99-627: Consolidated Railway or Consolidated Railroad may refer to: Consolidated Rail Corporation , created by the U.S. government in 1976 to take over bankrupt railroads in the northeast U.S. Consolidated Railroad of Vermont , predecessor of the Central Vermont Railway Consolidated Railway (Connecticut) , street railway subsidiary of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The Consolidated, nickname of
198-405: A bank or credit union that may have a deal set up with either a full-service or discount broker. There are other ways of buying stock besides through a broker. One way is directly from the company itself. If at least one share is owned, most companies will allow the purchase of shares directly from the company through their investor relations departments. However, the initial share of stock in
297-401: A stockbroker who buys and sells shares of a wide range of companies on such exchanges. A company may list its shares on an exchange by meeting and maintaining the listing requirements of a particular stock exchange. Many large non-U.S companies choose to list on a U.S. exchange as well as an exchange in their home country in order to broaden their investor base. These companies must maintain
396-650: A 51 percent share in the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad . In the years leading to 1973, the freight railroad system of the Northeastern United States was collapsing. Although government-funded Amtrak took over intercity passenger services on May 1, 1971, railroad companies continued to lose money due to extensive government regulations, expensive labor costs, competition from other transportation modes, declining industrial business and other factors. The largest railroad in
495-558: A bill to nationalize the bankrupt railroads. The Association of American Railroads , which opposed nationalization, submitted an alternate proposal for a government-funded private company. Judge Fullam forced the Penn Central to operate into 1974, when, on January 2, after threatening a veto , President Richard Nixon signed the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 into law. The "3R Act," as it
594-472: A block of shares at a bank in the US, typically a certain percentage of their capital. On this basis, the holding bank establishes American depositary shares and issues an American depositary receipt (ADR) for each share a trader acquires. Likewise, many large U.S. companies list their shares at foreign exchanges to raise capital abroad. Small companies that do not qualify and cannot meet the listing requirements of
693-426: A buyer. Most trades are actually done through brokers listed with a stock exchange. There are many different brokerage firms from which to choose, such as full service brokers or discount brokers. The full service brokers usually charge more per trade, but give investment advice or more personal service; the discount brokers offer little or no investment advice but charge less for trades. Another type of broker would be
792-471: A certain priority to receive profits or liquidation proceeds before or after other classes of shareholders. Stock can be bought and sold privately or on stock exchanges . Transactions of the former are closely overseen by governments and regulatory bodies to prevent fraud, protect investors, and benefit the larger economy. As new shares are issued by a company, the ownership and rights of existing shareholders are diluted in return for cash to sustain or grow
891-401: A company to be listed are minimal. Shares of companies in bankruptcy proceedings are usually listed by these quotation services after the stock is delisted from an exchange. There are various methods of buying and financing stocks, the most common being through a stockbroker . Brokerage firms, whether they are a full-service or discount broker, arrange the transfer of stock from a seller to
990-415: A couple of aspects. They issued shares called partes (for large cooperatives) and particulae which were small shares that acted like today's over-the-counter shares. Polybius mentions that "almost every citizen" participated in the government leases. There is also evidence that the price of stocks fluctuated. The Roman orator Cicero speaks of partes illo tempore carissimae , which means "shares that had
1089-507: A few unusual cases, some courts have been willing to imply such a duty between shareholders. For example, in California , United States , majority shareholders of closely held corporations have a duty not to destroy the value of the shares held by minority shareholders. The largest shareholders (in terms of percentages of companies owned) are often mutual funds, and, especially, passively managed exchange-traded funds . The owners of
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#17327809291991188-493: A former Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (PRR Panhandle Route line), while Norfolk Southern got the former Pennsylvania Railroad main line and Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad from Jersey City, New Jersey , to Cleveland, and the rest of the former NYC main line west to Chicago, Illinois . Thus the Conrail "X" was neatly split in two, CSX getting one diagonal from Boston to St. Louis and Norfolk Southern
1287-424: A fraction of ownership in a business. A business may declare different types (or classes) of shares, each having distinctive ownership rules, privileges, or share values. Ownership of shares may be documented by issuance of a stock certificate . A stock certificate is a legal document that specifies the number of shares owned by the shareholder , and other specifics of the shares, such as the par value, if any, or
