Re: PC: What if

[Gene.Fusco@xxxxxxxxxxx]

> I state my question again. If PC was here today what do you think their
> history would have been and what would be their situation today. 

My opinion on this is that had PC survived the 70's, we would be looking at
a NS/CSX splitup of Penn Central today.  The only difference would be the
loss of black engines and worms, rather than blue and a can opener.

Penn Central + Deregulation = Conrail

The key to the whole mess was the deregulation act.  Had it happened when
PC needed it to happen, it may have survived, even with the bad management.
PC was not allowed to divest itself (abandon) duplicate and low traffic
routes as Conrail was allowed to do.  

PC would have absorbed the smaller NE RR's as their lives ended. Taken the
good parts and dumped the rest.  We would still have Guilford, Metro North,
ConnDot etc...


The real speculation, as a modeller, is what would they have done image-
wise over the past 25 years.  With the current state of "retro" paint
schemes, like the BNSF Orange and Green, it isn't hard to imagine a Tuscan
locomotive with Dulux Gold Lightning Stripes.  Yow!


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