Penn Central and Aftermath
In 1968 the PRR merged with the New York Central railroad, to form the Penn Central (PC).
After sustaining damage along the main line due to Hurricane Agnes, the PC petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the railroad south of York. The section of the line between York and New Freedom was acquired by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in June 1973.
A series of events including inflation, poor management, abnormally harsh weather conditions and the withdrawal of a government-guaranteed 200-million-dollar operating loan forced the Penn Central to file for bankruptcy protection in 1970. PRR operated under court supervision until 1976, when its lines were tranferred to a new government corporation, Conrail. (See Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act.)
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources converted the corridor north of Cockeysville into a trail which opened to the public in 1984. It is known in Maryland as the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail. The trail continues into Pennsylvania, where it becomes the York County Heritage (YCH) trail. The line south of Cockeysville was rebuilt in the late 1980s and is now part of the double-tracked Baltimore Light Rail system.
In York County, the Bridge 182+42, Bridge 5+92, Bridge 634, South Road Bridge, Howard Tunnel, and New Freedom Railroad Station are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Read more about this topic: Northern Central Railway, Twentieth Century
Famous quotes containing the words penn, central and/or aftermath:
“They have a right to censure that have a heart to help: the rest is cruelty, not justice.”
—William Penn (16441718)
“The central problem of novel-writing is causality.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (18991986)
“The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)