1386-406: A non-equity interest in a non-profit organization . Thus it might be common to call volunteer contributors to an association stakeholders, even though they are not shareholders. Although directors and officers of a company are bound by fiduciary duties to act in the best interest of the shareholders, the shareholders themselves normally do not have such duties towards each other. However, in
1485-400: A number of different conditions are met. A stock derivative is any financial instrument for which the underlying asset is the price of an equity. Futures and options are the main types of derivatives on stocks. The underlying security may be a stock index or an individual firm's stock, e.g. single-stock futures . Stock futures are contracts where the buyer is long , i.e., takes on
1584-423: A number of reasons may induce an investor to sell at a loss, e.g., to avoid further loss. As with buying a stock, there is a transaction fee for the broker's efforts in arranging the transfer of stock from a seller to a buyer. This fee can be high or low depending on which type of brokerage, full service or discount, handles the transaction. After the transaction has been made, the seller is then entitled to all of
1683-421: A private company may want additional capital to invest in new projects within the company. They may also simply wish to reduce their holding, freeing up capital for their own private use. They can achieve these goals by selling shares in the company to the general public, through a sale on a stock exchange . This process is called an initial public offering , or IPO. By selling shares they can sell part or all of
1782-748: A profit in the 1980s and was privatized in 1987. The two remaining Class I railroads in the East , CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), agreed in 1997 to acquire the system and split it into two roughly-equal parts (alongside three residual shared-assets areas), returning rail freight competition to the Northeast by essentially undoing the 1968 merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad that created Penn Central . Following approval by
1881-406: A standardized rulebook called Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee (NORAC). This significantly increased operational flexibly, allowing crews to operate on any territory they were qualified on, instead of additionally needing multiple operating rules qualifications. Additionally, standardized signal rules allowed Conrail to standardize signaling hardware and operation across its system. In
1980-415: A tenant. Western Hills Express (5703) With Conrail's increasing success, it decided to merge the company with another railroad, so it approached CSX Transportation about buying Conrail. CSX's bid for Conrail, however, drew the attention of Norfolk Southern Railway which, fearing that CSX would come to dominate rail traffic in the eastern US, made a bid of its own leading to a takeover battle between
2079-507: A terminal operating company owned by both CSX and NS. The Conrail Shared Assets Operations arrangement was a concession made to federal regulators who were concerned about the lack of competition in certain rail markets and logistical problems associated with the breaking-up of Conrail operations as they existed in densely-populated areas with many local customers. The smaller Conrail operation that exists today serves rail freight customers in these markets on behalf of its two owners. A fourth area,
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#17327809291992178-787: A very high price at that time". This implies a fluctuation of price and stock market behavior in Rome. Around 1250 in France at Toulouse , 100 shares of the Société des Moulins du Bazacle , or Bazacle Milling Company were traded at a value that depended on the profitability of the mills the society owned. In 1288, the Bishop of Västerås acquired a 12.5% interest in Great Copper Mountain (Stora Kopparberget in Swedish) which contained
2277-626: Is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania . The society aims to preserve and restore equipment, items pertaining to, and photographs of Conrail specifically and of American railroading in general. As of 2022, the group publishes a quarterly magazine and a calendar, as well as other occasional mailings. Previous conventions have been held in Altoona, Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , Cleveland , and Warren, Ohio . More recent preservation activities include completion of
2376-399: Is an individual or company (including a corporation ) that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a joint stock company . Both private and public traded companies have shareholders. Shareholders are granted special privileges depending on the class of stock, including the right to vote on matters such as elections to the board of directors , the right to share in distributions of
2475-407: Is currently in the buyer's ownership, or by buying stock on margin . Buying stock on margin means buying stock with money borrowed against the value of stocks in the same account. These stocks, or collateral , guarantee that the buyer can repay the loan ; otherwise, the stockbroker has the right to sell the stock (collateral) to repay the borrowed money. He can sell if the share price drops below
2574-690: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Consolidated Rail Corporation Conrail ( reporting mark CR ), formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation , was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do business as an asset management and network services provider in three Shared Assets Areas that were excluded from
