Charlie’s Reviews > Merging Lines : American Railroads, 1900-1970 > Status Update

Alright, so the Burlington Northern merger has stalled for the time being because of issues with the wiping out of competition in the region. And questions about labor, money saved, and the Milwaukee Road, the only other competitor in the area. I think that the merger would go through perfectly fine, although the Milwaukee went bankrupt, so in hindsight, it may have not been the best idea.

Now, Saunders is shifting over the the Western railroads, those that had lines west of the Mississippi. I have always been a diehard Southern Pacific fan, and some of their merger discussions are quite appealing; however, on a side note, the Burlington Northern is also a project in the making. This is part of the base for the super systems of today, which is quite fascinating.

Negotiating is a key part of any cooperative deal between people. This was no exception to the railroads. There were a couple of mergers in the East that needed to be worked out, and this was a daunting task to do. I personally have never been too good at neogiation, so I doubt that this would be an ideal area for me if I were to go into railroading.

All right, shifting gears away from the EL,, we zoom in on the soon to be Chessie System between the Chesapeake and Ohio RR and the Baltimore and Ohio RR. This merger, although it had some annoying setbacks, was ultimately a great success, and the system is now mostly intact under CSX transportation which stands for Chessie Seaboard Together, so we know that this will be a solid merger, and it was.

Saunders is now discussing the whereabouts of this Erie Lackawanna merger, a merger that will become just another part of Conrail, but that is for another update later in the book. He talks about how both railroads on the surface ran good shows, but had evident downsides too. The merger seemed ideal, and the consolidation was to run smootly, as it had for past mergers, but in hindsight, I would have been against it.

Alright, to sum this section in five words, labor disputes and Erie Lackawanna. The EL was a merger that ultimately resulted in a downhill spiral into bankruptcy, and the labor disputes are over the use of fireman, if at all. Firemen on steam trains were the ones that shoveled the coal to keep fueling the boiler. However, with diseil, their use is no longer really there. So what would you have done? Keep or fire them

Would you agree that it is a very unsung phenomena???

It only takes a spark to start a fire... MERGER MANIA HAS STARTED!!! Finally! Well, consolidation began in the 50s, mostly because the time was ripe. This is when railroads were mostly still reaping some Korean War benefits, and most lines were stable. In the east, many railroads merged to extend lines and eliminate overlapping ones. This is by far the most unsung phenomena in US history, and more is to come.

own equipment, which is still evident today. If you are on the highway this spring break, examine the trucks that are carrying container and examine their chassises too. Chances are you will have as CSX or Norfolk Southern ( NS) initials on there. Or other railroads may also have their reporting marks on there. But think when you see these, and how they originated in the 50s and are still here today.

With every problem comes a solution, well somewhat, or something like that. To compete with the trucking industry, trailer-on-flat-car (TOFC) or "piggyback" service was introduced in the 50s. This was a good solution to put some problems at bay for now. But I would like to discuss how this is still here today. In fact, it is all around us. When TOFC service was first introduced in the 50s, many railroads had their