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American Short Line Railway Guide Lewis Soft Cover 1975 w/ supplement #1
American Short Line Railway Guide By Edward Lewis
Soft Cover Name stamped on title page, index page has dots and writing (probably pencil)
Copyright 1975
136 Pages Includes supplement #1 September 1975
Contents:
Short Line Railway Guide
Equipment
Major Corporate changes 1945-1974
Index of Class II Railroad Companies
Introduction
During the past several years there have been a number of developments affecting the short line railroad industry, however, two have had particular significance. The first was the formation of Conrail on April I, 1976, and the second has been the continuing evolution of the per diem lease for interchange freight equipment - particularly new unequipped 50 foot box cars.
Conrail was the end product of the bankruptcy of the Penn Central Transportation Company which occurred on June 21, 1970. This unfortunate event was followed by the financial failure of six other major northeastern carriers including the Ann Arbor, Boston & Maine, Erie Lackawanna, Jersey Central, Lehigh Valley and Reading. With so much of the northeast rail network in jeopardy, Congress passed the Rail Reorganization Act of 1976. This and subsequent legislation established the United States Railway Association (USRA) and directed that organization to plan the restructuring and financing of those railroads unable to effect conventional reorganization on their own. The legislation included at least three other important provisions. First in importance was the establishment of the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) as a "semi-independent" operating company. Second was legislative approval for abandonment of service on so-called "light density lines" (LDLs) not included in the proposed Conrail System without Interstate Commerce Commission hearings. And lastly, a program of joint Federal, state and local operating subsidies during a five year "transition" period was established for those LDLs not included in Conrail and facing abandonment.
USRA's study and planning efforts focused attention on many of the problem areas affecting the railroads including labor, governmental over-regulation, traffic and operating problems as well as the light density line issue. Of these, the LDL problem was the least politically sensitive and the one area where something could be done. As a result, it seemingly got the most attention.
USRA planners divided each railroad into segments and analyzed earnings-vs-avoidable costs in great detail. Following release of their initial report, several short line railroads (Boyne City (MI), Everett (PA), Stewartstown (PA), Strasburg (PA), Black River & Western (NJ), and Narragansett Pier (RI) found themselves facing the real possibility of forced abandonment. The government planners had failed to include their trunk line connections in the proposed Conrail system! Had this been allowed to happen, it would have set a most unfortunate precedent. In the past the I.C.C. had never allowed a trunk line to abandon track serving as a short line's only connection; however, in this instance the legislation had eliminated the I.C.C.'s jurisdiction.
Fortunately, none of this came to pass. During the course of the review process, arrangements were made for the BR&W to acquire part of a connecting Jersey Central branch so that a new interchange could be established, and service plans were revised so that the Everett, Strasburg and Narragansett Pier could continue to provide freight service. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased the PC line connecting with the Stewartstown - it had been out of service since Agnes hit back in June, 1972 - and the state promised to repair and reopen it. The Boyne City Railroad, suffering from a lack of traffic following the closing of its major shipper, died a natural death'. It is interesting to note that of all the short lines involved, only the BR&W had freight income approaching 550,000 a year. Thus, even the most marginal short lines were protected.
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