Pennsylvania Railroad in 1968 to form Penn Central, with the New Haven fol- lowing in 1969. Equipment consisted of coaches and locomotives largely of New Haven ancestry. Into the 1970s, notices inside timetables made it quite clear that Penn Central was operating the trains “as an independent contractor” for the MBTA, and could be discontin- ued at any time should funding be withdrawn.
Conrail continued the status quo when it took over in 1976, but immedi- ately began demanding increased sub- sidies from the MBTA. The Conrail commuter era in Boston would not even last a whole year. The contract was put out for bid, and on March 15, 1977, the Boston & Maine assumed operation of the south side commuter trains. For the first time all of Boston’s commuter trains were the responsibility of a sin- gle operator, since B&M had been re- sponsible for operations out of North Station for many years. This arrange- ment continued until 1987, when Am- trak became the successful bidder on the MBTA contract. Boston’s com- muter trains have been operated by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail- road Company since 2003.
CHICAGO Gary Valparaiso
Chicago-Valparaiso (1976-1979) The Pennsylvania Railroad operated
a single rush-hour commuter service from Chicago Union Station to Val- paraiso, Ind. The Valpo Local (also called the Valpo “Dummy”) consisted of two morning trains and two evening trains serving the suburbs of northern Indiana. Only the railroad’s name changed when control passed to Penn Central in 1968, and similarly to Con- rail in 1976. The train remained Con- rail’s only Chicago commuter opera- tion, usually consisting of ancient ex-Pennsy P70 coaches hauled by Geeps equipped with steam heat. It was a quaint throwback and contrast to the modern HEP-equipped cars being used on other Chicago commuter lines, evidence of the lack of subsidy avail- able from either Illinois or Indiana for the Valpo train. When the Cleveland- Youngstown train was cancelled in 1977, the newer former Erie Lack- awanna
lightweight ILLINOIS INDIANA coaches were
transferred to Chicago to replace the aging heavyweights. Conrail also leased some of the old streamlined coaches that were bumped from Nor- folk & Western’s commuter train to Or- land Park when it was re-quipped with new cars. By 1979, Conrail was peti- tioning the Interstate Commerce Com- mission to discontinue the service alto- gether citing mounting deficits.
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