Why Exactly did CSX and NS take over CR? Was it the funding or did the US government just drop CR? The gov. did own CR, right!? ------------------ CSX and HO Scale The Newark Branch RR Ship it the good 'ole way, BY RAIL http://homestead.juno.com/huntertjo
Conrail was a private enterprise just like any other railroad-gov't ownership ended back in the 80's. CR was a money making rr; when the current head cheese Dave Lavan tried to strike up a merger with the CSXT, the NS got worried that the combined CR/CSXT would greatly overshadow the NS so they put in a bid to take over CR themselves and before you knew it, the NS & CSXT had outbid each other so much that the only thing left to do was to make a combined purchase and divide up CR between them. Dave Levan & the other head officers of CR walked off with MILLIONS of $$$$$ while the rest of poor souls wondered what the future would bring us. The result of it all is 3 areas still left as Conrail until the NS/CSXT can decide on how to operate those areas themselves- that's it in a nutshell- more or less.
well yes Conrail was owned by the Us Government. CSX was about 75% of the way of having total control of conrail in late 1997, but Norfolk Southern Butt in and pays more and gets more later I don't think that CSX iwas too happy with NS than but they are sharing locos more now than ever. ------------------ TrainBoard.com MEMBER#204 THE WEB PAGE IS NOW UPDATED!! Appalachian & Atlantic Model Railroad "QUALITY at WORK with SAFTEY in MIND"
I won't go in to detailed specifics (heck, I doubt I could get them right anyway ) but with the mega-merger mentality that was prevailing in the late 90's (I like to call it the buy or die, among the larger RR's ), Conrail became a prime acquisition target. The rest is, well, (muddled) history! Harold ------------------ Harold Hodnett Fan of NS, CSX, and their predecessors! Coming soon: The North Carolina Railfan Web Site http://www.trainweb.org/ncrail/
It has been my understanding that Conrail (CONsolidated RAILroad) was the government's freight version of Amtrak. This all came from the PC merger fallout, and the general decline of railroads in the lates 60s and 70s. Conrail was then turned into a powerhouse railroad, and the booming economy of the 90s helped this come to a peak. The split between NS and CSX has created four major US class 1s, and look for the next merger round to be east-west mergers (once the STB moratorium is lifted). Kind of trailed off there, but I hope you guys can dig something useful out of it. ------------------ Corey Lynch Pres - Rensselaer Model RR Society, NEB&W RR http://www.rpi.edu/~lynchc/Railfanning/railfanning.htm - My Site http://www.union.rpi.edu/railroad/ - NEB&W
Corey, Excellent dissertation there The thing that most people forget (except investors) is that the Gov't bailed out many of the failing RR's of the NE and brought them together under the CR banner. Who wouldn't like to have the resorces of the U.S. Gov't to finance your comeback Harold ------------------ Harold Hodnett Fan of NS, CSX, and their predecessors! Coming soon: The North Carolina Railfan Web Site http://www.trainweb.org/ncrail/ [This message has been edited by chessie (edited 05 January 2001).]
I hope that there will not be anymore "big" mergers/buyouts on railroads, now they are "the BIG 5" CSX Burlington Northern Santa Fe Union pacific Norfolk Southern ???Wisconsin Central??? ------------------ TrainBoard.com MEMBER#204 THE WEB PAGE IS NOW UPDATED!! Appalachian & Atlantic Model Railroad "QUALITY at WORK with SAFTEY in MIND"
No, actually there are 6 major North American Railroads BNSF UP CSX NS CN CP There are a couple, like KCS and WC, that are big, but are not the Class 1s that the above 6 are. ------------------ Corey Lynch Pres - Rensselaer Model RR Society, NEB&W RR http://www.rpi.edu/~lynchc/Railfanning/railfanning.htm - My Site http://www.union.rpi.edu/railroad/ - NEB&W
Hmm I don't think the ICC will allow very many more mergers. Probably if one get's too big, they'll have to split'em (not likely). LOng live the little ones!! ------------------ TrainBoard.com MEMBER#204 THE WEB PAGE IS NOW UPDATED!! Appalachian & Atlantic Model Railroad "QUALITY at WORK with SAFTEY in MIND"
OKay Ill try and make this short and sweet PC was the merger of NYC and PRR Feb 1 1968 PC went bankrupt June 21 1970 EL was formed by the merger of Erie and the Lakawanna and Western on October 17 1960 EL went bankrupt June 22 1972 On April 1 1976 the Penn Central (PC) Erie Lakawanna (EL) New Jersey Central (CNJ)(bankrupt March 27 1967) Lehigh & Hudson River (L&HR) (bankrupt April 18 1972) Pennsylvania-Reading Sheashore Lines (PRSL) Lehigh Valley (LV) (Bankrupt June 21 1970) and the Reading (bankrupt Novemeber 1970) were merged by the goverment into the Consolidated Rail Corp or Conrail. Then in 1989 Conrail bought the Monogahela Railway from P&LE and CSX Monogahela was absorbed into CR in 1992. The story is much longer and wider For more info refer to This site January 1999 Trains (which I used to help dig up this info) and the Conrail Cyclopedia Conrail Cyclopedia
Lets not forget that Conrail also operated the Ann Arbor Railroad for 18 months starting April 1, 1976!
This all goes without saying that NS has generally wanted to get CR since its creation. A book that I got from Conrail has a half-decently presented telling of CR's growth from rubble to a profitable corporation, and how they defended against takeover attempts by NS. (I am hoping that I am remembering accurately, the last time I looked at the book was a couple years ago )
From my observation, and I may have presented this in a prior message, Conrail was definately ripe for a takeover. In its early days, nobody wanted it... so the government took it over and pumped in a lot of $$$ to make it succeed. Anyway, good/bad, correct/incorrect, they are now gone... so we must move on Harold
Unfortunately Conrail is one of those poor unfortunate roads that probily wont have much equipment in meseums in CR paint.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chessie_SD50_8563: Unfortunately Conrail is one of those poor unfortunate roads that probily wont have much equipment in meseums in CR paint.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I agree with that... their existence was very "short" in terms of RR years... Harold
