Loadhaul
 |
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| Industry | Rail freight |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired by Wisconsin Central Ltd. |
| Successor | English Welsh & Scottish |
| Founded | 9 June 1994 as Trainload Freight North East |
| Defunct | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Doncaster, United Kingdom |
| Services | Freight train owner/operator |
| Parent | British Rail |
Loadhaul Ltd. was a railfreight operator based in the north-east of the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1994, as part of the privatisation of British Rail, and acquired in 1996 by a consortium headed by Wisconsin Central, then merged into a new company English Welsh & Scottish Railway.
Loadhaul was created in 1994, along with Transrail and Mainline as part of the broadly regional split of British Rail's Trainload Freight operations - Loadhaul's centre of operations were North East England, and South and East Yorkshire. The three companies were created with the aim of promoting competition between the businesses with the eventual aim of being privatised. It was initially and briefly named "Trainload Freight North East Limited" before being renamed Loadhaul Limited.
All three former Trainload Freight companies including Loadhaul were acquired in February 1996 by 'North-South Railways': a company formed by a consortium led by US railroad company Wisconsin Central, for a combined total of £225.15million (approximately $349 million). The USA based Omnitrax in association with Loadhaul management submitted an unsuccessful bid under the name "FirstFreight". The three companies together with Rail Express Systems were formed into a new company, English Welsh & Scottish (EWS).
In late 1995 the company employed 1,650, with a fleet of 194 locomotives and over 5000 wagons, carrying 38 million tons of freight with a revenue of $225 million (£144.9 million). The company's main locomotive depots were Immingham TMD, Blyth, Healey Mills, Thornaby TMD, Knottingley and at Doncaster Carr rail depot. Headed by Ian Braybrook who was previously a director for Trainload Freight, the company was split into two operational areas, North East and Yorkshire/Humberside. Each area had its own manager and administrative staff.
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