In a message dated 8/6/2008 5:35:59 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Ah, Penn Central, what a wonderful institution that should never have been created. *only half-joking* Ah, PennCentral, "Wiggle Worms" to be sure. Al Pearlman, CEO of the Central conceived the idea of the merger of the two giants NYC & PRR in the fifties as a RealEstate Bonanza. Crippling Federal and state regulations at the time made it difficult for rail to compete with subsidized highways and airports ( SAME as today.) For instance, PRR paid MORE in taxes in the State of New Jersey than they took in in revenue almost yearly. Pearlman's idea was to do away with duplicate lines, grab and sell or control the resultant real estate left over, BILLIONS worth in the New York City area alone. Unfortunately the NONE of the 10 plus years to accomplish this were spent on employee education or training, resulting in a long running fiasco that came to be known as PennCentral. In 10 years time, the infant computers the two companies used were not co-ordinated, employees were as territorial as ever, shipments rolled on their merry way to no where, or no where close. LUKENS Steel in Coatesville, PA sent a gondola load of specialty steel to a customer, six months later the customer received the SAME gondola, loaded with SAND. NO explanation available. Friends of mine (Gap, PA) shipped and received on the PRR almost daily, that changed when a car load of oats they HAD to have showed up in Texas months later, still sealed, very moldy and useless. NO explanation, NO apology, kinda "like their fault" for using Wiggle Worms' services. Trucks eventually proved dependability. PENN CENTRAL did have the distinction of becoming the largest bankruptcy in the US and the World, at that time. U S companies with well placed friends in government have been able to top that many times since. Pearlman went somewhere else. Jim "studying on the PENNSY Main" Lyle **************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget? Read reviews on AOL Autos. (http://autos.aol.com/cars-BMW-128-2008/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00050000000017 ) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
