What is your most disliked Railroad?

[ValorStorm]

"ebriley" and "BRAKIE" are right. Everyone go back and re-read their first postings on this thread... AND PUT AWAY THAT BONG!

[espeefoamer]

I hate the UP because of what they did to the SP[}:)].I don't like what PC did to the Pennsy, but I can't hate PC because they ran GG1s.
Any railroad that ran GG1s can't be all bad!

[peterjenkinson1956]

i cannot say i dislike any railroad...however i have travelled to many places in the world and can honestly say that the santa fe is the railroad that impressed me most...i model conrail and csx in ho and bnsf in n gauge...peter

[Anonymous]

I said the PC because the Brass went out their way to destroy any remains of the NYC and yet even to this day, once in a great while, you'll see that beautiful NYC logo on some boxcar down here in Fla.

I also don't care for Okra...

[Anonymous]

I hate Spinach.

[CP5415]

My most disliked railroad?
Easy

Canadian National!!!!!!

I've never been a fan of the former gov't owned RR.

Gordon

[Anonymous]

RailRoads do what they do for one thing Profit, Railroads must continually find ways to expand their customer base to stay in buisness roads that are not profitable are gobbled up by roads that are argo more track more customers more traffic more buisness= more profit.I don't like that there is no more C&O ,or B&O,or WM but i don't hate Chessie and now Csx for being more buisness savy than the former.Railroads and public relations I would expect that all the big boys want to portray a positive image,but the bottom line is now as was in it's begining the all mighty dollar.Just my three cents worth.

[Anonymous]

[[#oops]I forgot a few!

UP:
Chicago & Northwestern
Chicago & Great Western(CNW)
Minneanappolis & St.Louis(CNW)
Chicago,Rock Island,& Pacific
Missouri Pacific
Missouri Kansas Texas
Oklahoma Kansas Texas(MKT)

CP
Milwaukee Road
SOO LINE
Wisconsin Central(old,via SOO LINE)

CN
Illinois Central
GM&O(ICG/IC)
Duluth,Missable & Iron Range
Bessimer & Lake Erie
Wisconsin Cental(New)
Grand Trunk & Western
Duluth,Winnepeg & Pacific(GTW)

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Heartland Flyer

My answer is None of the Above
I like all railroads

[#ditto]

[Anonymous]

Everyone here who doesnt understand the UP's liscensing program needs to go and read it. It says that those people who want to use UP colors and stuff on their model railroad may do so. UP is protecting themselves from CORPORATE organizations. If you were making Dallas Cowboys t-shirts in your garage and selling them then yes Jerry Jones will be at your door with his hand out.
I do not understand why its ok for every other Corporate organization to protect its trademark but not the railroads.
So quit whining about it and get on with life, its done and there is nothing you can do about it.
Oh I dont hate any railroad I just dislike certain color schemes.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by FJ and G

Amtrak--crappy service, ugly paint scheme, not able to think outside the box, beaurocracy

Conrail (abandoned thousands of miles to improve the bottom line--why not just get out of the RR business entirely?

How dare you bash Amtrak!!![:(!] Amtrak is the last remaining Passenger service that you take from one city such as chicago and take amtrak to detroit. Maybe you'll understand taht Amtrak is important when they threaten to shut down your line.....

[eastcoast]

IF yo U r P roducts are painted YELLOW AND GRAY, some people
will come to yo U r P ersonal doorway and will make U P yo U r P ants.
U P is issuing citations and lawsUits to the wrong P eople. U P yours,
UNION PACIFIC.
i'll paint my road red and green. E C R

[Anonymous]

My answer is None of the Above
I like all railroads

[Anonymous]

sorry guys, i had to reply!

[Anonymous]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!HOW DARE YOU PUT BNSF ON THE LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by EEDM
UP:
Chicago & Northwestern
Chicago & Great Western(CNW)
Minneanappolis & St.Louis(CNW)
Chicago,Rock Island,& Pacific
Missouri Pacific
Missouri Kansas Texas
Oklahoma Kansas Texas(MKT)

CP
Milwaukee Road
SOO LINE
Wisconsin Central(old,via SOO LINE)

CN
Duluth,Missable & Iron Range
Bessimer & Lake Erie
Wisconsin Cental(New)
Grand Trunk & Western
Duluth,Winnepeg & Pacific(GTW)

Some more:

BNSF:
Santa Fe
Burlington Northern

NS:
Norfolk & Western
Southern
Conrail

CSX:
Chessie (B&O, C&O, WM)
Seaboard Coast Line (ACL, SCL)
Clinchfield
Atlanta & West Point
Louisville & Nashville
Conrail
Richmond Fredricksburg & Potomac

[Texas Zepher]

All of these railroads cannot be considered at the same level. The PennCentral was struggling under governmental regulations from the Feds all the way down to the cities and in an economy and socitey that had written the railroads off as a viable transportation medium. I am certain they probably hated doing what they had to do to try to keep the company in business.

