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[Anonymous]

[:D][:D]I think the NYC would have been the big dog[}:)][}:)]

[Overmod]

I think the problem is that the seeds of disaster for PC were sown long before 1968. And that of all the possible mergers that could have been conceived, one between NYC and PRR was about the dumbest. (A better question might be: What if PRR had retained its stake and interest in N&W?)

With hindsight, the 'way to go' in the '60s would have involved transcontinental-scale mergers -- the precise players and lines involved being an interesting exercise for 'theoretical historians'. I do NOT think there was too much interest in north-south consolidations at that time.

Now, if NYC and PRR had merged with some of the Western carriers, we wouldn't be treated to the spectacle of a BNSF, or the even more laughable assumption of SP by UP. We might also see effective preservation of the 'right' kinds of competition and second-source service availability in many areas and markets.

Be interesting to see what Perlman would have done with high-speed transcontinental intermodal service in the '60s...

OR whether effective electrification of traffic on the PRR main to west of Pittsburgh could have been achieved with bridge-traffic power, speed, and train-density requirements...