Most-historical railroad

[ap0317ah]

sam
this is correct about the B&O. the PRR has alot of the firsts and the biggest
this railroad saw a lot in its life but then so did the B&O. like them both
and i have relitives that worked on them both during the steam era.

Tom

[Conrail Quality]

Historically I believe the Camden and Amboy was first RR in the country. It may have been swallowed up by the B&O, which by all acounts, is the first railroad with any history to it.

The C&A was taken by the PRR as part of its plan to reach New York.

How about "Most Hysterical" - I nominate Penn Central.

I nominate the Milwaukee as runner-up.

[Woody Elmore]

You cannot compare the Milwaukee Road to the very sad PC.

[Matt Bumgarner]

Don't overlook Norfolk Southern if you are counting current railroad companies by virtue of their "Fallen Flags". If you are counting latter day fallen flags like the B&O, then I nominate the Southern Railway. -a) A predecessor, the South Carolina Railroad & Canal Company rivaled the B&O for early history by 1)Running the first USA revenue passenger train with the Best Friend of Charleston 2) First fatal boiler explosion on a RR with BFofC, 3) Briefly the longest RR in the country, 4) First railroad junction in the country near Branchville, SC; b) Predecessor Richmond Terminal Company was the first "holding company" in US history, c) Saluda grade was the steepest mainline grade in the US, e) Wreck of Ol' 97, considered the first modern country & western song based on SR mail train, 7) Southern/NS steam excursion program was king from 60's-mid 90's and attracted untold thousands to the hobby; f) SR was the industry leader from the 40's to 80's in terms of profit, efficiency, and innovation- Silverside Hoppers, Big John Hoppers- infrared hotbox detectors, and fought the ICC and government regulations with more vigor to protect and enhance customer service than any other company, g) Was the first major American line to completely dieselize, and h) Was the last major line to join Amtrak, running the Southern Crescent until 1978.

[Conrail Quality]

You cannot compare the Milwaukee Road to the very sad PC.

Yes, I can. That they both went bankrupt is the most obvious comparison. They also had some of the world's worst management. There was also extremely bad luck; Penn Central's '69 blizzard: the Milwaukee's '73 oil embargo. There was some shady management issues(PC's Penphil and EJA, MILW's mysterious expense doubler), and a lot of excess trackage which could not be gotten rid of. And for that matter, they both "saved money" by deffering maintenance, a strategy which came back to haunt them. PC's failed diversification program is directly comparable to MILW's boxcar-leasing. There was also the MILW's policy of parking any equipment requiring more than $5K worth of repairs, just like PC's idea that few locomitives in the shops was a good thing, and trains frequently ran with dead locomotives so they wouldn't be in the shops. And then of course, was their worship of merger. They both thought merger would magically solve all their problelms, and both killed themselves believing in this.

[SteamGene]

There is one major difference between the PC and the Road.  What CQ describes with the Road is the situation at the end of its long history.  But that's the entire history of the PC, if I remember its very short history.  The comparison is like comparing an excellent novel with an awful ending to a poorly written short story.
Gene

[brad]

And for that matter, they both "saved money" by deffering maintenance, a strategy which came back to haunt them.

Much like CN is doing these days. I've talked at length to a CN engineer about company practices and the state of the company today. They have over 10,000 intermodal containers backed up in Vancouver that are already late, yards from one end of the country to the other are backed up, maintenance is at an all time low in favor of shareholder profits. as are staff levels. They've been calling retired employee's to see if they will come back to work.


Sad

brad

[Woody Elmore]

Gene; I agree completely about the Milwaukee Road versus PC. The Milwaukee had a proud history before the decline but PC was doomed from the start. One could also add the Rock Island to the list of "sad demises of railroads." all the reorganizations and color schemes indicated a business with no direction. The same could be said of the New Haven in its last few years.

[Conrail Quality]

There is one major difference between the PC and the Road.  What CQ describes with the Road is the situation at the end of its long history.  But that's the entire history of the PC, if I remember its very short history.  The comparison is like comparing an excellent novel with an awful ending to a poorly written short story.
Gene

Very true, yet much of Penn Central's problelms were inherited from the Pennsylvaina and the Central. Both railroads had huge debts and deteriated trackage, along with inept management and questionable operating methods, all of which carried over to PC. So you could say that PC was just the continuation of the awful ending of the excellent novel.

[SteamGene]

But the PC was a different railroad, right? 
Gene

[ebtnut]

The B&O was the first commercial railroad in the U.S.  I believe the first train ran in 1831.  I think it finally lost its corporate identity when it was fully absorbed into CSX about 1990.  I might remind folks that the first commercial railroad IN THE WORLD was the Stockton and Darlington in England.  I believe it began operation in 1827. 

[Yorkie]

How about the Stockton and Darlington Railway, England, opened on September 27, 1825?

[Terry Toenges]

Being able to travel by rail from one end of the US to the other end is certainly one of the most historical events in US railroad history thanks to the CP and UP.

[sour rails]

     I may be new to railroading, but I never thought I could post a very hot topic.

[Conrail Quality]

But the PC was a different railroad, right? 
Gene

To quote Alfred Perlman, head of the New York Central and president of the Penn Central until he was forced out by Stuart Saunders and David Bevan (both ex-Pensylvania), "To me, it was not a merger, it was a takeover, quite frankly." The Pennsylvania ran the show until June of 1970, when Paul Gorman, Perlman's replacement (originally from AT&T), allied with the Board to sieze power from Saunders and Bevan in a desparate attempt to win the confidence of bankers. The fact was, for most of the two years that acually mattered (the non-bankrupt ones), the Penn Central was just the Pennsylvania Railroad with a different name. But aren't we getting off the topic by now?