2673-454: Is important in areas such as insurance, which must be in the name of the company and not the main shareholder. In most countries, boards of directors and company managers have a fiduciary responsibility to run the company in the interests of its stockholders. Nonetheless, as Martin Whitman writes: Even though the board of directors runs the company, the shareholder has some impact on
2772-476: Is impractical to have all of them making the daily decisions required to run a company. Thus, the shareholders will use their shares as votes in the election of members of the board of directors of the company. In a typical case, each share constitutes one vote. Corporations may, however, issue different classes of shares, which may have different voting rights. Owning the majority of the shares allows other shareholders to be out-voted – effective control rests with
2871-434: Is legally entitled to receive a certain level of dividend payments before any dividends can be issued to other shareholders. Convertible preferred stock is preferred stock that includes the ability of the holder to convert the preferred shares into a fixed number of common shares, usually any time after a predetermined date. Shares of such stock are called "convertible preferred shares" (or "convertible preference shares" in
2970-578: Is ownership of the three Shared Assets Areas in New Jersey , Philadelphia , and Detroit . Both CSX and NS have the right to serve all shippers in these areas, paying Conrail for the cost of maintaining and improving trackage . They also make use of Conrail to perform switching and terminal services within the areas, but not as a common carrier , since contracts are signed between shippers and CSX or NS. Conrail also retains various support facilities including maintenance-of-way and training, as well as
3069-424: Is significantly correlated to the market value of a stock. Stock price may be influenced by analysts' business forecast for the company and outlooks for the company's general market segment. Stocks can also fluctuate greatly due to pump and dump scams (also see List of S&P 600 companies ) . At any given moment, an equity's price is strictly a result of supply and demand. The supply, commonly referred to as
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3168-438: The float , is the number of shares offered for sale at any one moment. The demand is the number of shares investors wish to buy at exactly that same time. The price of the stock moves in order to achieve and maintain equilibrium . The product of this instantaneous price and the float at any one time is the market capitalization of the entity offering the equity at that point in time. When prospective buyers outnumber sellers,
3267-755: The Chessie System , which would help spur competition in Conrail's territory. Chessie, however, could not reach an agreement with EL labor unions , and in February 1976 announced that it would not be buying the EL section. The USRA hurriedly assigned large amounts of trackage rights to the Delaware and Hudson Railway , allowing it to compete in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , and Washington, D.C. , markets. The State of Michigan decided to keep operational
3366-602: The Falun Mine . The Swedish mining and forestry products company Stora has documented a stock transfer, in 1288 in exchange for an estate. The earliest recognized joint-stock company in modern times was the English (later British) East India Company . It was granted an English Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600, with the intention of favouring trade privileges in India . The Royal Charter effectively gave
3465-812: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority service district (transferred to the Boston and Maine Railroad , under contract to the MBTA, in March 1977 ). Pursuant to the Northeast Rail Service Act of 1981, Conrail operated the remainder until 1983 when these services were transferred to state or metropolitan transit authorities. The transit authorities purchased the track and right-of-way on which their commuter operations ran, leaving Conrail freight operations as
3564-634: The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad See also [ edit ] Consolidated (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Consolidated Railway . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consolidated_Railway&oldid=1156093078 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
3663-490: The Northeast Corridor , further improving its finances. In 1984, the government put its 85% share up for sale. Bids were received from Alleghany Corporation , Citibank , an employee buyout , Guilford Transportation Industries , Norfolk Southern Railway and a consortium headed by J. Willard Marriott . On February 8, 1985, Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole announced Norfolk Southern Railway as
3762-671: The Raritan River Railroad (1980) were also included (See list of railroads transferred to Conrail for a full list). It was approved by Congress on November 9, and on February 5, 1976, President Gerald Ford signed the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, which included this Final System Plan, into law. The EL had been formed in 1960 as a merger of the Erie Railroad and Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad . It too
3861-556: The Surface Transportation Board , CSX and NS took control in August 1998, and on June 1, 1999, began operating their respective portions of Conrail. The old company remains a jointly-owned subsidiary, with CSX and NS owning respectively 42% and 58% of its stock , corresponding to how much of Conrail's assets they acquired. Each parent, however, has an equal voting interest . The primary asset retained by Conrail
