PC Freight on the BANTRAK Layout

[Rich_S]

Universally, there was frustration with the lack of results their efforts would produce in so far as gaining or retaining profitable traffic due to equipment or service problems ...

One of the best books written on what went wrong with the PC is "The Wreck of the Penn Central"

https://www.amazon.com/Wreck-Penn-Central-Joseph-Daughen/dp/0316095206/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=

I have the hard copy of this book and it's quit an interesting read. The book talks about how the computer systems were never checked for comparability, resulting in lost waybills, plugged yards and shipments arriving late. How it was the Red Team against the Green Team. It seemed the only thing they did agree on is, The New Haven should not have been part of the Penn Central merger.  Once the downhill spiral began, it was unstoppable. 

[MichaelWinicki]

One of the best books written on what went wrong with the PC is "The Wreck of the Penn Central"

https://www.amazon.com/Wreck-Penn-Central-Joseph-Daughen/dp/0316095206/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=

I have the hard copy of this book and it's quit an interesting read. The book talks about how the computer systems were never checked for comparability, resulting in lost waybills, plugged yards and shipments arriving late. How it was the Red Team against the Green Team. It seemed the only thing they did agree on is, The New Haven should not have been part of the Penn Central merger.  Once the downhill spiral began, it was unstoppable.

It is a great book.

Another couple that help paint the picture of that era are "Merging Lines" and "Main Lines" by Richard Saunders Jr.

The Penn Central was doomed way before the lines actually merged.

By the early 60's both roads (NYC/PRR) were a financial mess.  The traffic falloff during the 50's & early 60's was dramatic for all the north east roads.  The western roads and the coal haulers made out far better.

If Staggers and rate deregulation moved up 20 years the big financial mess the railroads dealt with in the early 70's would have greatly been diminished.

But very few wanted to face the reality of the situation in the 1950's and that was the railroad business was dying in the northeast.

But I will give government some credit... Back in the 1920's there was a movement within government to start consolidating the railroads– they just didn't have the power to pull it off.  The railroads were interested in it at the time... They didn't see the big picture. 

The result was the first real merger of roads didn't happen until 1947 with the Perre Marguette and the C&O and by that point the die had been cast.

[DeltaBravo]

Ed,
 Thanks for the credit at the end, great to know you and Josh like my scrap yard module.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ed,
 Thanks for the credit at the end, great to know you and Josh like my scrap yard module.

Yeah, it's totally the scrap yard part we love... lol...

[cjm413]

Also needs more Brunswick Green:

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc2012ags.jpg

[Ed Kapuscinski]

One of those ex PRSL 38s has been in my wishlist for a while.

The extended cab was the sticking point until recently. Now it's just my modeling bandwidth.

[cjm413]

One of those ex PRSL 38s has been in my wishlist for a while.

The extended cab was the sticking point until recently. Now it's just my modeling bandwidth.

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/designsbyreese

[Ed Kapuscinski]

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/designsbyreese

Yup! That's the game changer right there.

Someday, I want to do these, and I also want to do some former Reading SD45s, that also had that cab.

But, for now, I'm too busy planting trees...

[cjm413]

Yup! That's the game changer right there.

Someday, I want to do these, and I also want to do some former Reading SD45s, that also had that cab.

But, for now, I'm too busy planting trees...

There's also a cab for the RDG SD45's for the Kato SD45 with the RDG rain gutters and without the handbrake on the short hood:

http://www.shapeways.com/product/5QXP57UQF/reading-n-scale-sd45-cab-and-hood?optionId=43046769

Your efforts planting trees are way ahead of my efforts to teach my kids not to destroy anything I build

[mu26aeh]

Ed, did you notice in that shapeways link there is a gondola cover ?  Maybe would work for your Milwaukee car....

[cjm413]

Ed, did you notice in that shapeways link there is a gondola cover ?  Maybe would work for your Milwaukee car....

The one that I saw is for a more modern Thrall gondola such as the Atlas or Exactrail 2743 cuft car (and appears to be based on the same or similar prototype as the Atlas cover):

http://www.shapeways.com/product/NNTYBYG67/gondola-cover?optionId=43631198

For the MILW cover, something with a diagonal panel roof, whether a spliced MTL cover or a partially scratchbuilt cover using a pair of Exactrail overhanging diagonal panel roofs would be more accurate...unless there's another Shapeways cover out there....

[bnsfdash8]

Everyone needs an extended cab GP38   

[cjm413]

Everyone needs an extended cab GP38   

I wish I had more time to build one...