Class J Shoppings after Jan 1956

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On Sat, Aug 8, 2015 at 1:46 AM, Mike wrote:

Ken (or anybody else that would like to comment), what do you think of the
> legacy that Stuart Saunders left behind? I don't know what to make of the
> fact that he was only in charge of the PRR for a few years before they
> merged with NYC and he was thrown out of the new combined PennCentral. I
> have read that of the two merged railroads, the PRR was in really poor
> financial shape compared to the NYC, with a tremendous maintenance backlog,
> and the combined company never had a chance. Was Stuart Saunders just
> unlucky, or was he at least partially responsible for this disaster (and
> I'll take my answer off the air...)


I believe Saunders was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was stuck
trying to stem massive losses he had little control over. The latest Trains
article about great railroad blunders did a pretty good job of condensing
the problems leading to Penn Central in a few column inches. The heavy
regulation of rates by the government, increasing competition from highways
and air travel, too much infrastructure for declining business, and a plant
still worn out from the war all stacked up against the Pennsy. It could
have been anyone left holding the bag, but Saunders was the patsy.

I believe it was a number of years ago that Trains had an article about
Saunders and his time at the N&W. I seem to remember it was written by an
author who knew the business (Middleton?) and he did a business analysis.
His view was that Saunders went though the rapid dieselization of the N&W,
despite the good state of steam power, to boost the stock price. Biggest
beneficiary of a higher price was the Pennsylvania Railroad, with its large
holdings of N&W stock. The value, if not the cash from a sale, would infuse
a needed financial boost to the PRR. Now I guess I'll have to go searching
to find that article.

Bruce in Blacksburg
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