What a Way to Run a Railroad
The exterior of the Interstate Commerce Commission building in Washington, D.C.
In 1920, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was charged with drawing up a plan for railroad consolidation. However, the ICC was not given the power to enforce its plans. Meanwhile, the big trunk lines of the east went about buying stock in their smaller regional competitors whenever they got the chance. This haphazard frenzy of acquisition led to several proxy battles that took up time and money that could’ve been put to better use in modernizing and streamlining railroad plant and equipment. When the dust settled in 1929, virtually no consolidation had taken place. What went wrong? What lasting effects did this era have on the railroad scene in the east? To understand what happened, we must take a closer look at the major players of eastern railroading: the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the Baltimore & Ohio. We will also take a look at Cleveland’s Van Sweringen brothers and the Alleghany Corporation, as well as the so-called “Alphabet Route.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After spending the last two or so years on this site as a lurker and an occasional poster of maps and flags, I have finally decided to take the plunge and post a TL. I noticed a dearth of alternate railroad history on this site, so I figured I might as well throw my hat into the ring. While most of the railroad TL's on this site involve things like high-speed rail, steam locomotives and passenger trains, my TL will be focused on the bread and butter of the railroad industry: freight. I will touch upon passenger trains and locomotives a bit, but for the most part, my TL will be about basic things like railroad economics, mergers and deregulation.
I also plan on keeping my TL focused on eastern railroads like the Lehigh Valley and New York Central. As someone who spent most of his youth in upstate New York after they'd disappeared and been absorbed into systems like CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern and Conrail, those lines have held mystical, almost sacred qualities for me. When I found out how sickly they were in the years before Conrail, I found myself genuinely upset by how far they had fallen because of things like poor management, unfair competition from trucks and airplanes and plain-old bad luck.
The world I plan on creating is not radically different from our own, but the events that take place will certainly put a smile on those of us who cringe whenever we think of things like Penn Central or the string of bankruptcies that took place in the early 1970's. Someday, when I get the time and money, I plan on building a railroad layout based on this scenario.
The exterior of the Interstate Commerce Commission building in Washington, D.C.
In 1920, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was charged with drawing up a plan for railroad consolidation. However, the ICC was not given the power to enforce its plans. Meanwhile, the big trunk lines of the east went about buying stock in their smaller regional competitors whenever they got the chance. This haphazard frenzy of acquisition led to several proxy battles that took up time and money that could’ve been put to better use in modernizing and streamlining railroad plant and equipment. When the dust settled in 1929, virtually no consolidation had taken place. What went wrong? What lasting effects did this era have on the railroad scene in the east? To understand what happened, we must take a closer look at the major players of eastern railroading: the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the Baltimore & Ohio. We will also take a look at Cleveland’s Van Sweringen brothers and the Alleghany Corporation, as well as the so-called “Alphabet Route.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After spending the last two or so years on this site as a lurker and an occasional poster of maps and flags, I have finally decided to take the plunge and post a TL. I noticed a dearth of alternate railroad history on this site, so I figured I might as well throw my hat into the ring. While most of the railroad TL's on this site involve things like high-speed rail, steam locomotives and passenger trains, my TL will be focused on the bread and butter of the railroad industry: freight. I will touch upon passenger trains and locomotives a bit, but for the most part, my TL will be about basic things like railroad economics, mergers and deregulation.
I also plan on keeping my TL focused on eastern railroads like the Lehigh Valley and New York Central. As someone who spent most of his youth in upstate New York after they'd disappeared and been absorbed into systems like CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern and Conrail, those lines have held mystical, almost sacred qualities for me. When I found out how sickly they were in the years before Conrail, I found myself genuinely upset by how far they had fallen because of things like poor management, unfair competition from trucks and airplanes and plain-old bad luck.
The world I plan on creating is not radically different from our own, but the events that take place will certainly put a smile on those of us who cringe whenever we think of things like Penn Central or the string of bankruptcies that took place in the early 1970's. Someday, when I get the time and money, I plan on building a railroad layout based on this scenario.
Last edited:
