Jeez, watching all those cars swaying from side to side makes me a little seasick... I remember those smoochy trackbeds back on the main near Coldwater, NY were my friend and I used to trainwatch around 1968.
And I tought the Rock Island in the 1970s had problems..... I think the PC merger was wrong to the simple face you really didn't gain any ground merging, both roads were pretty much going the same areas already. It would be like the SCL merging with Southern still going in the same areas. That saying, there was still no excuse for the railroad to have severe deferred maintenance.
yep thats the penn central alright i use to live right across the street from the railroad crossing and back in the 70's the trains would crawl through town,the cars wildly swaying.track maintenance was non existing!im amazed we didnt have a derailment every day!
@xr6lad Actually, this is a result of government regulation. Since the creation of the ICC, which had complete authority of what the railroads could do, heavy tax burden, power over lines the rr could and could not abandon, it completely devastated the railroads and led to their near collapse in the 70s resulting in the deregulation of the industry. Now that its deregulated, efficiency has increased by 80%, derailments have decreased by 60% and worker income has also increased. Try researching..
I can only imagine how incredibly alert brakemen were when switching cars that rocked like earthquakes when rolling along! That had to be a scary feeling thinking that in a split second a freight car could topple over onto its side and crush anything or anyone standing in the way!.
When I model the time period of when all the US railroads merge togther I will model the eastcoast first and have some of the old Penn Central tracks still used plus with some old CSX and NS track used and it will be just like this video...eexcepte modeled in the summer...not winter.
I love this video on Penn Central.........could easily be used this way....."Having problems keeping your model trains on the tracks, Here's a real railroad you can model! The Penn Central....the bankrupt railroad!"
This video cracked me up!! Love the sense of humor - thanks for posting. My Dad, Uncles and a cousin "survived" the NYC break-up, PC and CR/Amtrak transitions so family stories tie in well with the rocking freight cars.
He was "trigging" the wheels. as the cars are pushed by gravity down the incline that scrap of wood was to try and slow down tha acceleration of the car into the car retarders. The retarders were so worn out they could barely retard the speed of the descending cars. If you are interested send me a note, i can forward the link to this movie, it is easier to understand the how, where and why of this movie when you see it in its entirety.
@Moltixar actually if you actually worked for the railroad& knew a thing or two about it instead of "railfan far& few knowledge" You would have know that we have just passed Norfolk Southern for first place in safety& track maintenance. Please have an intelligent reply when talking to me please.
@Moltixar Wow, a truck driver with vast railroad knowledge. Before you comment on derailemt's please make sure you are educated in track engineering. Just becuase your company has a contact with CSX doesn't make you an expert or knowledgeable.
Planned? Planned? Haha. Penn Central had about 3 months of planning, for a merger that should've has YEARS to work out. Penn Central wasn't even a railroad. It was a FAILroad, from the start. And it dragged so many other railroads to their deaths.. IE: Reading, Lehigh & Hudson River, Lehigh Valley, among others, that, If given time, would've probably made it out of their own economic recession.
@CountVonBoco You're wrong about the merger plans. Merger plans started in the late 1940's. However, strict government regulations prevented it until it was absolutely necessary. It was piss poor planning, the NH being forced on them, years of bitter rivalry, and many other factors that caused the PC to fail. Read the book "The Wreck of the Penn Central." It details everything from the earliest talks of the merger to the creation of Conrail.
Makes sense. This was right around the era when the NKP/LV Merger was drawn up. It was the STB that also prevented that. I find it very ironic that it was actually the STB / ICC that had a lot in creating the mess in the north east in the 60's and 70s. Had they approved some of those eariler mergers, NKP & LV for example, Maybe things would've been different, then and even today. I'm one of the Valley fans, so I tend to burn on PRR for ruining what the LV had.
Don't blame just the NYNH&H, the PRR was the epitome of deferred maintenance for years previous, and the Young/Perlman team had loaded up the NYC with incredible debt. Then there was Dick Lassiter and Executive Jet...I could go on and on...
@legodirectorHD Not only the NYNH&H but the insane abuses of commercial paper, today rivaled only by the Enron scandal. See the book "The Men Who Loved Trains" and "The Wreck of the Penn Central" for the sad details.
I halfway wonder if the executives at the Pennsy had chosen not to try to acquire the NYC, that both roads would still be operating as class I's today (and might have acquired other roads in the process -- making for some interesting what ifs).
I really enjoyed this video. My Dad retired from Conrail in 1991 after 36 years of service to the NYC, PC and Conrail. I'm certain He'd tell you that the most frightening years He spent on a caboose were the Penn Central years. Up till then He always took full advantage of the rail pass provided him by the company and would take all eight of us to Florida every year on the train. During the PC years he was too concerned about "going on the ground"
But you know......an argument can be made that the Penn Central did a better job of promoting itself in bankruptcy than the class ones of today. Great video!
