NYC was my favorite hometown RR, NH second. D&RGW was my favorite exotic road, because of its mountain routes and the Narrow Gaude history. Being taken over by UP was not how I wanted to see it ended.
PRR. I grew up in central PA at about the midpoint of the Middle Division.
CW
For me it is.... The Clinchfield second the Seaboard Coast Line.
Russell
The Erie, because it was all over North Jersey where I grew up. The flag may have fallen but the base of the pole is still there.
https://www.subwaynut.com/njt/main_line/index.php
The late, lamented Joyce Kilmer even wrote a poem about the Erie's Main Line in 1914:
https://poets.org/poem/twelve-forty-five
Then there's the:
https://www.subwaynut.com/njt/bergen_county_line/index.php
https://www.subwaynut.com/njt/pascack_valley_line/index.php
And just because.
And the Jersey Central, for obvious reasons!
The Pennsylvania- I grew up on Long Island and before 1965(?) the LIRR was a Pennsy subsidiary. I recall the occasional Tuscan red passenger cars rolling through my town. I also recall how on class trips into Manhattan, the huge coach yards at Sunnyside with coaches from all over the country and the catenary equipped tracks in the yards where you could see GG1s cruising around.
B&O - created the industry.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
I wish we...in the usa...still had the time, money, and the trains themselves, to travel by train again.
I thoroughly enjoy fallen flags just as much as anyone else in the hobby and have my favorites. They may be cherished for; paint scheme, good freight and passenger service, work environment, or just plain good ole' PR.
Though I want to look at this from a different perspective. The innovation these FF have brought to the table, and how modern RR's benefit from these past creations. I'll start with my list and just a brief explanantion why they are held in my personal regard:
Southern Pacific; Not only my top FF. SP is responsible for double stack technology. While they failed to capitalize on their own creation with a prototype produced by American Car Foundry. It wasn't until American President Lines and Sea-Land offered land bridge service with SP and later UP that the concept took off. Double Stacking greatly increased utilization, efficiency and train productivity.
New York Central; NYC has many innovations under it's belt from early containerization experiments in the early 1900's to Flexi-Van. The first modern hump yards utilizing automation. Along with creating the first CTC and car reader systems.
Santa Fe; The harbinger of mainline Diesel Locomotives to serve in the water stressed Southwest. Santa Fe led the charge in DEL's leading to more efficient operation. Santa Fe would later become a innovator in Intermodal. Intermodal would not have gathered its momentum without ATSF. From Fuel Foiler to the landmark deal with JB Hunt in 1989. Santa Fe set the tone for future intermodal business and successor BNSF continues this legacy.
Who's on your list and why?
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