BT CPSO 266 I appreciate all the suggestions. I am most interested in what was going on in Bankruptcy Court when the company filed for Chapter 11 in 1970, and the deal that was reached to allow PC to continue operations post-bankruptcy. Also, do these books go into detail about the poor communication practices between the former PRR & NYC executives that were running Penn Central? I will have to check out these books.
I appreciate all the suggestions.
I am most interested in what was going on in Bankruptcy Court when the company filed for Chapter 11 in 1970, and the deal that was reached to allow PC to continue operations post-bankruptcy.
Also, do these books go into detail about the poor communication practices between the former PRR & NYC executives that were running Penn Central?
I will have to check out these books.
All the books I have read about the PC did address the lack of communication and each side at times ignoring the directives of the other as if they didn't exist.
If your interested in the court proceedings as they occured you may have to research old copies of the Wall Street Journal. Also there were some government publications from committee inquiries concerning the PC that may shed some light on your concerns. Getting these may be a piece of work in itself as they are out of print.
One is the SEC's inquiry, The Financial Collapse of the Penn Central from Aug 1972. Another is a congressional inquiry titled the Penn Central Failure and the Role of Financial Institutions published in Jan 1972.
Also you may want to research the annual reports issued by the Penn Central. Most annual reports are issued in two versions, one abbreviated that basically summarizes the year. Get the more detailed copy, they most certainly would refer to decisions rendered by the court. I found my copies at rail shows or e-bay.
In 1970, railroad bankruptcies were still governed by Chapter 77. At any rate, an initial filing for bankruptcy does not begin the liquidation process. This is an oversimplification, but the process attempts to preserve the business. If it is determined that the business is capable of continuing as a going concern, the court wrangling among the various creditor groups over a plan of reorganization begins. When enough of the creditors agree on a plan of reorganization, the business is turned over to the creditors, who usually receive stock in the new firm in accordance with the plan. The old stockholders are wiped out. If the business is incapable of continuing as a going concern, the proceeding turns into a Chapter 7 liquidation.
As I mentioned above, this is a gross oversimplification. Maybe the attorneys in our midst can fill in the details and correct any mistakes.
The book it think Paul is refering to is "Riding the Pennsy to Ruin, A Wall Street Journal Chronicle of the PC Debacle" a 1971 publication. I held back on adding this one to my collection, reviews of the book alleged very one sided and at times unfair interpretation of the PC.
There was also at least 1 report by a Congressional committee investigation (which I have upstairs in a box someplace). As I recall, it was pretty much of a 'witch hunt' report. I'm thinking that there was another book of the same vein as The Wreck of the Penn Central - though perhaps by Wall Street Journal reporters instead - but I can't recall the title.
Is there anything in particular you'd like to know about ? I was a teenager and went to college during it, so it kind of left some marks on my young and impressionable mind. More relevant, one of my later law school professors - Walter J. Taggart - was then fresh out of Villanova Law School and just happened to be U.S. District Court Judge John P. Fullam's law clerk when the bankruptcy petition was filed and the case was assigned to Fullam. As a result, Taggart's career took a new turn and an unexpected path for about the next 6 or 7 years, and he's done quite well with it all. My Chapter 11 Bankruptcy seminar paper in the spring of 1979 was about railroad equipment financing, and drew heavily on the several repossessions, cases, and decisions that occurred during the PC and other bankruptcies. Aside from the purely legal aspects, there were a lot of other events and elements that I'm familiar with, and I'd be glad to share or guide you to them.
- Paul North.
Of course, no one car and no one moment set GM on its downward path by itself. But the Vega embodied practically everything bad that was about to consume the corporation and, decades later, send it into bankruptcy.
Lyon's book was more than a bit over the top even at the time it was published. I blew about $6 on the book at the time it came out and came to that conclusion as a teenager. He played fast and loose with the facts and believed that railroad management pushed the passengers off the trains. George W. Hilton came down pretty hard on him in an article-length review in TRAINS.
The book No Way to Run A Railroad by Stephen Salsbury was published in 1982, years after all the finger pointing and allegations that dominated earlier works. It looks at the PC bankruptcy in a more objective way as to what really happened and challenges some of the earlier allegations. Good book if your looking for a different perpective.
If your looking for a more period book that has a liberal 1960's attitude about things going wrong, look into the book called To Hell In A Day Coach by Peter Lyon. His frustration about the failures of the railroad is documented in this 1968 publication. Some are critical of his over kill attitude displayed.
Interesting topic, so have fun!
Rush Loving pointed out that the Penn Central mismanagement and bankruptcy served as a precursor for Enron and other more recent situations. Consequently, it would be difficult to find something that doesn't have an axe to grind. I would agree with the previous post about the best work.
The closest that I have found is "The Wreck of the Penn Central" by Daughen and Binzen (out of print but still obtainable) which is also widely quoted in Rush Loving, Jr.'s excellent book "The Men Who Loved Trains."
Enjoy!!
I know there are several books about Penn Central, but I was wondering if there are any books that go into detail about the situation that went on in Bankruptcy Court?
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