- Canton Railroad
Infobox_Company
company_name = Canton Railroad Company
company_
company_type = |Class III Switching Railroad Company foundation =1906
location =Baltimore, Maryland
key_people = |John C. Magness, President & CEO num_employees = |30 industry =
products =
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
homepage =Canton Railroad Company is an industrial switching railroad operating in eastern
Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The railroad serves theHelen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore and local shipping companies, and has Class 1 connections to the CSX and Norfolk Southern Railroads.History
After the federal government in 1905 enacteded legislation approving the
dredging of shipping channels to the Baltimore harbor to a depth of 35 feet, the Canton Company of Baltimore, a marine terminal operator, sought to develop property it owned in southeast Baltimore for use by manufacturers and shippers, which necessitated access to rail services. However, since neither of the two local railroad companies, the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) orPennsylvania Railroad Companies, were willing to extend their lines to undeveloped areas, in 1905 the Canton Company decided to build its own local railroad.cite book|last=Schlerf|first=Gary W.|authorlink= |title=The History of the Canton Railroad Company: Artery of Baltimore's Industrial Heartland|publisher=Taylor Publishing Co.|year=1984|location=Dallas, Texas|pages=19, 86|url= |doi= |id=
isbn= ] The Canton Railroad Company was Chartered in 1906 by the Canton Company,Citation |last=Keith|first=Robert C.|author-link= |title=Baltimore Harbor: A Pictoral History|place=|publisher=JHU Press|year=2005|edition=3rd|pages=174|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zgoUCozUOdgC&pg=PA174&lpg=PA174&dq=canton+railroad&source=web&ots=frXIXt5u4G&sig=D0xmyUAKVPNzeJDaTA-O4T1lVuo&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=9&ct=result#PPA174,M1|doi= |id= |isbn=0801879809|accessdate=2008-08-06] to serve industrial, manufacturing, and shipping customers in the Baltimore port area. The tracks were laid beginning with the interconnection with the Pennsylvania Railroad during the period from 1905 through 1914, and rail operations began in 1907. The B&O was interconnected in 1910.The Canton Company was purchased 1960 by a conglomerate, the International Mining Company. The Company passed through several owners in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1984, alleged financial improprieties by the owners of the Canton Development Company, then the owner of the railroad, led to its being placed into
receivership . The State of Maryland purchased the Canton Railroad at abankruptcy auction in 1987 for $875,000 to provide railway access to the Seagirt Terminal of the Port of Baltimore.The Canton Railroad dispute with Maryland involving whether the state
franchise tax on railroad activities in the port of Baltimore violated the Import-Export orCommerce Clause s of the Constitution led to the Supreme Court case "Canton Railroad Company v. Rogan ", 340 U.S. 511 (1951).Current operations
Today the Canton Railroad is owned by the Maryland Transportation Authority and operates as a for-profit enterprise. Engines used by the Canton Railroad are painted yellow and black in a pattern similar to that used in the Baltimore flag. The railroad currently operates over 16 miles of track.
The railroad's
Association of American Railroads reporting mark is CTN.References
External links
* [http://www.cantonrr.com/ Canton Railroad Company website]
* [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/32618/Canton%20Company%20of%20Baltimore%20Canton%20Railroad%20Company.jpg 1941 Map of Canton Co. and Canton Railroad Co. Property]
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