Guilford Rail System (GRS) is a regional freight railroad covering northern New England from Calais, Maine to Albany, New York. The primary subsidiaries of GRS are the Maine Central Railroad (MEC), the Boston and Maine Railroad (BM), and Springfield Terminal Railroad (ST). It is a subsidiary of Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI). Logo of the Guilford Rail System. ... The following are reporting marks assigned by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) to rail carriers operating in North America and the companies (railroads and rail equipment owners/operators) to which they were assigned. ... Modern New England, the six northeastern-most states of the United States, indicated by red The New England region of the United States is located in the northeastern corner of the country. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rail gauge is the distance between two rails of a railroad. ... A foot (plural: feet) is a non-SI unit of distance or length, measuring around a third of a metre. ... Mid-19th century tool for converting between different standards of the inch An inch is an Imperial unit of length. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... Modern New England, the six northeastern-most states of the United States, indicated by red The New England region of the United States is located in the northeastern corner of the country. ... Calais is a city in the state of Maine in the United States on the St. ... Albany is the capital of the state of New York in the United States of America. ... The Maine Central Railroad was a railroad in central Maine. ... The Boston & Maine (B&M) was the dominant railroad of the northern United States for a century. ... Guilford Rail is a freight railroad network that covers most of northern New England. ...

GRS is interesting in that it developed as a child of railroad deregulation in the United States. The passage of the Staggers Rail Act allowed GRS to execute a business plan quite unlike those of any earlier railroads in New England. GRS started by purchasing the MEC in 1981 from U.S. Filter Corporation. This was followed by its 1983 purchase of the BM and in 1984, GRS purchased the Delaware and Hudson Railroad (D&H). Its network sprawled from the border between Maine and New Brunswick to Boston, and west to Albany, north to Montreal, and south (via trackage rights) to New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 deregulated the railroad industry to a significant extent, replacing the regulatory structure that existed since the 1887 Interstate Commerce Act. ... Modern New England, the six northeastern-most states of the United States, indicated by red The New England region of the United States is located in the northeastern corner of the country. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Delaware and Hudson Railroad (D&H) ( AAR reporting mark DH) was a Class I railroad in the north-eastern part of the United States. ... State nickname: The Pine Tree State Other U.S. States Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Governor John Baldacci Official languages None Area 86,542 km² (39th)  - Land 80,005 km²  - Water 11,724 km² (13. ... Motto: Spem reduxit (Hope was restored) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Fredericton Largest city Saint John Lieutenant Governor Herménégilde Chiasson Premier Bernard Lord (PC) Area 72,908 km² (8th)  - Land 71,450 km²  - Water 1,458 km² (2. ... Nickname: Beantown, The Hub, Athens of America Location in the state of Massachusetts Founded September 17, 1630 County Suffolk County Mayor Thomas Menino (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 232. ... This article needs cleanup. ... A union station or union terminal is a train station where tracks and facilities are shared by two or more railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently between them. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... Independence Hall Philadelphia (sometimes referred to as Philly or the City of Brotherly Love) is the fifth most populous city in the United States and the most populous city in the state of Pennsylvania, occupying all of Philadelphia County. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

The GRS concept revolved around the idea that by buying up as many local railroads as possible, it would be able to have "full horizontal integration" over New England and the northern Mid-Atlantic states, gaining efficiencies of scale.

Following the purchases of MEC, BM and D&H, GRS began several major changes to the operations of these railroads and their workforces. One of the first changes took place with new management, followed by consolidation of locomotive repair work at the MEC shops at Waterville, Maine (resulting in repainting of locomotives from the predecessor companies into GRS corporate colors). Waterville is a city located in Kennebec County, Maine. ...

In the mid-1980s, GRS began to eliminate marginal low-density routes, particularly in Maine. Fully one-third of MEC trackage was eliminated, including: the "Mountain Division" from Portland, Maine to St. Johnsbury, Vermont; the "Rockland Branch" from Brunswick, Maine to Rockland, Maine; the "Calais Branch" from Bangor, Maine to Calais, Maine; and the "Lower Road" from Augusta, Maine to Brunswick, Maine. Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... Waterfront of Portland along the Fore River Portland is the largest city in Maine with a population of 64,249 citizens as of 2000. ... St. ... Brunswick is a town located in Cumberland County, Maine. ... Rockland is a city located in Knox County, Maine. ... Downtown Bangor, Maine Bangor is a city located in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. ... Calais is a city in the state of Maine in the United States on the St. ... Augusta is the capital of the state of United States. ... Brunswick is a town located in Cumberland County, Maine. ...

