If anyone has ideas, here are some railroads I am unsure about in the merger eras.
Baltimore & Ohio
- Option 1: Merged into New York Central, retaining the NYC name
- Option 2: Remains independent by absorbing the RDG/CNJ
- Option 3: Becomes part of my TL's Chessie System. Which ITTL is all the Van Sweringen roads plus the Lackawanna
Reading/Jersey Central
- Option 1: Merged into B&O
- Option 2: Acquired by the PRR when they fall in the 70s
Wabash/Lehigh Valley
- Option 1: Merged into the PRR
- Option 2: Merged into Canadian Pacific
Boston & Maine
- Option 1: Merged into the PRR
- Option 2: Stays independent, unlike the New Haven, by absorbing the Maine Central and B&A
Sorry about a late reply but life has kept me away from the interwebs for a while...but, fwiw at this point in time, I would say:
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B&O almost HAS to have RDG/CNJ. Without their access to the port of New York/New Jersey, an independent B&O is a
really sick man, indeed. Even as a merger partner, it wouldn't be worth near as much to either the NYC or the C&O. They are going to get it for a song, either just before or from the bankruptcy court.
-If anyone else gets the
RDG/CNJ I can't see any regulated environment letting the Pennsy get ahold of it. The monopoly of coal lines and NY/NJ access would be too overwhelming. Expect a chorus of singed cats no matter what.
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WAB/LV makes perfect sense with the PRR, and there was a sufficient otl relationship that you can pull it off easily enough imo. But...with the CP? Now
that is intriguing! I have to admit that I haven't caught up on all the missed posts in this thread so let me ask, does CP still have otl Soo Line (WC, DSS&A, MStP&SSteM)? If so, acquiring the WAB will provide CP with not only access to Chicago from the east, but St. Louis and Omaha. That leaves a tantalizing gap between Omaha and the Twin Cities. Two candidates to close that "iron circle" that spring to my mind: the Chicago Great Western (which iirc, you have had part of the AT&SF?), or...the Minneapolis & Saint Louis. The Louie becomes a trunk line! I think this intrigues me the most on this list.
The
B&M has a chance at independence with an all-northern New England (MEC and B&A) merger...but where have you put the Delaware & Hudson? A combination with that (or with whoever has that, if not the NYC) would make for a nice New England regional, or access to New England for someone. (Fwiw, I always thought that would combine well with the ERIE.)