American dollars are called greenbacks. I’m not sure what Canadian dollars are called.
How does the value relationship between American and Canadian dollars effect railroads? Do all the Class 1’s operate at least some trackage in Canada?
The dollar coins are called “Loonies” as there is a loon on the coin. I’ve heard the two dollar coin called “toonies.”
Methinks that the exchange rate will have more to do with the goods carried than the railroad itself, all though I suppose that something like fuel could present an interesting situation. If a locomotive fills up on one side of the border, is that several thousand gallons (with a value perhaps approaching five figures) factor in when it crossed the border?
“So, what’cha smugglin’ with that locomotive?” “Diesel fuel…”
As Larry said, we have loonies and toonies (coins) for our ones and twos, and our fives, tens, twenties, ect are still paper. When we had two dollar paper bills, they were shunned in the Province of Alberta, which is something like a northern version of Texas.
BNSF operates a line into Vancouver with a few trains a day (and Amtrak) and also operates a segment in Winnipeg. UP has no Canadian trackage. CSX and NS have downgraded their operations in Ontario, and may be gone altogether. I’m not sure if CSX still operates the ex Conrail line into Montreal.
CN’s operating ratio has been hurt by the falling US dollar, as revenue from the American operations no longer benefits from the exchange rate.
CPR and CNR pretty well have(had) the country well covered, there are a few private mini-lines springing up and some seem successful, by the way, just how far is South Dakota from the Canadain border???
[}:)][:D]
If you mean the line out of Syracuse, yes, it’s still active.
You can’t get there from here. Canadain, I mean.
Offhand, I’d say we’re 400 miles from Canada. That seems like a long way, but those Alberta Clippers seem to make the trip in no time.[;)]
Is the business of CN and CPR done in American dollars, Canadian dollars, or both?
Just a correction here 'cause I sure as heck don’t know what a Canadain is??? We up here north of the US 48 are known as CANADIANS.
[:-^]
Blue Flamer.
I’m pretty sure the employees are paid in their own currency, regardless of which side of the border they live on.
There are different work rules, operating rules, etc., for Canadian employees, so they’re pretty well kept separate.
The only time where you’ll really have a problem is when reporting systemwide figures, such as income, revenues, or capital expenses. I think that for some cases, that’s why Soo Line and Grand Trunk are still separate entities. But when you hear how many millions CN or CP are spending for improvements in a given year, I suspect that such figures are in Canadian dollars.
It hurts, but it’s true…
Oil fields, cowboys, cowgirls, country music, pick-up trucks and low taxes.
Winter is the main difference. [;)]
For truckers who crossed the border on a regular basis they were paid in US dollars, whether their home was in Canada or the US. The tariffs were mostly US based on most goods. There was generally an added amount for customs that was added to the Owner operators take as this sometimes could be a lengthy process if the papers were not in order. Going south into the US I never had problems with the custom documents but northbound was another story. My experience was few US companies had anyone on staff that could properly fill out Canadian custom documents. For me it was cheaper to sit at there typewriter and do the papers myself for them. All the customer needed to do was sign them and I was on my way. When I began the Canadian dollar was ten cents more than the US dollar but then they elected Pierre Elliot Trudeau and the US dollar quickly became worth more than its Canadian counterpart.Its just now that the Canadian dollar has climbed above the US dollar in value once again.
Next y’all will want to seperate. [;)]
I never heard of the shunning of the two dollar bill. Anyone care to enlighten a Bluenoser?
I would go into canada with my own money ('merican dollars) and it was about .70 USD to 1.00 cdn at the time. Truckstops exchanged both money systems at point of sale without issues. Take 10 dollars into a Ontario Truckstop, buy a 10.00 meal and leave with 3.00 in canadian money.
After a time I had a warchest of canadian money that would be useful in places that turned up thier noses at the US Dollar.
