friscobob
April 1st, 2004, 01:20 PM
Don't know if you remember or not, but on this day in 1976, a major mess of 7 bankrupt railroads were combined into the Consolidated Rail Corporation, or Conrail. On that day, very few people could even realize that it would take several years and several billions of dollars to make Conrail a viable railroad, and straighten out the mess that the Northeast railroad scene had become.
A T-shirt that had come out in that era said "Conrail- Same Clowns, Different Circus". With the mishmash of motive power, overbuilt trackage, and employees from seven different railroads, it must have seemed more like a zoo, with the monkeys in charge.
But over time, the bottom line improved, the trackage was slimmed down with the remaining lines rehabbed, and more modern power was seen in Conrail blue. By the time of its splitup by Norfolk Southern and CSX, there were more fans of Conrail that detractors, and no doubt quite a few folks who would miss Conrail.
Happy birthday Big Blue!
A T-shirt that had come out in that era said "Conrail- Same Clowns, Different Circus". With the mishmash of motive power, overbuilt trackage, and employees from seven different railroads, it must have seemed more like a zoo, with the monkeys in charge.
But over time, the bottom line improved, the trackage was slimmed down with the remaining lines rehabbed, and more modern power was seen in Conrail blue. By the time of its splitup by Norfolk Southern and CSX, there were more fans of Conrail that detractors, and no doubt quite a few folks who would miss Conrail.
Happy birthday Big Blue!