3960-435: The margin requirement , at least 50% of the value of the stocks in the account. Buying on margin works the same way as borrowing money to buy a car or a house, using a car or house as collateral. Moreover, borrowing is not free; the broker usually charges 8–10% interest. Selling stock is procedurally similar to buying stock. Generally, the investor wants to buy low and sell high, if not in that order ( short selling ); although
4059-527: The stock of a corporation is partitioned into shares , the total of which are stated at the time of business formation. Additional shares may subsequently be authorized by the existing shareholders and issued by the company. In some jurisdictions, each share of stock has a certain declared par value , which is a nominal accounting value used to represent the equity on the balance sheet of the corporation. In other jurisdictions, however, shares of stock may be issued without associated par value. Shares represent
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4158-544: The 2010s, as railroads upgraded their signals for Positive Train Control compliance. Today, most Northeastern railroads associated with former Conrail lines have maintained standardization of all systems as vertical color light signals using NORAC rules. Conrail Shared Assets Operations continues to use the tri-light as its standard signal type. Amtrak uses a colorized version of PRR position light signals called "Position Color Lights". The Conrail Historical Society, Inc.,
4257-482: The Conrail breakup was agreed upon, and neither NS or CSX wanted 'their' locomotives to be equipped with markers. Similarly, the standard-cab SD70, Conrail's final order of locomotives, were ordered to NS specifications, and were in Norfolk Southern's preferred numbering series (the 2500's), which they retained after the breakup. When Conrail was formed, it acquired many different railways, and as typical in
4356-644: The North American rail industry, signaling was not standardized between these railways. This caused problems for Conrail, which had to "qualify" train crews on as many as seven different signaling systems and operating rules. The varying systems included the PRR position light signals , the NYC searchlight signals and tri-light signals, and the EL tri-light and semaphore signals. Conrail, and other eastern railroads which required multiple operating rules, came up with
4455-655: The Northeast Rail Service Act of 1981 (NERSA), which amended portions of the 3R Act by exempting Conrail from liability for any state taxes and requiring the Secretary of Transportation to make arrangements for the sale of the government's interest in Conrail. After NERSA was implemented, Conrail, under the aggressive leadership of L. Stanley Crane began to improve and reported taxable income between $ 2 million and $ 314 million each year from 1983 through 1986. Conrail's government-funded rebuilding of
4554-616: The Staggers Act, railroads, including Conrail, were freed from the requirement to continue money-losing services. Conrail began turning a profit by 1981, the result of the Staggers Act freedoms and its own managerial improvements under the leadership of L. Stanley Crane, who had been chief executive officer of the Southern Railway . While the Staggers Act helped immensely in allowing all railroads to more-easily abandon unprofitable rail lines and set their own freight rates, it
4653-545: The UK). New equity issue may have specific legal clauses attached that differentiate them from previous issues of the issuer. Some shares of common stock may be issued without the typical voting rights, for instance, or some shares may have special rights unique to them and issued only to certain parties. Often, new issues that have not been registered with a securities governing body may be restricted from resale for certain periods of time. Preferred stock may be hybrid by having
4752-467: The board of the directors themselves, and a considerable amount of stock is held or voted by insiders. Owning shares does not mean responsibility for liabilities. If a company goes broke and has to default on loans, the shareholders are not liable in any way. However, all money obtained by converting assets into cash will be used to repay loans and other debts first, so that shareholders cannot receive any money unless and until creditors have been paid (often
4851-400: The business. Companies can also buy back stock , which often lets investors recoup the initial investment plus capital gains from subsequent rises in stock price. Stock options issued by many companies as part of employee compensation do not represent ownership, but represent the right to buy ownership at a future time at a specified price. This would represent a windfall to the employees if
4950-556: The class of the shares. In the United Kingdom , Republic of Ireland , South Africa , and Australia , stock can also refer, less commonly, to all kinds of marketable securities . Stock typically takes the form of shares of either common stock or preferred stock . As a unit of ownership, common stock typically carries voting rights that can be exercised in corporate decisions. Preferred stock differs from common stock in that it typically does not carry voting rights but
