One of my other hobbies is listening to Old Time Radio ("OTR") shows. I downloaded one last night which is interesting. From January of 1948, the show "Information, Please". Sort of a quiz show, at the beginning is announced they are sponsored by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. Then about thirteen minutes in, is a break where they discuss how the C&O is trying for an affiliation with the New York Central, by placing a person or persons on the NYC board of directors. Apparently in has been in government hands at that point, for a while, and they are not happy with the time lapse. So, now I am wondering if this was approved and happened, or not? Does anyone know?
Without doing further research, some (all?) railroads were taken over by the government due to the war effort and to assure service to strategic concerns. I think there may have been some labor grumblings as well and any disruption was not to be tolerated. I do remember hearing that maintenance really went downhill during that period and the affected railways had a lot of catching up to do. Maybe I will come up with more later...
Here is a link to some railroad politics and the War Production board. http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/world-war-ii-railroads1.htm
Not sure I'm following. The feds did take control late in WWI, with the USRA. But I don't recall that kind of initiative for WWII and later. This radio show was aired in 1948, well after WWII ended. This was peacetime. Pre-Berlin Blockade.
To my knowledge, the Feds never took control of the RRs during WW-II. However, Truman did block a threatened industry-wide strike shortly after the war ended. I don't remember which craft(s) threatened the strike, or the rationale, but Truman made the case that the country was just recovering from the war, manufacturing companies were trying convert back to peacetime production as quickly as possible, and hundreds of thousands of returning GIs needed jobs. Congress and Judicial backed Truman 100%, so the craft(s) accepted the 90 (180?) day "cooling off" period and no strike was called.
I can remember as a small boy, there was still fallout and some arguing over so-called "featherbedding" issues. I recall it on radio and TV. But what was ongoing in late 1947, early 1948 with the C&O wanting to place people on the BOD of the NYC?
Well, duh. Why don't I link it so folks can listen for themselves? Go to: http://otrrlibrary.org/ Scroll down to Series "I" and click; Scroll down to "Information Please", click; Scroll all the way down to the very last show dated 48-01-30. You can left mouse click to open and listen on line, or right mouse click to save an MP3 file to your computer or device. The first mention is seconds in from the beginning. The next, that conversation I referenced, is just shy of thirteen minutes.
Here is some information to sift through that may answer your question. Seems then-C&O Board Chairman Robert Young wanted to orchestrate a merger. Young eventually went on to the NYC as Board Chair, I believe http://www.ominousweather.com/GlobalHighway/RobertYoung1.html
Rats. Can't get that page to load right now. But that sounds like an interesting reason for such maneuvering.
I think there was something to the Robert Young story, they allude to it on Wickapedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_and_Ohio_Railway They don't give the complete story, however; The details about the railroad maintenance came from one of those old wartime movie clips. The stockholders wanted to get out from under government authority as soon as possible both to become profitable and maintain their infrastructure. Apparently, the government was a poor steward (you think). The details about the maintenance issues. I think came from the Chicago Great Western, on their wickapedia page the deferred maintenance is alluded to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_and_Northwestern_Railroad In addition to the takeover, my thought is some railroads were better able to maintain their fleet (during the WWII) and/or remain profitable and there was some advantage to alignment with these.
Maintenance backlogs can come about due to financial issues. Deferred maintenance, which has ended more than few railroads, (as it is often an unrecoverable situation), is a management choice which frequently backfires.
Thinking about it more, the takeover attempt, stock purchases, and those types of issues probably has more to do with (the original post) what went on than the running of the actual railroad. My experience with corporations is the long term needs are often misunderstood and sidelined in favor of immediate gains.
I finally got around to looking this up in one of my C&O history books, "C&O for Progress." It says in 1947 C&O chairman Robert Young had the C&O purchase 10% of NYC stock, hoping to merge the 2 lines. This began a battle with the ICC, as one could imagine. Young and the C&O lost, as he would, in fact, go on to control the NYC but had to sever all ties with the C&O. He committed suicide in 1958 after the NYC spent several years on a downhill slide. Hope this gives you a more complete answer!
It does! Exactly what I was hoping to learn. The ICC situation is exactly what they're talking about in that recording. Thanks! I have found all kinds of fascinating stuff in these Old Time Radio shows. This was just the latest I'd stumbled upon. There are shows with guests recorded on trains, other commercials, mentions in news and more.
I agree with what is being said about the Robert Young affair. He got his personal henchman, Al Perlman, as the President of the NYC. Bob Youngs famous bromide was that "A pig can go from coast to coast without changing cars, but you can't" . That prodded the institution of the "famous" Pullman through-car service from coast to coast. Charlie