The Union Pacific is hot right now because of MR copyright issues. My only problem with that is they haven't been doing it for 100 years... But I did make certain I voted against every director that supports this.

BNSF - even though I am a GN fan, it was a really stupid choice of livery for the locomotives. I was not able to find out which directors like/dislike this scheme. As near as I can tell it is an executive decision.

CXS - don't know much about them.

IC - sold out to the Canadians.

SO my vote is NORFOLK WESTERN - What they did to there steam program is regrettable, but based on sound business practice. The rub is what they did with their active steam locomotives. I understand donating them, but to sabaotage them so that they cannot ever be steamed again is just a crime. I did research and made certain I voted against retaining all directors that were in favor of that decision.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Paul3

dkelly wrote:

QUOTE: Why do folks hate PC for faliing?

For failing? No, I don't hate the PC for failing. What I don't like about PC was the promises they made of improved service yet they had to know they had a snowball's chance in heck of actually making it work. What I hate about PC is the arrogance and the negative atttitude towards former NH men that PC (PRR) employees were known for. What I dispise about PC is the whirlwind disposing of antique NH documents and objects when options were available (NH had already gave it's corporate documents to UCONN; PC gave everything else to the landfill).

QUOTE: PC was doomed from the start.

We can see that today, why couldn't they? PRR and NYC could have forced a Stagger's Act 10 years earlier if they threatened to shut down both systems. As shown by David Gunn in recent times, Congress only acts when it has to. PRR and NYC had all the inside info... They had to know that they were headed for finacial disaster, yet they did the equivilent of re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, all while saying that everything will be fine. Bah!

QUOTE: The reasons were numerous. Instead of hating PC, should we hate the various forces that took two and later three great railroads (PRR, NYC, NH) (plus all those others that eventually made up Conrail) and ruined them?

Taxes, antiquated government controls, antiquated work rules, high wages for factory workers, cold northern climate, etc. You name it...

QUOTE: The PC was a last ditch effort to save PRR and NYC. Even if PC were run differently, I strongly suspect the result would have been the same.

They should never have done it. They should have stuck to their guns and told the truth to the government and the public about what was about to happen. And if nobody listened, then they should have threatened a shut down.

And I include the NH in this, too. They did not cover themselves in glory either during this period. But then, I model happier times...

Paul A. Cutler III
*****************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*****************

[:(!]Yeah,PC&CR were bad! But remember that CR WAS a reincarintaed PC!!!
I like many midwestern roads like the CGW,MSt.l,CNW,MILW,SOO,GTW,WC,RI,MKT,OKT,IC,GM&O,MP etc .but which three railroads were responsible for midwestern railroad extermination?NOT PC,NOT CR,NOT NS,NOT CSX,but the three main suspects,the borgs:UP,CP,and CN! A list of which Midwestern roads that the assimilated by
"the borgs":

UP:
Chicago & Northwestern
Chicago & Great Western(CNW)
Minneanappolis & St.Louis(CNW)
Chicago,Rock Island,& Pacific
Missouri Pacific
Missouri Kansas Texas
Oklahoma Kansas Texas(MKT)

CP
Milwaukee Road
SOO LINE
Wisconsin Central(old,via SOO LINE)

CN
Duluth,Missable & Iron Range
Bessimer & Lake Erie
Wisconsin Cental(New)
Grand Trunk & Western
Duluth,Winnepeg & Pacific(GTW)

[Anonymous]

My Dads!!! Around our supper table it was
always"You run your railraod, and i'll run mine!"

[Paul3]

dkelly wrote:

QUOTE: Why do folks hate PC for faliing?

For failing? No, I don't hate the PC for failing. What I don't like about PC was the promises they made of improved service yet they had to know they had a snowball's chance in heck of actually making it work. What I hate about PC is the arrogance and the negative atttitude towards former NH men that PC (PRR) employees were known for. What I dispise about PC is the whirlwind disposing of antique NH documents and objects when options were available (NH had already gave it's corporate documents to UCONN; PC gave everything else to the landfill).

QUOTE: PC was doomed from the start.

