CR to bad for conrail

I was just sitting here thinking how different the railroad would be if conrail never fell. just thing we would see all that great blue all over the place again and the units would not be getting painted that ugly black that they are all getting now. any other thoughts would be great on the subject

thanks
mike

 

yeah. Well, it almost became all CSX's for a while then NS jumped in during negotiations and offered more than CSX and so the reailroad was split up accordingly. I'm in the heart of CSX country so I never did see a lot of CR blue, there's not a lot left as it is now.

 

And by the way, the whole history of Conrail had financial problems. New York Central and Pennsylvania both had money problems, then they merged to make the Penn Central, from what I have read, Penn Central was a disater so the government stepped in to save the Northeastern rail systems and made Conrail and Amtrak. Conrail was eventually released from government control and they got bought out by Norfolk Southern and CSX.

 

I have always been a fan of the CR blue.... it is a welcomed addition to NS's drab black paint jobs.

Harold

 

When did Conrail fall? I see conrail locos all the time!

 

hello, on this conrail board go to history of conrail question & theres your anwser, conrail never really fell....

 

Conrail is a wholley owned subsiderary of Norfolk Southern 58% and CSX 42% and is operated as a terminal switching railroad in the following areas.
North Jersey
Philadelphia
Detroit
Conrail Shared Assets does not own any locomotives, they are provided by the owner roads.

 

These locomotives have the color schemes of their owners? Or do they run in Conrail livery?

 

They are in Conrail Blue, CSX colors and NS Black. What ever is assigned.

 

Does anyone remember back in '85 when NS wanted to buy Conrail from the Federal Government? Elizabeth Dole was Secretary of Transportation at the time. I've got a newspaper article which has a photo of her handing over a model CR locomotive to some NS official. The deal was blocked.

I'm much more nostalgic about Conrail's predesecor roads than CR, talk about variety in the North East!

 

In the northeast were passenger trains very common, so creating Amtrak was a relief for northeastern roads, or not? OK, not PC was the direct reason, but the many problems in that area can have helped?

 

I think you are right, Thieu. The North East Corridor was a major factor in Amtrak's creation. In fact, I'd say preserving Penn Central's NEC was the focus behind it all. It was clear PC couldn't continue to operate all those trains, as being forced to do so. Amtrak should have been created in 1961, and the various commuter agencies in 1963 not 1983. However, IMHO, the freight rail map would look the same today regardless. Big railroads don't want competion, hence there is no competion today. Two railroads on each coast is not competition but rather a coalition.

 

Still getting the hang of this new Trainboard.