07-24-2010, 02:18 PM
Yes, Conrail was definitely a success story. The Penn Central... well, not so much. 2 more good books are THE MEN WHO LOVED TRAINS by Rush Loving, Jr. which tells about the PC failure and CR being formed, and NO WAY TO RUN A RAILROAD by Stephen Salsbury which is about the PC fiasco.
For the OP, my favorite RR is the Mighty Pennsy. From it's inception in 1846 the PRR added mileage to it's vast network, not only by building but also by buying, leasing, or merging smaller lines. I think most of the acquisitions were just that, acquisitions. Done by buying 51% of a company's stock, the PRR would then "control" the road. At times the PRR controlled the Wabash, N&W, Reading, Lehigh Valley, Long Island, etc. Not to mention the thousands of railroads that you've never heard of, since the PRR controlled them, and eventually merged them into the PRR's corporate structure. Some of these roads have been gone for 150 years! The Northern Central, Baltimore and Potomac, Union RR of Baltimore, Philadelphia Terminal RR, Philadelphia Wilmington and Baltimore, Pittsburgh Ft. Wayne and Chicago, The Vandalia Line, etc. all disappeared in that manner.
I know that I prolly didn't answer any questions but I would like to see more on this topic.
For the OP, my favorite RR is the Mighty Pennsy. From it's inception in 1846 the PRR added mileage to it's vast network, not only by building but also by buying, leasing, or merging smaller lines. I think most of the acquisitions were just that, acquisitions. Done by buying 51% of a company's stock, the PRR would then "control" the road. At times the PRR controlled the Wabash, N&W, Reading, Lehigh Valley, Long Island, etc. Not to mention the thousands of railroads that you've never heard of, since the PRR controlled them, and eventually merged them into the PRR's corporate structure. Some of these roads have been gone for 150 years! The Northern Central, Baltimore and Potomac, Union RR of Baltimore, Philadelphia Terminal RR, Philadelphia Wilmington and Baltimore, Pittsburgh Ft. Wayne and Chicago, The Vandalia Line, etc. all disappeared in that manner.
I know that I prolly didn't answer any questions but I would like to see more on this topic.
-Dave