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This is the determination of the Railroad Retirement Board concerning the
continuing status of Coe Rail, Inc. (Coe) (B.A. No. 3266) as an employer under
the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. § 231 et seq.) (RRA) and the Railroad
Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. § 351, et seq.) (RUIA). Coe was initially
found to be an employer under the RRA and RUIA with service creditable from
August 23, 1984. See Legal Opinion L-85-30. Coe was originally a family-owned
business, with Mr. and Mrs. Laurence Coe the owners and sole employees. In
December 2006, Mr. Coe advised the agency that on June 2, 2006, Coe was sold. In
a letter dated February 28, 2007, Mr. B. Allen Brown, President and CEO of
Michigan Air-Line Railway (MAL), explained that Railmark Holdings, Inc., a
non-carrier railroad holding company,
purchased 100% of the stock of Coe on June 2, 2006. On June 22, 2006, Railmark
filed for a legal name change with the Michigan Secretary of State, changing the
name of Coe to Michigan Air-Line Railway.
In Surface Transportation Board Finance Docket No. 34902, MAL filed a notice
of exemption to acquire and operate approximately 8.07 miles of rail line from
Coe. MAL’s terminal is located in Walled Lake, Michigan, and MAL interchanges
with CSX in Wixom, Michigan. MAL provides freight rail services to two on-line
customers, American Plastic Toys, Inc. and Stock Building Supply Company. MAL
also serves an active rail-to-truck transfer facility on its line in Wixom, as
well as providing power and crew to pull the Michigan Star Clipper Dinner Train.
According to Mr. Brown, MAL spends 100% of its time doing rail carrier business;
50% of its revenue is derived from business with CSX Transportation, and the
remaining 50% of revenue is derived from customers and real estate leases. Mr.
Brown also explained that MAL assumed the existing employees of Coe as of June
2, 2006, as well as hiring two additional employees.
According to the information summarized above, it is clear that even though
Railmark Holdings may now be the owner of the entity formerly known as Coe Rail,
Inc., the entity itself is still an employer covered by the Acts. As Mr. Brown
stated, “MAL and Coe Rail, Inc. is the same legal corporate entity, just with a
name change”. Accordingly, it is the decision of the Board that the company
formerly known as Coe Rail, Inc. should now be known as Michigan Air-Line
Railway Company. Reports should be filed under the same B.A. number used by Coe
Rail, Inc.
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Original signed by: |
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FOR THE BOARD
Beatrice Ezerski
Secretary to the Board |
Railmark also owns Train
Travel, Inc., Rail Freight Solutions, Inc. and Railmark Track Works, Inc.
On June 28, 2006, an Amendment
to the Articles of Incorporation for Coe Rail, Inc. was filed, changing the name
of the entity to Michigan Air-Line Railway Company.
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