Who currently owns the CNJ on paper?

I read that the B&O actually owned the CNJ. When the CNJ divested itself of RR assets in 1976 to CR it still existed on paper and became a developer of industrial parks on its land next to the rr tracks. Since the B&O eventually became present day CSX, does this mean that those industrial parks owned by the CNJ corp are actually owned by CSX?

If CSX owned all or most of the common stock in CNJ, then theoretically they own the remaining assets.

I also read that the CNJ was owned by CSX (then B&O), who was financially healthy. They kept the CNJ active to create huge losses and thus tax write offs. But finally gave up the ghost in 1972 in PA when their lease on the L&S was up and totally gave up in 1976 as an easy way out via the fed gov't creation CR. Any truth to this?

There was a thread floating around here about 2 years ago how apparently some movie production company from Australia or something along those lines who bought up a bunch of CNJ stock uses the name in some shape or form claiming they have a "railroad background"... :rollseyes:

I have always been under the impression that the Jersey Central had been under the control/majority ownership of the Reading Railroad for a large part of it's existance.

My turn to pile on..

I've been told that all CNJ property is now under the control/ownership of NJT. I don't know if this is true or not, but it's what I heard.

The CNJ estate became Central Jersey Industries.

The name, reporting marks, and logo rights now belong to Norfolk Southern.

sullivan1985 wrote:There was a thread floating around here about 2 years ago how apparently some movie production company from Australia or something along those lines who bought up a bunch of CNJ stock uses the name in some shape or form claiming they have a "railroad background"... :rollseyes:

Sully, I think you are referring to the Reading - there is a Reading Cinema in Manville I think it is - the movie reel and film strip morph into railroad tracks on the sign for the place. its pretty cool looking.

http://www.readingrdi.com/home/index.asp

[Moved to the CNJ Forum for additional exposure - omv]

There are more theaters in the Reading chain, in Australia if memory serves. They are the direct decendant of the RDG but will have nothing to do with the railroad. I believe the CNJ was disolved in the late 1980s but can't find the thread that covered that. It may have been on a previous incarnation of rr.net.

I can't answer the question of CNJ Industries ownership (if it still exists as such), but in any event B&O/Chessie/CSX had/have no direct stock interest in the former railroad company. As noted above, B&O controlled the CNJ indirectly through the Reading, but it liquidated its Reading interest in the late 1960s, as I recall. CNJ, of course, subsequently went through bankruptcy, eliminating whatever common stock interest remained.

B&O/Chessie and N&W did try to keep the CNJ afloat by providing locomotives and other equipment. Possibly, too, loans were made, but there wasn't any stock investment.

CJI (Central Jersey Industries) is long gone.. Merged into a metals corp in the late 80's...

The routes that are still operated are basicall owned by who runs them... i.e. NS, NJT, RBMN... nothing too secret squirrel about it...

Micah

Bought some old TRAINS magazines from the 1970's a few weeks ago and ironically enough I found a mention in one of the stories about C&O/B&O ownership. The article said that between the two of them, C&O/B&O controlled about 45% of the Reading which in turn controlled the CNJ. The article went on to say that the C&O / B&O was in such a hurry to divest themselves that the shares were sold for 10 cents apiece versus the market price of $1.30- $1.65.

The present day "Reading Co" has nothing to do with the old railroad. Basically, when the Reading RR was bankrupt and its stock near worthless, the stock was acquired by a lawyer. The lawyer then sold all the company's remaining real estate assets to provide capital $ for his idea of a movie theater chain. So basically the old Reading RR was looted and cashed in.

And most movie theater chains are going broke nowadays anyway so alls well that ends well.

I would be careful how you use the "looted and cashed in" wording. While the process worked somewhat like that, it's important to keep in mind the company was bankrupt, the trains were part of Conrail, and there was no hope of running green locomotives with black diamonds under that corporate structure or in that decade. So yes, the stock was totally used to help fund a movie chain, but no, there was nothing sly or deceptive about the practice, and it was likely an involved and somewhat risky transaction - it's not likely this guy made a quick million, because otherwise you'd see the LVRR movie chain, the Rock Island movie chain, and the SPRR movie chain...