5049-726: The company drops the "A" creating ticker OODH for its "Common" shares only designation. This extra letter does not mean that any exclusive rights exist for the shareholders but it does let investors know that the shares are considered for such, however, these rights or privileges may change based on the decisions made by the underlying company. " Rule 144 Stock" is an American term given to shares of stock subject to SEC Rule 144: Selling Restricted and Control Securities. Under Rule 144, restricted and controlled securities are acquired in unregistered form. Investors either purchase or take ownership of these securities through private sales (or other means such as via ESOPs or in exchange for seed money) from
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#17327809291995148-432: The company to many part-owners. The purchase of one share entitles the owner of that share to literally share in the ownership of the company, a fraction of the decision-making power, and potentially a fraction of the profits, which the company may issue as dividends . The owner may also inherit debt and even litigation . In the common case of a publicly traded corporation, where there may be thousands of shareholders, it
5247-444: The company will have to be obtained through a regular stock broker. Another way to buy stock in companies is through Direct Public Offerings which are usually sold by the company itself. A direct public offering is an initial public offering in which the stock is purchased directly from the company, usually without the aid of brokers. When it comes to financing a purchase of stocks there are two ways: purchasing stock with money that
5346-418: The company's income, the right to purchase new shares issued by the company, and the right to a company's assets during a liquidation of the company. However, shareholder's rights to a company's assets are subordinate to the rights of the company's creditors. Shareholders are one type of stakeholders , who may include anyone who has a direct or indirect equity interest in the business entity or someone with
5445-470: The company's policy, as the shareholders elect the board of directors. Each shareholder typically has a percentage of votes equal to the percentage of shares he or she owns. So as long as the shareholders agree that the management (agent) are performing poorly they can select a new board of directors which can then hire a new management team. In practice, however, genuinely contested board elections are rare. Board candidates are usually nominated by insiders or by
5544-632: The cosmetic restoration of N7E caboose 21165 and a partnership with the B&;O Railroad Museum to restore its ex-Conrail SW7 8905. The CRHS owns four pieces of on-track equipment: 86-foot boxcar 243880 (currently under development into a stand-alone Conrail museum), cabooses 21165 and 22130, and former Triple Crown RoadRailer TCSZ 463491. A preserved Conrail ex-PRR GP30 is on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania . To mark its 30th anniversary, Norfolk Southern painted 20 new locomotives with
5643-412: The dilapidated infrastructure and rolling stock it inherited from its six predecessors succeeded by the end of the 1970s in improving the physical condition of tracks, locomotives and freight cars . However, fundamental economic regulatory issues remained, and Conrail continued to post losses of as much as $ 1 million a day. Conrail management, recognizing the need for more regulatory freedoms to address
5742-643: The division of its operations during its acquisition by CSX Corporation and the Norfolk Southern Railway . The federal government created Conrail to take over the potentially profitable lines of multiple bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and Erie Lackawanna Railway . After railroad regulations were lifted by the 4R Act and the Staggers Act , Conrail began to turn
5841-465: The early years of Conrail, the NYC "small-back" searchlight was adopted as the systemwide standard for new signal installations and replacements. The standard signal was quickly changed to the NYC tri-light. This move was done to decrease maintenance requirements, as searchlight signals need moving parts to switch between colors, unlike tri-lights, which have individual lamps. Many signals from previous railroads were re-used though, as new signaling hardware
5940-557: The economic issues, were among the parties lobbying for what became the Staggers Act of 1980, which significantly loosened the Interstate Commerce Commission 's rigid economic control of the rail industry. This allowed Conrail and other carriers the opportunity to become profitable and strengthen their finances. The Staggers Act allowed the setting of rates that would recover capital and operating cost (fully allocated cost recovery) by each and every route mile
6039-537: The former Monongahela Railway in southwest Pennsylvania , was originally owned jointly by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , Pennsylvania Railroad and Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad . Conrail absorbed the company in 1993, and assigned trackage rights to CSX, the successor to the B&O and P&LE. With the Conrail breakup, those lines are owned by NS, but the CSX trackage rights are still in place. Since Conrail
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#17327809291996138-469: The full Ann Arbor Railroad , of which Conrail would run only the southernmost portion. Michigan bought it and the whole line was operated by Conrail for several years until it was sold to a short line . Conrail was incorporated in Pennsylvania on October 25, 1974, and operations began on April 1, 1976. The federal government owned 85%, with employees owning the remaining 15%. The theory was that if
6237-737: The future at a fixed price. Thus, the value of a stock option changes in reaction to the underlying stock of which it is a derivative . The most popular method of valuing stock options is the Black–Scholes model . Apart from call options granted to employees , most stock options are transferable. During the Roman Republic , the state contracted (leased) out many of its services to private companies. These government contractors were called publicani , or societas publicanorum as individual companies. These companies were similar to modern corporations, or joint-stock companies more specifically, in
6336-465: The issuing company (as in the case with Restricted Securities) or from an affiliate of the issuer (as in the case with Control Securities). Investors wishing to sell these securities are subject to different rules than those selling traditional common or preferred stock. These individuals will only be allowed to liquidate their securities after meeting the specific conditions set forth by SEC Rule 144. Rule 144 allows public re-sale of restricted securities if
6435-400: The lights above the deck. Red marker lights (not class lights, which are multi-color) were also a preference of Conrail. Most locomotives that went to CSX retained their marker lights, while Norfolk Southern quickly removed them. All Conrail locomotives that went to CSX and NS have been either retired or repainted. The last unit to wear "Conrail Blue", NS 8312, was retired in 2014. Conrail was
6534-550: The major exchanges may be traded over-the-counter (OTC) by an off-exchange mechanism in which trading occurs directly between parties. The major OTC markets in the United States are the electronic quotation systems OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB) and OTC Markets Group (formerly known as Pink OTC Markets Inc.) where individual retail investors are also represented by a brokerage firm and the quotation service's requirements for
6633-442: The majority shareholder (or shareholders acting in concert). In this way the original owners of the company often still have control of the company. Although ownership of 50% of shares does result in 50% ownership of a company, it does not give the shareholder the right to use a company's building, equipment, materials, or other property. This is because the company is considered a legal person, thus it owns all its assets itself. This
6732-512: The market, the price of a stock is sensitive to demand. However, there are many factors that influence the demand for a particular stock. The fields of fundamental analysis and technical analysis attempt to understand market conditions that lead to price changes, or even predict future price levels. A recent study shows that customer satisfaction, as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI),
6831-454: The money. An important part of selling is keeping track of the earnings. Importantly, on selling the stock, in jurisdictions that have them, capital gains taxes will have to be paid on the additional proceeds, if any, that are in excess of the cost basis. Short selling consists of an investor immediately selling borrowed shares and then buying them back when their price has gone down (called "covering"). Essentially, such an investor bets that
6930-417: The new Consolidated Rail Corporation. Unlike most railroad consolidations, only the designated lines were to be taken over. Other lines would be sold to Amtrak, various state governments, transportation agencies, and solvent railroads. The few remaining lines were to remain with the old companies along with all previously-abandoned lines, many stations, and all non-rail related properties, thus converting most of
7029-538: The new companies, and NS also acquired the CR reporting mark. Operations under CSX and NS began on June 1, 1999, bringing Conrail's 23-year existence to an end. As the names indicated, CSX acquired the former New York Central Railroad main line from New York City and Boston, Massachusetts , to Cleveland, Ohio , and the former Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (NYC Big Four) line to Indianapolis, Indiana (continuing west to East St. Louis, Illinois ) on
7128-685: The newly created Honourable East India Company (HEIC) a 15-year monopoly on all trade in the East Indies . Soon afterwards, in 1602, the Dutch East India Company issued the first shares that were made tradeable on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange . Between 1602 and 1796 it traded 2.5 million tons of cargo with Asia on 4,785 ships and sent a million Europeans to work in Asia. A shareholder (or stockholder )
7227-399: The obligation to buy on the contract maturity date, and the seller is short , i.e., takes on the obligation to sell. Stock index futures are generally delivered by cash settlement. A stock option is a class of option. Specifically, a call option is the right ( not obligation) to buy stock in the future at a fixed price and a put option is the right ( not obligation) to sell stock in
7326-548: The old companies into solvent property-holding companies. The plan was unveiled on July 26, 1975, consisting of lines from Penn Central and six other companies—the Ann Arbor Railroad (bankrupt 1973), Erie Lackawanna Railway (1972), Lehigh Valley Railroad (1970), Reading Company (1971), Central Railroad of New Jersey (1967) and Lehigh and Hudson River Railway (1972). Controlled railroads and jointly-owned railroads such as Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines and
7425-555: The only railroad to receive EMD SD80MACs (an order from the Chicago & North Western was cancelled when that company merged with Union Pacific ) and were separated evenly between CSX and NS. Conrail had a different paint scheme for these locomotives and also the SD70MAC , with a large white, cone-shaped line on the front, bearing "Conrail Quality" lettering. The SD70MACs were not fitted with marker lights, as they were ordered after
