Re: PC: What killed PC?

["Bill K." <pontiac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

But the N&W also contributed to this.  Dereco at one time owned the EL and
D&H..   add in the B&M and you had a totally PC-independent system that
reached most of the same major points...  if they had been smart enough to
fold it all together before Hurricane Agnes it still might be there now.  
The problem with the whole situation is it's easy to look back and play
monday-morning-rail executive...    But the facts are goverment regulations
(ICC, pre-Staggers act regulation, etc.) are what killed the railroads and
it took the government having to find out personally what a mess they made
to change the rules in favor of the railroads.

Bill K. 

----------
> From: Jejunabra -AT- aol.com
> To: penn-central -AT- smellycat.com
> Subject: Re: PC: What killed PC?
> Date: Tuesday, January 05, 1999 5:36 PM
> 
> Penn Central, I am not sure if you are aware of, helped to sink the Erie
> Lackawanna by destroying the Maybrook connection by diversion of traffic
or
> drastic slowdowns, where a box car off the Erie Lackawanna, say Tuesday
> morning, instead of being in Boston that same evening, would take at
least a
> week to get there. Since the EL was in much better shape than PC, the
> management of PC saw Erie Lackawanna as a competitive threat that had to
be
> neutralized and they could not have done a better job. Much of Conrail's
early
> management was made up of Penn Central people which is why the Erie
Lackawanna
> got butchered as much as it did. They were afraid the EL would give
shippers
> superior service to what PC was able to do and so went all out to destroy
the
> EL/
> 
> Jim Mancuso