Jeez, watching all those cars swaying from side to side makes me a little seasick... I remember those smoochy trackbeds back on the main near Coldwater, NY were my friend and I used to trainwatch around 1968.
schizzie345 1 month ago
what CSX IS next smh
Maxqstl 2 months ago
And I tought the Rock Island in the 1970s had problems..... I think the PC merger was wrong to the simple face you really didn't gain any ground merging, both roads were pretty much going the same areas already. It would be like the SCL merging with Southern still going in the same areas. That saying, there was still no excuse for the railroad to have severe deferred maintenance.
beatleman69 4 months ago
yep thats the penn central alright i use to live right across the street from the railroad crossing and back in the 70's the trains would crawl through town,the cars wildly swaying.track maintenance was non existing!im amazed we didnt have a derailment every day!
hifijohn 4 months ago
See what happens when you leave private enterprise in charge of infrastructure....
xr6lad 4 months ago
@xr6lad Actually, this is a result of government regulation. Since the creation of the ICC, which had complete authority of what the railroads could do, heavy tax burden, power over lines the rr could and could not abandon, it completely devastated the railroads and led to their near collapse in the 70s resulting in the deregulation of the industry. Now that its deregulated, efficiency has increased by 80%, derailments have decreased by 60% and worker income has also increased. Try researching..
LordoftheKaty 4 months ago
I can only imagine how incredibly alert brakemen were when switching cars that rocked like earthquakes when rolling along! That had to be a scary feeling thinking that in a split second a freight car could topple over onto its side and crush anything or anyone standing in the way!.
ACLTony 4 months ago
Holy crap.... I thought I knew, but I had no idea...
railstoruin 8 months ago 2
When I model the time period of when all the US railroads merge togther I will model the eastcoast first and have some of the old Penn Central tracks still used plus with some old CSX and NS track used and it will be just like this video...eexcepte modeled in the summer...not winter.
BTCRAIL101FILMS 8 months ago
No wonder it went bankrupt! lol
VilquinProductions 1 year ago
Look like my model trains maybe I should model Penn Central.
LycoValleyRRFan 1 year ago
when my model train set goes off the tracks its not because of the shoddy work it was just designed to emulate the real trains?
the1thatgotirwin 1 year ago
When I saw those trains rocking like that as a kid in the 70's I thought that was normal!Lol
TheZepmeister 1 year ago
Penn Central Is Fucken Hore Railroad They Screw Up Everything in 1968 to 1976 they did somin so fucking idea so i give them two thump down.
kin1934 1 year ago
I love this video on Penn Central.........could easily be used this way....."Having problems keeping your model trains on the tracks, Here's a real railroad you can model! The Penn Central....the bankrupt railroad!"
HoosierLine 1 year ago
This video cracked me up!! Love the sense of humor - thanks for posting. My Dad, Uncles and a cousin "survived" the NYC break-up, PC and CR/Amtrak transitions so family stories tie in well with the rocking freight cars.
MsC1953 1 year ago
Sadly, that the way it was!! Great vid...Awsome music!!!!! Have more?
mistersnapon 1 year ago
veronicafanDA dont pick on conrail go yell at csx (i hate those yellow communist always thinking about themselves)
saintangerinc 1 year ago
HELL Yeah im intrested but is it the one on youtube where the sound lags cause that is annoyin
MilwaukeeSDman 2 years ago
Is it?
MilwaukeeSDman 2 years ago
I dont get the 1:01 What is he doing?
MilwaukeeSDman 2 years ago
He was "trigging" the wheels. as the cars are pushed by gravity down the incline that scrap of wood was to try and slow down tha acceleration of the car into the car retarders. The retarders were so worn out they could barely retard the speed of the descending cars. If you are interested send me a note, i can forward the link to this movie, it is easier to understand the how, where and why of this movie when you see it in its entirety.
drum3433 2 years ago
Hey, I would like to see the link to this movie. As a trackworker, I am interested in this kind of stuff.
CSXtrackworker 2 years ago
@CSXtrackworker CSX is just as bad as PC was.. so as a CSX trackworker you should have all the info you need by going to work everyday.
Moltixar 1 year ago
Comment removed
CSXtrackworker 1 year ago
@Moltixar actually if you actually worked for the railroad& knew a thing or two about it instead of "railfan far& few knowledge" You would have know that we have just passed Norfolk Southern for first place in safety& track maintenance. Please have an intelligent reply when talking to me please.
CSXtrackworker 1 year ago
Comment removed
Moltixar 1 year ago
@Moltixar Wow, a truck driver with vast railroad knowledge. Before you comment on derailemt's please make sure you are educated in track engineering. Just becuase your company has a contact with CSX doesn't make you an expert or knowledgeable.
