Lost In The Shuffle
- Thread starter Kris94
- Start date
SantaFebuff
That's So Trainz Forum
I did, that's why your talking about it. SP screwed up too many times to make up for it.
BTW, no one denied you anything. You just weren't born then. Every merger has it's controversy and effects. When the CN bought out the Elgin, Joliet, and Eastern... you STILL hear people in Chicago getting mad about that when you mention it. Still! It that was in 2008! UP and SP were competitors for a long time, and I actual congratulate UP for putting the dying horse out of misery. If SP had pulled itself up, do you think they would've kept their tunnel motors and things? Nope! SP would've scrapped them and bought GEVOs and SD70ACes. You should be HAPPY that UP bought them out, because if they hadn't they would've became just another Class I railroad being criticized.
If it had stayed around, you can bet you wouldn't like it as much.
Cheers,
Joshua
BTW, no one denied you anything. You just weren't born then. Every merger has it's controversy and effects. When the CN bought out the Elgin, Joliet, and Eastern... you STILL hear people in Chicago getting mad about that when you mention it. Still! It that was in 2008! UP and SP were competitors for a long time, and I actual congratulate UP for putting the dying horse out of misery. If SP had pulled itself up, do you think they would've kept their tunnel motors and things? Nope! SP would've scrapped them and bought GEVOs and SD70ACes. You should be HAPPY that UP bought them out, because if they hadn't they would've became just another Class I railroad being criticized.
If it had stayed around, you can bet you wouldn't like it as much.
Cheers,
Joshua
Blutorse4792
Now T:ANE I can get into
It stings a bit when you're promised "more trains" and instead end up with the yard on your end of the line getting ripped up, and the twice daily local being replaced with a tri-weekly one. Not that I hold it against CN (railroads aren't supposed to base their operations around railfanning), but the fact of the matter is, a few of us really got bent over and given one after the merger.
Anyhow, wasn't the "Southern Pacific" of 1988-1996 really the D&RGW operating under the Espee's (better known) name?
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Yes.
"In 1988 the Southern Pacific was taken over by D&RGW parent Rio Grande Industries. The combined railroad kept the Southern Pacific name due to its brand recognition in the railroad industry and with customers of both constituent railroads" - Wikipedia, article "Southern Pacific Transportation Company"
SD70ACe didn't come out until late 2004 and GEVOS could be pre-ordered but didn't go into production until January 1, 2005. And they weren't dead but more like in a medically induced coma. Penn Central and Rock Island were truly dead horses. And SP had made improvements but 7 years of improvements cannot triumph 15 years of piss poor management. 15 solid years would've negated it. Look at UP going bankrupt twice and look at what Harriman was able to do for the UP in a short period of time. He also made a lot of upgrades on SP in eight years(1901-1909) he died in 1909. They did by 25 SD70Ms, 279 AC4400CWs, 101 C44-9Ws and 3 AC6000CWs between 1994-1995. But the reason tunnel motors were used due to the extended lengths of the multiple tunnels SP had to operate through would've caused overheating in the standard tunnel motor intake radiators.
Really, 7 yrs of improvement? Surely you jest!
Oh yeah, be sure to read here about the "good" guy Moyers and the great job he did with IC.
http://alongtherails.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/single-tracking-the-illinois-central/
We had the same sting when Guilford Transportation Industries purchased the Boston and Maine. At first everyone was excited seeing Maine Central run throughs and then eventually Delaware and Hudson run through freights. The traffic was up and very frequent. The best I had seen in decades back in 1983-84. It was awesome to see the old U25Bs and Alcos from the MEC and D&H running along side the GP40s from the B&M. Eventually the company let all the engines fall apart and they took the B&M and Maine Central and reduced them to a shadow of what they were. Both companies were out of bankruptcy and were actually showing a profit in 1980 when all this happened. They destroyed the D&H and ditched them, and ruined what was left of the B&M and MEC by busting the unions, making unsafe working conditions, and letting the whole system rot.
Today the new name Pan Am Railways has changed their paint from the Gray and Orange to the dark and light blue. They haven't done much in the way of customer service or system upgrades though. Their new joint venture with Norfolk Southern is more of NS dumping in badly needed trackwork money and PAR running broken trains as usual. There has been little increase in traffic, and they still will not serve customers even if there's a court order to do so. Before NS bought in, a train would take over 12 hours to go 470 miles from Portland to the New York stateline. There were so many slow orders that crews were outlawing to a point where they didn't have enough crews to complete the journey. When I see pictures of the SP and Milw taken in the late 1980s, I think of what PAR looks like today.
John
Sure a great looking train, but the power was bad-ordered. This train was making an exciting 12mph where track speed was maintained for 40-45. The junk power (rent-a-wrecks) was a RGI solution for its failed attempts to sell off SP's remaining real estate. Photo from 4-92 at Floriston, CA taken by my late father.
So it was a great way to save money but also left them vulnerable if traffic patterns shifted to the IC from Carbondale on south to New Orleans.