Customs were taken care of by company agents who only deal with loads cross border in, I dont take loads OUT. Too much hassle. Easier to slip into Buffalo and grab brass coil and ship it to Remington for Rifle Ammo.
One other thing, the loads going north usually had specific paperwork pre-clearing customs, but still had to check in when you get there. A few hours wait for a rubber stamp wasnt uncommon back then.
Canada was more useful as a Food source as you could buy things not availible in the States. A case of Orange Pekoe Tea would be good for a month or more and better than the US watered down with dye and flavor added for example.
Every Canadian high-school graduate knows the term “parity,” which means “one to one.” I recall that a lot of time the Canadian dollar was fairly close to the U.S. Dollar, maybe CDN$0.92 for every $1.00.
It was that way the first time my family and I first visited Canada in 1971. Things were on the cheap side for us Yanks, except the gasoline of course. I remember paying seven cents for a fresh donut at Eaton’s!
The trouble with parity today is that what is sold in Canada is generally much more highly denominated in CDN dollars than it would be in US dollars. Look on the back of any Hallmark card and you are likely to see US$2.49 - Can$3.49 and that kind of thing. When the original Trivial Pursuit went on sale (its origin is Canada), I recall one journalist commenting that the game went at the “Very Canadian price of [more than thirty Can. dollars].” When it became widely obtainable down here, it cost about $25.00.
The Province of Quebec used to have a mechanism where if you bought things from Quebec that weren’t immediately consumable (gasoline, hotels, restaurant food), you could save your receipts and file with the Quebecan(?) government for a refund on that province’s sales tax. (Many European governments had been doing that for years relative to their Value Added taxes.) I don’t know if that is still the case in Quebec, but there surely is a nasty GST (Goods and Sales Tax?? Government Sales Tax???) at, IIRC, seven percent. Add that to any province’s own sales tax and you are paying, in effect, as much as a Value Added Tax in addition to the already highly-denominated Canadian products.
It might help to remember that while the Canadian dollar is strong, it is not “their fault.” It’s the U.S. dollar that is extraordinarily weak. When Euros debuted in the late 20th Century, the U.S. dollar was supposed to
The 2 dollar bill was emphatically shunned, so much , banks refused to have them brought in, I used to watch a barber collect them and cut the corners off before he took them to the bank so they would be destroyed, people flatly refused them, also remember, there was no slot in a cash register for a two dollar bill. The reason for shunning the 2 was that it was the price for a “lady of the evening” at that time, if hubby came home on payday with a $2.00 she assumed he had made a few stops on the way home, I believe this was a “prairie” thing and it was very much a part of western Canadian living., Another, even more amazing story involves $2.00’s and the Air Force in Moose Jaw, Sask.(another time)
I would suggest murphy take a trip to Canada, 7 or 8 hour trip by car 8, 20 minutes by plane, which province would you like to see?? come up and see some trains and trains in Mountains. be sure to bring “greenbacks” even if they are not anymore. 400 miles is NOT a long way, unless you lived in Iceland.
Well, I lived in Alaska, do I get any brownie points for that? [:P] And I like Canadian beer![^]
The reason I asked, was, that I was curious how the changing value of the dollar affects railroads. I guess I could have gone the other direction, and asked about Pesos and American/Mexican railroading…but… that would have made the thread go in a different direction…and it probably would have been locked by now.[xx(]
My wife wanted us to drive up the AlCan last summer, for a quick vacation. She doesn’t always get distances and drive time.[;)]
Well, one effect of the weak American dollar would be that CN and CP shell out fewer CDN dollars to pay their American employees. What with Canada’s having nat’l health care already and a comparable standard of living, I’d guess it is cheaper to pay most job positions in the USA than in Canada. Since CP owns the Soo plus other lines and CN goes all the way to New Orleans, there probably is some work that could be shifted south in terms of repa
Brace yourselves, we are coming! Choice transatlantic seats are becoming scarce here in the Netherlands.
greetings,
Marc Immeker