Hello all. I am trying to put together a family tree of sorts for all the major railroads in the US and Canada. I would like to know what rail roads merged to form other rail roads, or what roads were bought out by other roads. For example, I know BNSF was formed by a merger between Berlington Northern and Santa Fe. I know Conrail was not around that long.What can you tell me about the history of Conrail?? What happened to Conrail? Who bought it out? I will be researching this on the internet, but any info you can add would be greatly appreciated. I will be asking a similar question of each of the major Roads in the other Rail Road forums, so please feel free to lay out as much info as you like. Thanks All!
well not a short story but......in a nut shell conrail was born april 1 1976 from 6 bankrupt railroads in the northeast,penn cental,erie lackawanna,lehigh vally,reading,lehigh&hudson river,central of n.j.&pen-reading seashore lines(last r.r. not bankrupt) and where apointed to run the ann arbor r.r. for 1year.. there were owned by the government who after many attepts to sell or auction the r.r. off,in 1987 c.r.went puplic on the stock market. there down fall was all the rail mergers of the 90's out west s.f. merged with b.n.,up took s.p. and c&n.w. with 2 class1 r.r. out west &3 in the east conrail feared that u.p teamed up with csx&b.n.s.f. teamed with n.s. conrail would lose trans continental movments(a big blow to the stock holders.so they put themselfs up for sale.csx &n.s. on a final note, conrail tried &lobbied to buy the cotton belt but u.p. wouldn't budge on c.r. offer. had the bin able to buy it things would have been alot different now. o.k. my fingers are tired but i hope this helps.anymore questions drop me a line. this was a railroad i still love............
Conrail ran it`s course as it was supposed to in my opinion. It was a ward of the state that turned into a solid performer, then spun off to a few railroads to offer competition for the major routes of NYC and Philly. As well as the hot intermodal routes on the old NYC water level route. What saved Conrail and killed PC, EL and others was the implementation of the Staggers act in the early 80`s that let CR set their own freight rates. And the ability to unload the cash depleting commuter lines and spin them off to their respective state agencies like SEPTA and NJ Transit. I got to see all of her, from the battered mix and match power barely limping along to the SD60M`s with double stacks flying down perfect rail on a well maintained physical plant
Conrail was the biggest piggybacker in the US years ago. Conrails alpha symbols was created by Richard Spence(Spence later left CR for SP). Conrails first profit wasn't under Stanley Crane,but under Edward Jordan,Conrails first chairman. Conrail unloaded commuter operations in the 80's(1983?). Conrail was formed with 19,000 miles of track and 100,000 employees. Conrail served,in the beginning,16 states,two Canadian Provinces(ON and Quebec)and the District of Columbia. Conrails least trackage was in VA(15). Conrail pulled out of Ontario in 1985(still ran freights into Ontario). Conrail pulled out of these states-RI,KY,VA. Conrail was owned 85% by the Government and the other 15% by CR employees(In the beginning). Conrail had a chairman that died while in office(Richard Sandborn). Conrail,in it's beginning,had to give DH Railway locomotives and trackage rights,as an offset for competition. Conrail did not die.It survives in Detroit,MI,North/South NJ,and the Philly area as a switching Railroad for parents CSX/NS.
If I remember right,Conrail was made up from the Erie Lackawanna ( Erie RR & DL&W),Penn Central (Pennsylvania & NYC RR's),CNJ,Reading,N&W,Lehigh Valley. I beleive it was April 1,1976 when they started. They also took over the commuter passenger service in NJ. That was until 1983 when New Jersey Transit was formed. They (NJT), are now the 3td largest transit agency in the USA.
Often forgotten when listing the fallen flags of Conrail are the shortlines that also joined the mix. Roads like the Ironton or the Niagara Junction. In 1993, Conrail absorbed the Monongahela (not to be confused with the Monon or the Monongahela Connecting).
Secret Weapon and Triplex,you guys are right on the money on those posts.CR also had ownerships in EMP,CASO,Detroit River Tunnel,BRC,IHB,TTX,CRL,Partial ownership in THB many years ago,P&PU,Lakefront Dock,Triple Crown Services,Merchants Dispatch,LMS,Albany Port Railway,Conrail Direct,CRC Properties,CRR Investments,and some more(Not all are listed). Conrail was bigger than some people think it was....
Man, this post makes me feel old! Anyone else? Having said that, I'm now glad I barely remember Erie Lackawanna at Suffern NY!
If you really want an in depth, play by play, of the events that led up to the creation of Conrail and the division of it between CSX and NS, you need to read "The men who loved Trains" by Rush Loving Jr. I got the book for Christmas and am most way through it. It starts way back with PRR and the NYC and how they fell into the failed merger, tracking all the personalities that shaped the entire railroad industry from Amtrak to the Staggers Act.
BoxcabE50-Somewhere in the mix, I believe they also ingested the Raritan River Railroad. Yes,Conrail had an ownership in Raritan River Railroad.Conrail had past ownerships in TP&W,Akron Barberton Belt,Lake Erie and Eastern,PTL(Pennsylvania Truck Lines),and Pittsburgh,Chartiers and Youghiogheny Railroad.
Conrail on April 1, 1976 also took over the operation of the Ann Arbor Railroad until the State of Michigan took over 18 months later.
That would be 1/3 MGA Monongahela Railway, 1/2 PCY PC&Y (Pittsburgh Chartiers & Youghiogheny from the PRR, and from the NYC subsidiary (PLE) 1/3 MGA , 1/2 PCY PC&Y(Pittsburgh Chartiers & Youghiogheny. I believe PLE may have retained their interest in the lines during the PC merger.
