Iowa Pacific's North American freight services were operated by subsidiary Permian Basin Railways, which was formed in 2002 to operate the
Texas – New Mexico Railroad and the
West Texas and Lubbock Railway. Iowa Pacific through Permian Basin acquired the
Arizona Eastern Railway in 2004, (sold September 1, 2011 to
Genesee & Wyoming Inc.) the
San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad in 2005, the
Chicago Terminal Railroad in 2006 and the
Mount Hood Railroad in 2008. In addition to freight operations, Iowa Pacific operated several passenger trains through North America. The
Rio Grande Scenic Railroad began operations in 2006. The Mount Hood Railroad, which operates both freight and passenger services, was purchased in 2008, In August 2011, the Arizona Eastern Railway was sold to
Genesee & Wyoming. The
Saratoga and North Creek Railway began operations in the summer of 2011, offering scheduled passenger rail service, as opposed to excursion trains. Passenger operations ceased on April 7, 2018 as well as the final revenue freight train to remove stored tank cars. Iowa Pacific also owned the
Dartmoor Railway and had a controlling stake in the
Weardale Railway, both heritage lines in England. Iowa Pacific purchased the companies in 2008, operating them under the name
British American Railway Services. In 2012, Iowa Pacific acquired three railroad operations during the year: • In April it acquired the
Texas State Railroad, an excursion train operating between
Palestine, Texas and
Rusk, Texas. • In May it acquired operating rights on the Santa Cruz Branch between Watsonville and Davenport. The company established the
Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Railway to run freight and passenger services on the line, supplementing the existing
Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway operations. In November–December 2012, SCMB ran "The Train to Christmas Town," a holiday train based on a story written by Peggy Ellis and illustrated by
Jeff Lee (video game artist). • In October it purchased Cape Rail, a company that runs
Massachusetts Coastal Railroad and
Cape Cod Central Railroad. In February 2014, Iowa Pacific began test runs of the
Eastern Flyer, a proposed regular passenger train service between
Oklahoma City and
Tulsa. However, the company later abandoned the project. In April 2015, Iowa Pacific announced a deal with the Indiana Department of Transportation and Amtrak to supply rolling stock and on-board services personnel for the
Hoosier State, which runs between Chicago and Indianapolis. Indiana announced on January 30, 2017, that Amtrak would resume providing rolling stock for the
Hoosier State on March 1, as Iowa Pacific was no longer able to fulfill the contract. In May 2015,
Watco announced that it would purchase two Iowa Pacific subsidiaries, the
Texas & New Mexico Railway and the
West Texas and Lubbock Railway. In September 2015, Iowa Pacific took over operations of the
Grenada Railway in Mississippi. The Grenada Railway, was subsequently acquired by
RailUSA in August 2018 and renamed the Grenada Railroad.
Dissolution Iowa Pacific Holdings and its subsidiaries had severe financial trouble and held large debts. In 2019 and 2020, many of IPH's subsidiaries were placed into receivership. Along with IPH's subsidiaries facing serious financial trouble, Iowa Pacific's two main rolling stock holding companies, Heritage Rail Leasing and San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad were forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and were appointed a trustee by a U.S. bankruptcy court in Denver. Iowa Pacific Holdings itself filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. bankruptcy court in Northern Illinois in late March 2021. As of 2021, Iowa Pacific Holdings former rolling stock and subsidiary railroads have been sold and auctioned off by the appointed trustees. ==References==