7524-400: The option were exercised when the market price is higher than the promised price, since if they immediately sold the stock they would keep the difference (minus taxes). Stock bought and sold in private markets fall within the private equity realm of finance. A person who owns a percentage of the stock has the ownership of the corporation proportional to their share. The shares form a stock;
7623-504: The other from New York to Chicago. The two lines cross at a bridge southeast of downtown Cleveland ( 41°26′49″N 81°37′37″W / 41.447°N 81.627°W / 41.447; -81.627 ), where the former Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad crosses over the NYC's former Cleveland Short Line Railway around the south side of Cleveland. In three major metropolitan areas – North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit – Conrail Shared Assets Operations continues to serve as
7722-551: The paint schemes of predecessor railroads. The first, on March 15, 2012, was GE ES44AC #8098 in Conrail blue with the "can opener" logo. In July 2023, CSX unveiled GE ES44AH unit #1976, which was repaired and repainted at the CSX shops in Waycross , GA with a CSX dark blue and yellow color scheme on the front (nose) and cab of the locomotive, and the light blue Conrail scheme with the Conrail Quality logo throughout
7821-444: The price of the shares will drop so that they can be bought back at the lower price and thus returned to the lender at a profit. The risks of short selling stock are usually higher than those of buying stock. This is because the loss can theoretically be unlimited since the stock's value can theoretically go up indefinitely. The price of a stock fluctuates fundamentally due to the theory of supply and demand . Like all commodities in
7920-538: The qualities of bonds of fixed returns and common stock voting rights. They also have preference in the payment of dividends over common stock and also have been given preference at the time of liquidation over common stock. They have other features of accumulation in dividend. In addition, preferred stock usually comes with a letter designation at the end of the security; for example, Berkshire-Hathaway Class "B" shares sell under stock ticker BRK.B, whereas Class "A" shares of ORION DHC, Inc will sell under ticker OODHA until
8019-497: The railroad operated. There would be no more cross-subsidization of costs between route-miles (that is, revenue on profitable route segments were not used to subsidize routes where rates were set at intermodal parity, yet still did recover fully-allocated costs). Finally, where current and/or future traffic projections showed that profitable volumes of traffic would not return, the railroads were allowed to abandon those routes, shippers and passengers to other modes of transportation. Under
8118-566: The region, Penn Central (PC), declared bankruptcy in 1970, after less than three years of existence. Formed in 1968 by the merger of the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad (and supplemented in 1969 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad ), the PC was created with almost no plans to merge the varied corporate cultures, and the resulting company was a hopelessly-entangled mess. At its lowest point, PC
8217-455: The rest of the locomotive. It was numbered #1976 in homage to the year of Conrail's creation. In August 2023, MTA Metro–North Railroad unveiled locomotive #201, a GE P32AC-DM , wrapped in a yellow and blue scheme worn by Conrail's EMD FL9 units between 1976 and 1982. In October 2024, New Jersey Transit unveiled EMD GP40PH-2B #4208 in Conrail blue with the "can opener" logo, similar to Norfolk Southern #8098. NJT stated that Conrail
8316-491: The service was improved through increased capital investment , the economic basis of the railroad would be improved. During its first seven years, Conrail proved to be highly unprofitable, despite receiving billions of dollars of assistance from Congress. The corporation declared enormous losses on its federal income tax returns from 1976 through 1982, resulting in an accumulated net operating loss of $ 2.2 billion during that period. Congress once again reacted with support by passing
8415-420: The shareholders end up with nothing). Financing a company through the sale of stock in a company is known as equity financing. Alternatively, debt financing (for example issuing bonds ) can be done to avoid giving up shares of ownership of the company. Unofficial financing known as trade financing usually provides the major part of a company's working capital (day-to-day operational needs). In general,
8514-524: The shares of a company may be transferred from shareholders to other parties by sale or other mechanisms, unless prohibited. Most jurisdictions have established laws and regulations governing such transfers, particularly if the issuer is a publicly traded entity. The desire of stockholders to trade their shares has led to the establishment of stock exchanges , organizations which provide marketplaces for trading shares and other derivatives and financial products. Today, stock traders are usually represented by
8613-560: The successful bidder. After considerable debate in Congress, the Conrail Privatization Act of 1986 was signed into law by President Reagan on October 21, 1986. However, in August 1986, Norfolk Southern had withdrawn its bid citing Congressional delays and taxation changes. The government decided that its interest in Conrail would then be sold by the then-largest initial public offering in US history. The sale
