City Southern.[9]

On May 26, 2021, the federal regulators of the Surface Transportation Board rejected CSX's purchase application, deeming it "incomplete." The board cited "contradictions" and "lack of necessary information" to properly judge the acquisition, and therefore could not rule on the matter. While CSX has the option of re-submitting a revised application, which it has motioned toward in its official statement, the transaction stands on uncertain ground.[10][11]

On July 30, 2021, the Surface Transportation Board accepted a revised merger application for consideration, allowing CSX to move forward with the acquisition on Pan Am Systems. The decision determined that an environmental and historic review are unnecessary and establishes criteria for additional filings, public comments, and a deadline for a final Surface Transportation Board decision.[12][13]

The STB approved the sale of Pan Am Systems to CSX on April 14, 2022,[14] for $600 million.[15] At midnight on June 1, 2022, CSX began operating Pan Am Railways and Pan Am Systems was merged into a temporary subsidiary of CSX called 747 Merger Sub 2 which will become the new Pan Am Systems, the new Pan Am Systems and Pan Am Railways will eventually merge into CSX.

Divisions

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Air

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Clipper Guilford, a Boeing 727 operated by Boston-Maine Airways.
Tail section of Clipper Guilford.
  • Pan American Airways (1998–2004), a United States airline that operated scheduled services in the eastern USA under the purchased "Pan American Airways" brand, as well as charters for tour operators and services to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Operations ceased on November 1, 2004, and were transferred to the subsidiary Boston-Maine Airways, which resumed service as the Pan Am Clipper Connection brand.
  • Boston-Maine Airways (Pan Am Clipper Connection), the formerly certified airline, which operated charter and scheduled passenger airline services between the northeastern United States and Florida and the Caribbean under the Pan Am Clipper Connection brand. In February 2008 the U.S. Department of Transportation proposed the revocation of Boston-Maine's air carrier certification, as it "is not financially fit and does not possess the managerial competence to conduct any air transportation operations and has failed to comply with the regulations governing its operations." [16] Services ended on February 29, 2008.
  • Pan Am Services, originally an aircraft service and support center, now a dealer of aircraft spare parts.[17]

Manufacturing and energy

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Rail

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A Pan Am locomotive.
A Pan Am boxcar.

Real estate

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  • Pan Am Brands, distributor of consumer goods bearing the Pan Am logo.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Pan Am Systems, Inc. – Company profile from Hoover's
  2. ^ "Pan Am System, Inc". Sunbiz.org. State of Florida Division of Corporations. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Maine's Biggest Railroad Is For Sale". MPBN.org. July 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. ^ "CSX to Acquire Pan Am Railways in New England" (Press release). Jacksonville, Florida: CSX Corp. November 30, 2020.
  5. ^ Luczak, Marybeth (November 30, 2020). "Definitive? CSX Acquiring Pan Am Railways". Railway Age.
  6. ^ "STB Approves CSX-Pan Am Combination". RailwayAge. April 14, 2022.
  7. ^ Stephens, Bill (November 30, 2020). "CSX to acquire New England regional Pan Am Railways (updated)". Trains Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  8. ^ "Federal regulators put higher hurdle in front of CSX-Pan Am deal (updated)". Trains. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  9. ^ "Rail News – CSX files amended application for proposed Pan Am acquisition. For Railroad Career Professionals". Progressive Railroading. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  10. ^ "The Board Rejects as Incomplete the "Significant" Application Filed by CSXT & Pan Am in Control and Merger Proceeding". www.atlp.org. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  11. ^ "Federal regulators reject CSX-Pan Am merger application as incomplete (updated)". Trains. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  12. ^ "STB accepts updated CSX-Pan Am merger application". Progressive Railroading. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  13. ^ "SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD DECISION – Docket No. FD 36472" (PDF). Progressive Railroading. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  14. ^ "STB Approves CSX-Pan Am Combination". RailwayAge. April 14, 2022.
  15. ^ Berzon, Alexandra; McIntire, Mike (2024-07-28). "A Pedigreed Rail Magnate Is Pouring Millions Into Electing Donald Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  16. ^ Haberman, Shir. "DOT ready to pull Boston-Maine's license to fly".
  17. ^ "Welcome to Pan Am Services!".
  18. ^ Pan Am company newsletter, January 2006
  19. ^ "D'Amore-McKim School of Business – Northeastern University". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  20. ^ "Guilford Xpress, Vol. 15, Issue 7". {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  21. ^ "Home page".
  22. ^ "Licensing". Pan Am. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  23. ^ Schneider, Michael (September 20, 2010). "Pilot flies Pan Am". Variety. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
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