|
Seven Railroads were merged into Conrail on April 1,1976. Of these, the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a joint subsidiary
of Penn Central and the Reading railroads and was neither bankrupt nor made money. Of these railroads, the Penn Central, bankrupt
since June 21,1970 constituted 86 percent of Conrail's overall assets. These are the railroads in order of their collapse
and profiles. All are discussed in detail on another site:
1.Central Railroad of New Jersey (March 30,1967)
Mileage:582
Locomotives: 63 road, 46 switchers
Freight cars: 3483
Passenger cars: 80
Company Service: 74
2.Penn Central Transportation Company(June 21,1970)
Mileage:20,083
Locomotives: 213 electric,3900 diesel electric(3182 road,
931 switchers)
Freight cars: 167,600
Passenger cars: 3109
Trailers: 9940
3.Lehigh Valley Railroad (June 24,1970)
Mileage:925.53
Locomotives: 50 road, 96 switcher
Freight cars:4907
Company service: 249
4.Reading Company (November, 1971)
Mileage:1138
Locomotives: 177 road,73 switchers
Passenger cars: 183
Miscellaneous: 102
5.Lehigh and Hudson River Railway (April 30,1972)
Mileage: 86
Locomotives:9
Freight cars: 6
Miscellaneous: 13
6.Erie Lackawanna Railway Company (June 26,1972)
Mileage: 3029
Locomotives: 419 road haul, 123 switchers
Freight cars: 21,715
Passenger cars: 410 (mostly commuter service)
Miscellaneous; 1191
7.Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines
Mileage: 318
Locomotives: 26
Freight cars: none
Passenger cars: 10 Budd Rail Diesel Cars
As can be seen from these railroad profiles, the Penn Central alone was nearly twice as large as Conrail had been as a
linehaul carrier in its final years as such. Today's Conrail is roughly two thirds the size of the Central Railroad of New
Jersey at its peak mileage, if the mileages between shared assets areas is taken together.
|
|
Of the railroads that went into Conrail on April 1,1976, the Lehigh Valley Railroad was unique among
them in that it had not one, but half a dozen or so paint schemes applied to its locomotive fleet. Central
of New Jersey, one time rival of the Lehigh Valley's had but two paint schemes, Red Baron red and B&O
Royal blue. Even the commuter operations of the railroads forming Conrail had their own personalities. Though at
first, while one in name, Conrail was still essentially six railroads in operation. During the first part of 1976 after
Conrail took over the bankrupt lines, as many as 20 employee timetables, eight of them Penn Central's,were
still in effect on the new railroad as were about half a dozen rulebooks.This was about to change
as we shall soon see.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
