The bankruptcy of the ill-fated Penn Central in 1970 started the dominoes toppling, and the 1972 Tropical Storm Agnes flooding was the final blow for the Reading, Jersey Central, Lehigh & Hudson River and Lehigh Valley, while the Michigan-based Ann Arbor went bust in 1973. The new company had over 40,678 track miles and more than 94,000 employees when it started.
On day one, there were hundreds of miles of weedy, 10 mile-per-hour track, balky signal systems, ancient locomotives, bad order freight cars by the score, and yet, Congress expected this all to become profitable in short order. But even with millions of dollars of taxpayer funds, Conrail bled money. Not until the enactment of the Staggers Act in 1980, which allowed the railroads nationwide to recover their actual costs and abandon unprofitable lines, did Conrail have a chance to turn itself around.
In 1981, Conrail President L. Stanley Crane got rid of 4,400 miles of track that carried just one percent of Conrail’s traffic. The company got out of commuter train operations, always a drain on profits, by turning many commuter-heavy branches over to public transit agencies such as Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, New York City’s Metro-North and Philadelphia’s Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. It finally began to turn a profit.
The government privatized Conrail in 1986, and in 1987, it offered itself in the largest initial public offering ever of $1.65 billion. By 1998, the company was down to 21,000 track and 19,600 employees. Just 10 years later, CSX and NS came calling, and on June 1, 1999, the two split up Conrail and it was all over.
About 1,200 miles of Conrail continues today, as Conrail Shared Assets, operating as a terminal railroad in New Jersey and Philadelphia, as well in the Detroit area.
Is there a chance I can e-mail Mr. Wayne Laepple directly?
Thank you again.
Hello, I am new to the site and am an older fan of Conrail. I have yet to find out if there is still a Conrail? I’m confused as to their status. I have seen what appears to be quite modern photos of trains in Conrail colors, but have never gotten a definitive answer as to are they still in business or not? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Attn. Brian Westgate: Sure, there are a lot of rail lines – not only in the old Conrail territory, but elsewhere in the country – which are sorely missed. But the article did state that 4,400 miles of track – 11% of Conrail’s total mileage – was carrying only 1% of its freight. Not a good use of assets …
So, calling members of the US Congress ‘no brainers’ is OK, but if I suggest that someone look in their own mirror, I’m being ” nasty ” ? Boy, the truth sure does hurt !
The book on Conrail’s history has already been written !
“By 1998, the company was down to 21,000 track and 19,600 employees. Just 10 years later, CSX and NS came calling, and on June 1, 1999, the two split up Conrail and it was all over.”
Should the first sentence here be corrected to say “1988” (rather than 1998?)? In other words, was Conrail down to 21,000 track miles and 19,600 employees by 1988? Ten years after 1998 was 2008 and yes, CSX and NS officially split up Conrail effective June 1, 1999 and so there appears to be a disconnect between these two sentences.
A couple of quick observations: The Jersey Central Railroad went bankrupt in March 1967 and the Lehigh Valley went bankrupt in 1970 shortly after the Penn Central on June 21st of that year. I think the Reading Lines went bankrupt in 1971 and the Erie Lackawanna went bankrupt in June 1972 shortly after Tropical Storm Agnes dumped heavy rains on their lines in upstate New York and Pennsylvania. So, yes all of these railroads were bankrupt by 1973 but all had filed for bankruptcy well before 1973. The “Annie” (Ann Arbor RR) filed for bankruptcy in 1973.
Yes a comprehensive history of Conrail would make for an interesting read. In absence of that, there is a very interesting read about the decline and collapse of the Northeast railroad industry by Rush Loving called “The Men Who Loved Trains The Story of Men Who Battled Greed to Save an Ailing Industry.”
I’m not to sure why Mr Klippel is being so nasty.
But back to trains – now that Contrail has been gone for some years, is somebody going to write the book on Conrail’s history?
The paragraph in question describes the five railroads that died before 1976, for which the storm damage provided the coup de grace. Erie-Lackawanna, by then part of Dereco, is said to have believed it could recover on its own after the flood damage. It gave up early in 1976 and asked to be included in Conrail.
Nathan, I believe you have the lesson learned, correct, however you also mentioned subsidizing passenger rail ” on equal footing ” with highways. Well proportionate to the number of people using highways to those using passenger- rail, the subsidy is GREATER than that for highways !
You also need to realize that the politically correct term these days is ‘ climate change ‘, and that it has been taking place for at least as long as it’s been recorded.
Also remember that the vast majority of the rail-lines in this country are privately owned, and their capacity is seriously limited in many places.
Do you think that our Federal Government should ‘ herd ‘ the public travelers onto the passenger trains, similar to what Hitler and the Nazis did in Germany ? I surely think not !!
So when it comes to ” no-brainers “, maybe you should take a good, long look in your mirror !!
The one who is always forgotten the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines-
The Biggest Little Railroad in South Jersey
I note that Erie Lackawanna wasn’t mentioned; did I miss something over the last 40 years?
I notice that Erie Lackawanna wasn’t mentioned
Or New Jersey Transit…
No mention of Erie Lackawanna? That’s what happens after 40 years.
Shoulda saved much of that track.
I suppose the lesson learned is that freight can survive via the market but passenger rail cannot. But show me one place where passenger rail is self supporting. It’s a public service, just like getting your streets plowed. Gas taxes don’t totally support highways, they are subsidized, so why not rail on equal footing? Especially important with global warming when a 3,000 HP loco moves 300 people at 10 HP each, where those 300 people in 300 cars at 200 HP each is 60,000 HP, a 20 times increase in efficiency just in HP using rail. It should be a no brainier, but when no brainers run Congress it’s no surprise it’s not happening.