When the "Calais Branch" was cut, service was kept on a now-orphaned section of trackage running between Calais and a pulp mill in nearby Woodland, Maine; these tracks ran for several miles through New Brunswick, Canada and their only remaining connection to the North American rail network was with Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) at St. Stephen, New Brunswick. Following the Calais Branch abandonment, CPR agreed to haul GRS traffic from the interchange at Calais to an interchange with GRS at Mattawamkeag, Maine. To avoid costly labor union agreements which would make the Calais-Woodland service uneconomic, GRS leased the operation of this route to it's tiny Springield Terminal subsidiary which had much more adventagous labor agreements. Wood pulp is the most common material used to make paper. ... Woodland is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Maine: Woodland, Aroostook County, Maine Woodland, Washington County, Maine This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Motto: Spem reduxit (Hope was restored) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Fredericton Largest city Saint John Lieutenant Governor Herménégilde Chiasson Premier Bernard Lord (PC) Area 72,908 km² (8th)  - Land 71,450 km²  - Water 1,458 km² (2. ... The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR; AAR reporting marks CP, CPAA, CPI), known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited. ... St. ... Mattawamkeag is a town located in Penobscot County, Maine. ...

Springfield Terminal Railroad was a 6 mile short line connection from Springfield, Vermont to Charleston New Hampshire that was owned by the Boston and Maine Railroad. It had once been an interurban and following typical interurban and short-line practice, it had a union agreement that allowed fewer crew members per train and operation without cabooses. By the time Guilford took over, the operation had been cut back to a stub of a few hundred yards serving one customer and operating infrequently. Springfield, Vermont Springfield is a town located in Windsor County, Vermont. ... The Boston & Maine (B&M) was the dominant railroad of the northern United States for a century. ... Interurban was the name used to describe a streetcar line connecting urban areas, primarily during the early 1900s. ...

More branch lines were subsequently leased to Springfield Terminal Railroad and eventually all of the Boston and Maine Railroad and Maine Central Railroad was operated by Springfield Terminal. This saved GRS money but angered labor. In 1986, GRS endured a lengthy and extremely bitter strike by its workforce which required the intervention of President Ronald Reagan's administration. In 1988 GRS declared the D&H "bankrupt" and sold it in 1991 to CPR. The Boston & Maine (B&M) was the dominant railroad of the northern United States for a century. ... The Maine Central Railroad was a railroad in central Maine. ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Order: 40th President Vice President: George H.W. Bush Term of office: 21 January 1981 – 20 January 1989 Preceded by: Jimmy Carter Succeeded by: George H.W. Bush Date of birth: 6 February 1911 Place of birth: Tampico, Illinois Date of death: 5 June 2004 Place of death: Bel-Air... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the years which followed, GRS forced many management and salary changes, resulting in other strikes over wages and work rules.

A great many rail customers stopped using rail at the time of the strike, especially companies more dependent on reliable consistent service. Many current customers allege that Guilford service is very poor . (It should be noted that the rail industry in general does not have a very good reputation for service, but Guilford's reputation appears to be worse). In addition customers have alleged that Guilford has retalied against them after they have complained. The company has maintained that they have a good working relationship with their customers and there are no major problems.

The paper industry provide's the largest source of business, both inbound chemicals, clay and pulp (although Guilford has lost a lot of that business to truck) and outbound paper. Rail has a slightly more than 50% market share for outbound paper shipments from Maine, most of which must use Guilford (truck and boat carry the balance). By comparison, rail has a better than 80% market share from mills in Wisconson (primarily served by the Wisconson Central Railroad). This is not necessarily Guilford's fault as historical problems with the New Haven railroad have kept this market largely unavailable to Guilford.

In recent years, Guilford rail traffic has trended up somewhat, following national rail industry trends.

The main line runs from Mattawamkeag, Maine to Mechanicville, New York via the lines of the following former companies: Mattawamkeag is a town located in Penobscot County, Maine. ... Mechanicville is a city located in Saratoga County, New York. ...

• Maine Central Railroad: European and North American Railway, Maine Central Railroad main line
• Boston and Maine Railroad: B&M main line, Lowell and Andover Railroad
• Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&M subsidiary): Nashua and Lowell Railroad, Stony Brook Railroad
• Fitchburg Railroad (B&M subsidiary): Fitchburg Railroad main line, Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, Troy and Greenfield Railroad, Southern Vermont Railroad, Troy and Boston Railroad, Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway

The Maine Central Railroad was a railroad in central Maine. ... The European and North American Railway (E&NA) is the name for three historic Canadian and American railways which were built in New Brunswick and Maine. ... The Boston & Maine (B&M) was the dominant railroad of the northern United States for a century. ... The Lowell Line running from Boston, Massachusetts to Lowell, Massachusetts, originally the Boston and Lowell Railroad, is the oldest continually operated passenger train line in the western hemisphere. ... The Fitchburg Railroad (AAR reporting mark FBRG) was a railroad across northern Massachusetts, USA, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. ... The Troy & Greenfield Railroad, chartered 1848, ran from Greenfield, Massachusetts to the Vermont state line. ... TROY & BOSTON RAILROAD Troy & Boston Railroad Chartered Nov. ...

External links

• Official Site (http://www.guilfordrail.com/)