Rail World, Wheeling Corp. consortium barters purchase of B&A's rail holdings (7/26/2001)
7/26/2025A rail investment and management consortium, including Rail World Inc. and Wheeling Corp., is negotiating with Bangor & Aroostook Railroad System (B&A) to purchase its rail properties.
Yesterday, the consortium announced that the sale would include B&A's 420-mile Bangor & Aroostook Railroad Co., 86-mile Northern Vermont Railroad, 186-mile Quebec Southern Railway, 294-mile Canadian American Railroad Co., and Logistics Management Systems.
The sale will enable B&A to address recent cash flow problems and its heavy debt load, said Frederic Yocum, B&A president and chief executive officer, in a prepared statement.
The consortium includes several independent investors, including Jerry Davis, former Union Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroad president, and CSX Transportation executive vice president; Larry Parsons, chairman and CEO of Wheeling Corp.'s 680-mile Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Co.; and Joseph Gonzales.
Rail World President and CEO Edward Burkhardt is the founder and former chairman, president and CEO of Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp. In January, he tried unsuccessfully to replace WC's board with his own chosen board through a shareholder proxy.
Rail World also is a 25.5 percent owner of Baltic Rail Services, which in March was chosen as the preferred bidder for a 66 percent stake in Eesti Raudtee, Estonia’s government-run railway.
Source: Progressive Railroading Daily News