CSXtrackworker 1 year ago
@MilwaukeeSDman He is puting wood under the car to help keep it on track I think.
metraF40PH163 1 year ago
This all was STAGGED. THis is a PC promotional film to get money. TOo bad they hasd all this crappy rrack to use though.
milw189 2 years ago
Yes it actually was staged, however it only took them a few runs to get the derailment--yes it was that bad.
ipcnow 2 years ago
Yikes! If rail cars swayed like that I'd stay the hell away from the tracks!
railfan101 2 years ago 2
PC also had the new ha ven too. it wasnt just NYC and PRR. This is the worst railway merger ever. it was never thought out or planned well
TechForThought 2 years ago
The merger was planned, however, the plan never worked, mainly due to the addition of the NYNH&H. Penn Central failed epically.
legodirectorHD 2 years ago 8
Planned? Planned? Haha. Penn Central had about 3 months of planning, for a merger that should've has YEARS to work out. Penn Central wasn't even a railroad. It was a FAILroad, from the start. And it dragged so many other railroads to their deaths.. IE: Reading, Lehigh & Hudson River, Lehigh Valley, among others, that, If given time, would've probably made it out of their own economic recession.
CountVonBoco 2 years ago 2
@CountVonBoco You're wrong about the merger plans. Merger plans started in the late 1940's. However, strict government regulations prevented it until it was absolutely necessary. It was piss poor planning, the NH being forced on them, years of bitter rivalry, and many other factors that caused the PC to fail. Read the book "The Wreck of the Penn Central." It details everything from the earliest talks of the merger to the creation of Conrail.
jm0lesky 1 year ago
@jm0lesky
Makes sense. This was right around the era when the NKP/LV Merger was drawn up. It was the STB that also prevented that. I find it very ironic that it was actually the STB / ICC that had a lot in creating the mess in the north east in the 60's and 70s. Had they approved some of those eariler mergers, NKP & LV for example, Maybe things would've been different, then and even today. I'm one of the Valley fans, so I tend to burn on PRR for ruining what the LV had.
CountVonBoco 1 year ago
@CountVonBoco PC had to deal with whatever the unions wanted, like it or not.
kjrehberg 1 year ago
Don't blame just the NYNH&H, the PRR was the epitome of deferred maintenance for years previous, and the Young/Perlman team had loaded up the NYC with incredible debt. Then there was Dick Lassiter and Executive Jet...I could go on and on...
choirboyfromhell1 2 years ago
@legodirectorHD Not only the NYNH&H but the insane abuses of commercial paper, today rivaled only by the Enron scandal. See the book "The Men Who Loved Trains" and "The Wreck of the Penn Central" for the sad details.
kjrehberg 1 year ago 2
@legodirectorHD the prr was running a deficit from 1946 on.. (their profits till 1968 were from bank loans and assets stripped from subsidiaries)...
notalott 5 months ago
PennCentral supposedly had a policy of not repairing anything...anything at ALL, until it either derailed or broke.
darkyoda 2 years ago
they didn't have the money too.
trainman1995 2 years ago
@darkyoda just like the canadian national!
needsmetal 10 months ago
Ha Ha, what song is this playing in the video? Does anyone know. It goes perfect with the disaster that was penn central!
CSXtrackworker 2 years ago
Meanwhile Dick Lassiter at Executive Jet was living it up on investment money from PC.
The more things change, the more they don't.
choirboyfromhell1 2 years ago
I halfway wonder if the executives at the Pennsy had chosen not to try to acquire the NYC, that both roads would still be operating as class I's today (and might have acquired other roads in the process -- making for some interesting what ifs).
dasmikey1964 2 years ago
really? cool! I wondered how anyone could gather this amount of footage of bad tracks.
mbwolf61 2 years ago
Hmmm these clips are from the Video Penn Central 1974.A video PC made for congress to try and save their railroad.
nsconductor2007 2 years ago
I really enjoyed this video. My Dad retired from Conrail in 1991 after 36 years of service to the NYC, PC and Conrail. I'm certain He'd tell you that the most frightening years He spent on a caboose were the Penn Central years. Up till then He always took full advantage of the rail pass provided him by the company and would take all eight of us to Florida every year on the train. During the PC years he was too concerned about "going on the ground"
mbwolf61 2 years ago
hey smart ass leave Penn Central they were making the best of a bad situation.
JoJoJopete 2 years ago 2
Pretty nice video
itm426 2 years ago
Hey, if Pennsy or NYC are too good for you, why not model their bastard child? XD
veronicafanDA 3 years ago 12
1:55 to 2:18 gives a new meaning to the term rock n roll
kirbygrubb 3 years ago
But you know......an argument can be made that the Penn Central did a better job of promoting itself in bankruptcy than the class ones of today. Great video!
Taaaarail 3 years ago 2
TRUE
StephanieKnightley 2 years ago