We can see that today, why couldn't they? PRR and NYC could have forced a Stagger's Act 10 years earlier if they threatened to shut down both systems. As shown by David Gunn in recent times, Congress only acts when it has to. PRR and NYC had all the inside info... They had to know that they were headed for finacial disaster, yet they did the equivilent of re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, all while saying that everything will be fine. Bah!

QUOTE: The reasons were numerous. Instead of hating PC, should we hate the various forces that took two and later three great railroads (PRR, NYC, NH) (plus all those others that eventually made up Conrail) and ruined them?

Taxes, antiquated government controls, antiquated work rules, high wages for factory workers, cold northern climate, etc. You name it...

QUOTE: The PC was a last ditch effort to save PRR and NYC. Even if PC were run differently, I strongly suspect the result would have been the same.

They should never have done it. They should have stuck to their guns and told the truth to the government and the public about what was about to happen. And if nobody listened, then they should have threatened a shut down.

And I include the NH in this, too. They did not cover themselves in glory either during this period. But then, I model happier times...

Paul A. Cutler III
*****************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*****************

[Anonymous]

Judging by some of the posts here, perhaps instead of calling this "most disliked Railroad" it would be more accurate to say "what railroading event disappointed you the most." I don't think that I hate any railroad for merging others into it. I do hate the circumstances that might have made such a merger necessary (ie: PRR and NYC into PC and the formation of Conrail). So in that vein, the most disappointing events for me would be: (1) the demise of the PRR; (2) the demise of interurban and trolleys; (3) the destruction of NYC's Penn Station.

[n2mopac]

I am really not sure the purpose of this thread. I thought the whole intention here was to serve those who love railroads. I may not always appreciate certain roads and their mergers or their practices, but I don't need a forum to bash a road just for existing.

Ron

[Anonymous]

UP and BNSF are just purdy.

[FJ and G]

Amtrak--crappy service, ugly paint scheme, not able to think outside the box, beaurocracy

Conrail (abandoned thousands of miles to improve the bottom line--why not just get out of the RR business entirely?

[Anonymous]

CSX - for dismantling my favorite shortline (W&OD) and gobbling up the WM and B&O.

[Anonymous]

I agree 100% with the prior message from "dkelly". PC could not have survived given the conditions of the time, even with the best management. Much was earlier said about what PC did to the New Haven. The loss of major manufacturing in Southern New England plus the inability of NH or PC to rid itself of unprofitable branchlines spelled doom.
The loss of manufacturing continues today. I've lived within eyesight of a branchline in CT for 25 years. A daily 50 car freight is now 5 to 15 cars and no longer daily.
If PC ruined rail freight in Southern New England, successors have had almost 30 years to "fix it" and outside of a couple bright spots (Housatonic and P&W) nothing has really happened except gridlock everyday on I-84 and I-95!

Rob

[Anonymous]

Why do folks hate PC for faliing? PC was doomed from the start. The reasons were numerous. Instead of hating PC, should we hate the various forces that took two and later three great railroads (PRR, NYC, NH) (plus all those others that eventually made up Conrail) and ruined them? The PC was a last ditch effort to save PRR and NYC. Even if PC were run differently, I strongly suspect the result would have been the same.

Now - if you want to talk about the decision to tear down NYC Penn Station - that's different. That act was criminal! But then given the finances present, did they really have a choice?

[twhite]

Hit that damned TAB key, again--! While I don't DISLIKE the UP, I'm having a little trouble understanding it. Especially out here in California. What I don't understand is why they only allow 79 trains per MONTH over the Donner Pass line, while they pump almost everything they can run over the ex-WP single-track rockslide-prone Feather River Canyon line (sorry, WP fans, of which I am one, but that rail line was never met to handle 30+ trains per day). UP has, ever since the takeover of SP, promised to re-habilitate the Donner Pass line--double-tracking the portions that were taken out by SP, improving the tunnels for double-stacks, etc. But I haven't seen anything happening there at all. Donner Pass might have steeper grades, but it's still a FASTER trans-Sierra line than the winding Feather River Canyon. And as far as steeper grades, well the new diesels can flatten them out pretty darned well. Hell, SP was flattening them out with AC cab-forwards in the steam era, so it's not like we're talking perpindicular, is it? Or does UP just have a general aversion to mountain railroading? And while we're at it, how come UP thought it was a bright idea to abandon Tennessee Pass in Colorado, when just before their takeover, SP and Rio Grande were mananging somehow to run 20+ trains a day over that same route? Sorry, but I just don't UNDERSTAND UP.
Tom

[twhite]

While I don't DISLIKE the UP,