Happy 50th Anniversary, the merger that created the Penn Central.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Eastern Railroad Discussion > Penn Central Merger 50 Yeas Ago

Penn Central Transportation Company

The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Class I railroad headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that operated from 1968 until 1976. It was created by the 1968 merger of the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads. The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad was added to the merger in 1969; by 1970, the company had filed for what was, at that time, the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
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Merger begins

Penn Central (PC) came into existence on February 1, 1968. On that date, the PRR — the nominal survivor of the merger — changed its name to Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Company. It adopted the name Penn Central Company on May 8, 1968. On October 1, 1969, it again changed its name, to Penn Central Transportation Company, and became a wholly owned subsidiary of a new Penn Central Company, a holding company.
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PC locomotives #4801 and #4800, both former PRR GG1s, haul freight through North Elizabeth, New Jersey in December 1975.

[MyOwnPeace]

1. Loved the video........

Thanks!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Yeah. No dubbed fake soundtrack. Just trains from 50 years ago. NT

[Thirty by 30]

3. As a lifelong foamer, I salute this thread

And the PRR, NYC, PC and all the other fallen flags.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. There is hope, Thirty by 30. I used to be a railfan, but I'm better now.

Last edited Thu Feb 1, 2018, 05:23 PM - Edit history (1)

I got my first 35mm camera in July 1970. A lot of pictures that I thought of as throwaway pictures are endearing now.

Let's just try a little Bennington Curve. I can stop anytime I want:

Where are you located? Bennington Curve is above Horseshoe Curve. It's just below the tunnels at Gallitzin, which pretty close to the top of the grade. It used to be that you could drive right up there and watch trains all you wanted. It's gated now, so you have to be creative in your access.

You can see the town of Gallitzin on the ridge line at 2:17 in the Bennington Curve video. From that train's speed and all the power, I'm sure it's ore. The cars can be filled up only halfway, as ore is much denser than coal.

The Pennsy had a tower halfway between Horseshoe Curve and the top of the grade. It was called MG, for mid-grade. If you knew where to turn off the public highway, you could drive there. Not anymore. Not without getting busted.

Finally, welcome to DU, Thirty by 30.

[GP6971]

5. Interesting

My HO layout is early Penn Central when a lot of the engines hadn't been rebranded....a lot of PRR and NYC engines could be seen.