Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WC) started in US in the mid-1980s using most of the original Wisconsin Central Railway's rights of way and some former Milwaukee Road rights of way after the Soo Line Railroad acquired the Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Minnesota holdings of the bankrupt Milwaukee Road and divested its older railway trackage in Wisconsin. In 1993 the Wisconsin Central also acquired the Green Bay and Western Railroad and the Fox River Valley Railroad.
In 1995, Wisconsin Central acquired the 322-mile (518 km) Canadian Algoma Central Railway whose tracks ran north of Sault Saint Marie to Hearst, Ontario. The Algoma Central runs a popular tourist passenger train through the Agawa Canyon and Agawa Canyon Wilderness Park near Lake Superior Provincial Park.
In 2001, the Wisconsin Central was purchased by Canadian National.[1] Along with the former Illinois Central Railroad, the former Wisconsin Central became part of Canadian National's United States holdings and its property integrated into the CN system.
1993: A Wisconsin Central-led consortium acquires New Zealand Rail through a new subsidiary, Wisconsin Central International, and renames it Tranz Rail in 1995[3]
1995: WC acquires the Algoma Central Railway through a new subsidiary, Wisconsin Central Canada Holdings[4]
1996: WC partners with Canadian National (CN) and CSX, inaugurating a new intermodal shipping corridor between the west and east coasts of North America
January 30, 2001: Wisconsin Central and Canadian National announce plans for CN to purchase the former for $800 million and the assumption of $400 million of WC's debt, it is completed on October 9, 2001[10]
January 1, 2013: Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway is merged into Wisconsin Central Ltd indirectly as parent company CN made the acquisition
References
^"Michigan's Railroad History 1825 - 2014" (PDF). Michigan Department of Transportation. 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
^Watson, Rip (August 30, 1993). "WISCONSIN CENTRAL CLOSES DEAL, TAKES OVER FOX VALLEY & WESTERN | JOC.com". www.joc.com. The Journal of Commerce Online. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
^WCTC consortium to buy NZ Rail Railway Age August 1993 page 10
^Wisconsin Central acquires Algoma Central Railway Age March 1995 page 6
^Confirmed - Wisconsin Central buys Rail express systems Rail issue 268 December 20, 1995 page 9
^Wisconsin Central to add TLF to UK portfolio Rail Privatisation News issue 21 January 25, 1996 page 1
^EWS the preferred bidder for Railfreight Distribution The Railway Magazine issue 1151 May 1997 page 12