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The top managers never worked well together, and the workers continued to hold allegiance to, and follow the rules of, their former railroads. , in less than three hours and had well-appointed passenger cars, but most of the railroad’s other passenger trains continued to be old, filthy, and often late. 7 million in the first quarter of 1970 alone. In The Wreck of the Penn Central, Joseph R. ” The book sums up the debacle: “The railroad went broke because of bad management, divided management, dishonest accounting, diversion of funds into unprofitable outside enterprises, nonfunctioning directors or a basic disinterest in running, or even an inability to run, a railroad….

After financier J. P. Morgan gained control of the Lehigh Valley’s stock, Wilbur relinquished his presidency in 1897. ” In 1896, the Lehigh Valley Railroad launched its own glamour train, the Black Diamond Express, on a daylight run from Buffalo to Jersey City, New Jersey. The Black Diamond had elegant dining cars, club cars, and observation cars, and it survived until 1959. Unfortunately, its route was slower than those of its two major competitors, and despite the promotion of its scenic nature, traveling between New York City and Buffalo by way of Bethlehem and the upper Susquehanna River valley cost passengers time.

Conrail tried to place these in the hands of local operators with good track records, an objective that the Class I railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern still continue to do when making leasing arrangements. Traditionally, Pennsylvania’s short lines could be classified as those that are small, independent, and have always been that way; smaller lines now owned by regional authorities; or truly regional lines that may be independent or owned by holding companies. The East Penn Railroad (ESPN) does not really fit into any of these categories, however.