The I&M Rail Link was formed as a joint venture between the Montana Rail Link (MRL) and Canadian Pacific (CP), with MRL owning 67% and CP 33%, IIRC. After several years of not-too-impressive results, the railroad was sold to Cedar American, parent company of Dakota Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E), and became the Iowa Chicago & Eastern (ICE).
So my question is, did the ICE buy out both the MRL and CP, or is there still an IMRL corporate shell out there somewhere?
The Milwaukee Road (CP predecessor in these parts) corporation still exists as CMC Heartland, and still owns land that would/could otherwise be used to expand ICE’s Savanna Yard, and Penn Central corporation still exists, although its name was changed in the late 1990s. Are there any other corporations that have survived, although the railroad they once were affiliated with is now gone?
The Rock Island became Chicago Pacific Corporation after various parts of the railroad were sold off. It purchased the Hoover Company (vacuum cleaners) and I believe was in turn acquired by Maytag.
Penn Central became American Premier Underwriters Inc, which through other insurance mergers is now American Financial Group (d.b.a. Great American Insurance Group):
Northwest Industries Inc became Farley Industries Inc in 1985 and went bankrput in 1991. However, CNW was spun off into a seperate company known as Chicago & North Western Transportation Company in 1972, becoming CNW Corp. in 1986. This entity ceased existance when it was purchased and merged into Union Pacific Corporation in 1995:
According to an 11 February 2004 decision document issued by the Railroad Retirement Board, it appears that I & M Rail Link LLC, not only ceased to be a railroad, but ceased to exist in it’s entirety: