[PRCo] Lost Message

[Edward H. Lybarger]

The following seems to have ended up in the nether reaches of Internet-land.
I never got it, and assume no one else did, either.

COPY OF MESSAGE:

The law was enforced very selectively.  It was supposed to exclude
combinations that served the same geographic area.  I never heard any
mention of West Penn Power/Railways proper being affected.  Potomac Edison
was affected because of the Blue Ridge subsidiary, which went far afield
from Hagerstown.  In Pittsburgh, Philadelphia Company was first advised that
it wouldn't be broken up.  Then some politics changed and SEC broke it up.
Read Moody's Transportation & Utilities Manuals through the years for the
evolution.  I've done part of it but not all.  It's slow, laborious work
(like most good research!).

Ed

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org]On Behalf Of
Harold Geissenheimer
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2001 11:05 AM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: [PRCo] Re: [Fwd: Pittsburgh Rwy Cars]



Hi Fred:

Yes.  Some power companies paid no heed to the SEC.  New Orleans had strong
support by the city.  Electric power paid for low street car fares.  South
Carolina
Gas & Electric and Duke Power stayed in the bus business until the last
decade.
Public Service NJ lasted many years.  But I do believe the law was meant to
be enforced.  It just never was.

Harold Geissenheimer

"Fred W. Schneider III" wrote:

> Harold:
>
> You brought up one interesting point here and that is the Securities
> Divestitute Act.  It is very easy to believe that some disgruntled power
> or gas customer didn't like to subsidize trolley cars that he didn't
> ride.  But the public is generally blind to these things.
>
> Based on the selective enforcement of the law (New Orleans Public
> Service for example turned a blind eye to that law for half a century),
> it would be much easier for me to believe that the law was written in
> response to efforts by the utility industry, perhaps under cover
> efforts, to ditch the transit services that were a burden on
> profitability.  What can you add?
>
> Fred Schneider
>
> Harold Geissenheimer wrote:
> >
> > Greetings to every one
> >
> > West Penn was also responding to the Federal SEC rules to divest the
> > power company from transportation.  This included not only the rail
lines
> > but also their initial bus line to South Connellsville.  At the same
time
> > the parent Potomas Edison Co of Hagerstown was selling off the
> > Blue Ridge Bus Lines (Wash & Balt to Pgh and Cleveland).  I would
> > suspect that they also saw red ink in the handwriting on the wall.
> >