prgclb (12/02/82)
This week's Crain's Chicago Business carried a page-one story on the Chicago and North Western's comeback from near-bankruptcy a decade ago to profitability today. The article notes that since the employee ownershp plan took effect on 6/1/72, no dividends have been paid -- they've all been put back into track work and other improvements. And this is the way the employees and investment community think it should be done. Other highlights: C&NW aggressively pared unprofitable branch lines and shored up their "Overland Route," because most of their bread-and-butter is interchange traffic between Conrail in Chicago and Union Pacific in Omaha. Also, big business now and in the future is coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin. Threats include Canadian Pacific subsidiary Soo Line, and possible Canadian National takeover of the bankrupt Milwaukee Road. Nevertheless, C&NW was predicted 10 years ago to wither away, but this fate fell to the Rock Island and Milwaukee Road. Carl Blesch