Penn Central Transportation Company

The Penn Central Transportation Company was formed in 1968 with the merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company (1846-1968) and the New York Central Railroad Company (1853-1968). The companies also absorbed the smaller New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. All three companies were the result of the consolidation of many smaller, regional rail lines throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The new corporation was short lived, declaring bankruptcy in June 1970. The United States government intervened to reorganize the railroad. The Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) was established in April 1976 to manage the viable portions of the Penn Central and five smaller northeastern rail lines.

From the description of Records, 1834-1977 (inclusive). (Harvard Business School). WorldCat record id: 48505027

Records of railroad companies (mainly Michigan lines) absorbed with the merger of the New York Central Railroad Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad Company into the Penn Central Transportation Company.

From the description of Penn Central Transportation Company records, 1835-1981. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34421915

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was formed in 1846 and expanded rapidly in the 1860s and 1870s, eventually controlling over 800 corporations. The New York Central Railroad Company was organized in 1853 and merged with the Hudson River Railroad in 1869 to form the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad; in 1914 the name was again changed to the New York Central Railroad Company.

The Penn Central Transportation Company was formed in 1968 through the merger of the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads. The company did not prosper and went bankrupt in 1970. The company was reorganized in 1971 with the help of the Federal Government and the creation of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK) which assumed long distance passenger service and in 1976 with the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) which took over the viable parts of Penn Central and five other bankrupt rail lines. Penn Central was reorganized as the Penn Central Corporation in 1978; it liquidated most of its rail subsidiaries and property and became a general holding company with subsidiaries in energy, electronics, equipment, manufacture, and real estate.

From the guide to the Penn Central Transportation Company Records, 1835-1981, 1835-1960, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)