Boomer5 Currently researching the decline of the Class I Railroads since the 1950's and found this so far: 1950 127 Class I railroads in Operation 1960 102 1970 58 1980 15 1990 11 2000 7 The information for the 1980's seems low to me. As I recall in the early 80's there were around 35 or so Class I's with several roads falling out soon thereafter due to bankruptcies and mergers but by 1989 I find it hard to believe that there were only 15 Class I's remaining. Does anyone have any hard data on this topic?
I trust you're researching the decline in the number of Class 1 railroads (a statistical definitional aberration), as opposed to their economic decline. Because the latter just isn't happening, at least since sometime in the 1990's.
Instead, one could hypothesize an inverse relationship there - that the reduced number of Class 1's led to better economic fortunes, or vice-versa. While there's good support for that, I don't think it's the whole story, or even the most important part of it. And any such thesis risks the fallacy of "post hoc, ergo prompter hoc" (if I remember it correctly, 'cause I'm no Latin scholar - corrections invited; for the rest of us, the analogy is the rooster who thinks he causes the sun to rise each morning . . . ).
- Paul North.
carnej1Keep in mind that there have been a fair number of regional railroads created in the last three decades that would have qualified as Class 1's by 1950's revenue/mileage standards....
And conversely, many of the Class 1's back in the day would be considered regionals today, simply based on how much track they ran, never mind revenue.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
The initial $1 million criterion for a Class I railroad was used until January 1, 1956, when the figure was increased to $3 million (equal to $26,023,256 today). In 1956, the ICC counted 113 Class I line-haul operating railroads (excluding "3 class I companies in systems") and 309 Class II railroads (excluding "3 class II companies in systems"). The Class III category was dropped in 1956 but reinstated in 1978. By 1963, the number of Class I railroads had dropped to 102; cutoffs were increased to $5 million by 1965 (equal to $37,418,163 today), to $10 million in 1976 (equal to $41,444,444 today), and to $50 million in 1978 (equal to $180,790,816 today), at which point only 41 railroads qualified as Class I.
In a special move in 1979, all switching and terminal railroads were re-designated Class III, including those with Class I or Class II revenues.
Class II and Class III designations are now rarely used outside the rail transport industry. The Association of American Railroads typically divides non–Class I companies into three categories:
From: http://trn.trains.com/railroads/2006/06/class-1-railroads
"As of January 2006, a Class 1 railroad was defined as one that generates revenues of $289.4 million or more each year. Class 2 railroads are those with annual revenues between $20.5 million and $289.4 million. Class 3 railroads have earnings of less than $20.5 million."
2) Mergers, takeovers and sales
3) Abandonments
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
Boomer5Currently researching the decline of the Class I Railroads since the 1950's and found this so far: 1950 127 Class I railroads in Operation 1960 102 1970 58 1980 15 1990 11 2000 7 The information for the 1980's seems low to me. As I recall in the early 80's there were around 35 or so Class I's with several roads falling out soon thereafter due to bankruptcies and mergers but by 1989 I find it hard to believe that there were only 15 Class I's remaining. Does anyone have any hard data on this topic?
Keep in mind that there have been a fair number of regional railroads created in the last three decades that would have qualified as Class 1's by 1950's revenue/mileage standards....
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
I suspect because the stat states 1980 - it doesn't mean 1989.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.