Hunter Harrison's in: CP's beaver pounding its tail?

Well, Hunter did not have to deal with the Selkirk Mountains on IC or CN!

Stay tuned for action after the first of the year.

Mountain grade territory is not a problem on CPR.  Their current condition is the result of poor performance and lost business.  Hunter Harrison will certainly ruffle feathers, but he will wade in and start changing basic things like service frequency, dwell time, on-time departures and scheduled time in transit.  He is not likely to be popular with employees or managers, but he was appointed, not elected.  His style is not Canadian civility -- he's abrasive -- but what was once a very fine railway needs to be awakened to the current era.

Personally, I am a CPR fan, and would like to see the railway again prosper and perform at a high level.  The way it's been going, the future did not look favorable.

I'm sure that Hunter Harrison will "turn the CPR around", but hope he maintains the steam program with Hudson #2816.

CN under Hunter Harrison was one of the best Class 1 railroads I dealt with.  If he can bring CP into the same class as CN; as a shipper, I will be entirely supportive of his efforts.  Say what you will about his temperament, Hunter has an attention to operational details that I doubt any other Class 1 CEO can come close to.

Assuming he chooses to bring his scheduled railroad operating model to CP, it will be interesting to see how well this rolls out across the CP.  CN was a manifest network, well suited for the scheduled concept.  CP, in western Canada at least, is heavily oriented toward unit trains of bulk commodities such as sulfur, potash, coal and grain.  And, since a unit train is normally ready to roll when the shipper says it is, I suspect that Hunter will be upsetting some large unit train shippers, in addition to CP employees, as this moves along.

Curt 

What is also an issue is the old SOO main vis Porter to the Windy City.  That line needs major investment like passing sidings.  Also, there are gas plays in the Dekotas like the Eagle Ford in Texas which is streching some branch lines to its limits

I wish him well and hope he can turn things around. That sound you hear is not the Beaver's tail but rather HUNTER'S TAIL

 I would beg to differ on the comment "moutain grade territory is not a problem".

 I do not believe CP can run Freight at the same track speed as CN, thru Kicking Horse and Roger Pass? It takes almost an hour for a train to decend/ascend the grade from Hector BC to Field(approx 12 miles and 1329' elevation difference), and then there is the issue of Rodgers Pass. Besides the grades, there are also numerous sharp curves, snow and slides to contend with. CN also has the easiest grades thru the mountains of any Class One Railway. Al

CN has easier grades then UP?

CN's mainline thru the Rockies is the lowest elevation of any Class One railroad.

Grades? Yes, I guess they do, but not severe enough to order their diesels with dynamic braking. At least thats the way it was in the 1950's-70's. Al

Regarding Harrison vs the CPR Steam program: I would say CPR steam will survive only if there is a strong advocate in management who can furnish rock solid numbers regarding the business advantage of running it.

If the CPR steam program was just a toy of a previous management, then No. 2816 is a dead duck.

Now, are there any unit oil trains running of CP because of the frack and oil slate booms?

Yes, there are oil trains; oil has become a big business on the former D&H.  Here are some at the Port of Albany

When I said it was not a problem on CPR, I meant exactly that.  CP does mountain grade territory well.  That is not one of its problems.  It's a challenge, true, as it is for all mountain railroads, but CP is quite competent at operating trains and maintaining its railroad in mountains on heavy grades.  They don't need Hunter Harrison for that.

Their problems lie in other areas, where Hunter Harrison has a track record of success and CP does not.  CP has shown a lack of imagination and has been very traditional in its business practices, to the point that its customers have been finding other transportation solutions.  It needs coordination and accountability in scheduling and operating trains, longer sidings which will hold today's trains, and must reliably deliver cars when scheduled.  It is not the 1950's, when customers had to take what the railroad offered.

 No problem Number 90. I am not up to speed on the "Business End" of Railroads, but I do realize the closures on CP, that CN does not have to contend with. In Calgary, CP has increased siding length and spent alot of cash on grade reduction on the Laggan Sub. CP deals mainly with unit train commondities and does not have the trucking business anymore, unlike CN. CP does do mountain railroading well, but still has to deal with line closures due to the terrain. This of course costs millions of dollars per trains delayed. As for 2816, I don't think it will fit into the new managements vision. Al

Al you probably are right about 2860 but I hope that their might be a place in the plan.

Now, did CPR own CP Air at one time?

They owned CP Air, CP Ships, CP Coal, CP Hotels as well as the railroad.

At one time, the CN had a built in hold on its passenger trains, so that they were not faster than the CP. 

The story about the surveyor for the CP is humorous.  He was kicked in the head by one of his horses at what is now know as Kicking Horse Pass.  CP was slow in paying for work done, so he did the rest of the line as the "crow flies."

Just an update. Calgary Sun newspaper announced today that 4500 employees will be laid off. Just in time for Christmas!   Al

Al sounds like he is trying to make savings. Never a good time to cut jobs. Hope things get better for the CP.

Not familiar with the details of the Canadian Pacific ledger. Was the ever a year when the road was not profitable? Believe the CP has maintained a fairly pristene record through thick and thin. 

Layoffs over how many years?

Gunny

According to an Assocoated Press story published December 4th, 4500 employees to be eliminated by 2016, about 20 % of the workforce. 1700 positions will be cut by the end of this year.

In addition,the AP story says CP is looking to sell 660 miles of track in South Dakota and 3 surrounding states and in the east is dumping the Delaware & Hudson in New York & Pennsylvania.

The investment company that siezed control of CP appears to be on a slash & burn to raise money for stock dividend boosts and buyback of the investment company stake.

Sad to see another railroad on its way to being a fallen flag.

Tony

Up on "The D & H Bridge Line"

 On top of that, Headquarters for CP has been in Downtown Calgary since their move West. Now, they are moving all the offices down to Ogden yard. I wondering what is going to happen to #29 that is sitting out in front of HQ now?

  Maybe, they'll sell it for scrap, along with Hudson #2816, Selkirk #5931........:>o

  Anything to make a profit, until it is sucked dry of cash.

  ARRRRGGH

Do you think that we will see a return of the D&H?  Iowa Pacific already has some diesels painted and are in the right area around Albany (Saratoga & North Creek).

Wow, would it be nice to see a fallen flag return...

thanks,

Mario.

My sense of this situation is there is only so much you can scrap, or throw out the window or lay off employees as a short term proposition of crisis management and this is not a new strategy to stop the bleeding and raise cash for investors, but it's one that is nearly always cyclic, the contraction of fixed assets and labor is one trend and then it goes back to the beginning of another cycle of expanding again. I would not directly blame investors or Harrison, but rather the previous management that did not use those assets wisely, and so there are real world consequences. I think the frustration with CP had been building for a long time and yet everything in all the signs of stagnation.. ( like many another case) was ignored as if they would magically go away. Sort of a double barreled act of self sabotage. A good metaphor would be a guy who has had health issues and expects to be cured by ignoring them. Duh.

More likely than not, Norfolk Southern will make a major push to buy the D&H. They have been after it for quite some time and it is the missing link in completing their Patriot Corridor. I know in my time with NS, the CP was always a pain to deal with in moving our freight to and from New England. I would be willing to bet you will see NS controlling most (if not all) of the former D&H by this time next year.

Sounds like they'll have to add another Heritage locomotive... GE, I'm sure!

"Head Hunter" Harrison strikes again.

Sow, do upper CP officials have to go out into the cold and actually see how a railroad works?

Well, the beaver no longer has to pound its tail.  It's not even on the CP website!