I've got an idea for a small layout for college; I could build a small layout based off of a Conrail (or NS or CSX) branch line that was spun off somewhere in Indiana; pretty much one side would have an "interchange" at the spin off point and the other side would have a grain elevator and fertilizer area (think the Logansport and Indiana Northern from GMR) except it would be much smaller.
So my question as I begin research for a prototype to find pictures is when did Conrail start spinning these lines off? I have a GP9 which would be great as an ex-PC umir included in the sale, or I could use one of my U23B's, again as an ex-Conrail unit, so knowing what timeline I'm looking at would be great; I also have a track plan in mind which I can post in the next few days (I have lab in fifteen minutes and a physics test tonight, but then it's spring break)