Remember the old Penn Central Railroad? Many of us may like to forget that. It was formed by the merger of two of the greatest railroads in US history: the New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad on February 1, 1968.
Changing times along with government regulation and union contracts that did not change with the times were forcing these two once great railroads to seek drastic solutions to their economic problems.
The New Haven Railroad (New York, New Haven, and Hartford) was included in the merger at ICC insistence on January 1, 1969. However the merger did not allow for cost saving reductions as had been hoped and in only two short years on June 21, 1970 the Penn Central filed for bankruptcy.
After operating under bankruptcy reorganization for almost 6 years, Penn Central finally ended on April 1, 1976, when the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act took affect, nationalizing Penn Central and five smaller northeast railroads into the Consolidated Rail Corp (Conrail).
One of the somewhat humorous things that came out of the formation of Penn Central was the insignia of the Penn Central. It actually was a clever emblem, but railroad buffs called it “two worms in love.” I have included a picture of a GG1 electric locomotive with this symbol clearly visible. Enjoy.
--Dale
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