Moderator: Nicolai3985
Lehighton_Man wrote:In my general opinion, PRR did more harm than help in that era. Take the Reading for example. They wanted to remain independent, and resisted the PRRs moves for take-over, so what did the PRR do? Built it's own route paralleling the Reading in many locations, as an act to dry up the Reading's traffic. PRR was very similar to John Rockefellar and his Monoplies. PRR tried, but failed so hard at being a monoply. Yeah, they have their unique steam locomotives, and famous landmarks like Horseshoe, Altoona, and the Rockville Bridge, among many more, but visual entertainment doesn't make up for the brutality that management tried to do. Had PRR just kept to themselves reasonably, instead of trying to be the biggest in the north east, then I think 1976 would have looked a lot different. Not to bash on PRR fans, but I have my own thoughts to blame a lot for 1976 on PRR and it's aggressive nature to devour anything in it's path. It can almost be compared metaphorically to Hitler and his domination for Europe during WWII.
Thus, why I dislike the PRR.
wigwagfan wrote:I would think that UP+SP certainly qualifies - the Union Pacific and Central Pacific (a Southern Pacific predecessor) of course built the transcontinental railroad together, and it was Edward Herriman's intent in the early 1900s to merge the two carriers and during that timeframe the two railroads shared many common standards and operated together. The overland route beginning in the San Francisco Bay Area east to Omaha required the partnership of both railroads and continued up until the Union Pacific purchased the Western Pacific in 1983 (thus giving UP its own route west from Salt Lake City, bypassing the Southern Pacific - this is what prompted the SP + DRG&W merger in the 1988.)
Whereas...Southern Pacific + Santa Fe were the merger of two long entrenched competitors who were on the same turf, or BN + SF which operated in two completely different territories - having only overlap between Kansas City and Chicago, and both railroads had operations in Oklahoma that included north-south routes in competition with each other - but that's it.
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