8712-504: The total number of shares. This typically entitles the shareholder (stockholder) to that fraction of the company's earnings, proceeds from liquidation of assets (after discharge of all senior claims such as secured and unsecured debt ), or voting power , often dividing these up in proportion to the number of like shares each stockholder owns. Not all stock is necessarily equal, as certain classes of stock may be issued, for example, without voting rights, with enhanced voting rights, or with
8811-530: The two railroads. In 1997, however, the two railroads struck a compromise agreement to jointly acquire Conrail and split most of its assets between them, with Norfolk Southern acquiring a larger portion of the Conrail network via a larger stock buyout. Under the final agreement approved by the Surface Transportation Board , Norfolk Southern acquired 58 percent of Conrail's assets, including roughly 6,000 Conrail route miles, and CSX received 42 percent of Conrail's assets, including about 3,600 route miles. The buyout
8910-691: Was approved by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) (successor agency to the Interstate Commerce Commission(ICC) and took place on August 22, 1998. Under the control of lawyer-turned-CEO Tim O'Toole , the lines were transferred to two newly formed limited liability companies , to be subsidiaries of Conrail but leased to CSX and Norfolk Southern, respectively New York Central Lines (NYC) and Pennsylvania Lines (PRR). The NYC and PRR reporting marks , which had passed to Conrail, were also transferred to
9009-408: Was bankrupt, but was somewhat stronger financially than the others. It was ruled reorganizable under Chapter 77 on April 30, 1974 (as had the Boston and Maine Railroad ), but on January 9, 1975, with no end to its losses in sight, its trustees reconsidered and asked for inclusion. The Final System Plan assigned a major section of the EL, from northern New Jersey west to northeast Ohio , to be sold to
9108-572: Was called, provided interim funding to the bankrupt railroads and defined a new Consolidated Rail Corporation under the Association of American Railroads ' plan. The 3R Act also formed the United States Railway Association (USRA), another government corporation , taking over the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission with respect to allowing the bankrupt railroads to abandon unprofitable lines. The USRA
9207-459: Was divided between Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation in 1999, all remaining locomotives have been successively repainted, and many remain in service. CR units had unique features such as "Bright Future" blue paint, flashing ditch lights, and Leslie RS-3L horns. Another key spotting feature is ditch lights mounted under the locomotive's front deck. This is a preference different from Norfolk Southern and CSX, which order locomotives with
9306-568: Was effective from March 26, 1987, when Conrail's stock, worth $ 1.65 billion, was sold to private investors. Conrail inherited the commuter rail operations of its predecessor lines. It relinquished several during the 1970s, including the Erie Cleveland–Youngstown service (discontinued in 1977), the Pennsylvania Railroad Chicago–Valparaiso service (transferred to Amtrak in 1979), and the services within
9405-577: Was expensive, and Conrail faced financial difficulty. As mentioned above, significant projects took place to reduce trackage, oftentimes removing double-track with automatic block signals in favor of single track with centralized traffic control (CTC). Conrail also installed CTC across much of the former PRR multi-track mainline, which had relied on local towers to operate signals and control track. Conrail spent its entire existence installing tri-light signals (using NORAC rules) across much of its system. Many Conrail-installed signaling locations were removed in
9504-459: Was incorporated on February 1, 1974, and Edward G. Jordan, an insurance executive from California , was named president on March 18 by Nixon. Arthur D. Lewis of Eastern Air Lines was appointed chairman on April 30, and the remainder of the board was named on May 30 and sworn in on July 11. Under the 3R Act, the USRA was to create a "Final System Plan" to decide which lines should be included in
9603-524: Was losing over $ 1 million a day and trains were becoming lost all over the railroad. In 1972, Hurricane Agnes damaged the rundown Northeast railway network and threatened the solvency of other railroads, including the somewhat more solvent Erie Lackawanna (EL). In mid-1973, officials with the bankrupt Penn Central threatened to liquidate and cease operations by year's end if they did not receive government aid by October 1. This threat to US freight and passenger traffic galvanized Congress to quickly create
9702-422: Was the predecessor to NJ Transit Rail Operations and that many of the original lines, stations and rolling stock were inherited from Conrail in 1983. Stock Stocks (also capital stock , or sometimes interchangeably, shares ) consist of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporation in proportion to
9801-413: Was under Crane's leadership that Conrail truly became a profitable operation. Soon after Crane took office in 1981 he shed another 4,400 miles from the Conrail system in the following two years, which accounted for only 1% of the railroad's overall traffic and 2% of its profits while saving it millions of dollars in maintenance costs. NERSA relieved Conrail of its requirement to provide commuter service on
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