Penn Central Transportation Company

Penn Central Transportation Company

Overview
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Reporting mark	PC
Locale	Connecticut Delaware Illinois Indiana Kentucky Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Missouri New York New Jersey Ohio Ontario Pennsylvania Quebec Rhode Island Washington, DC West Virginia
Dates of operation	February 1, 1968–February 21, 1976
Predecessor	Pennsylvania Railroad New York Central System New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
Successor	Amtrak Conrail
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	12.5 kV 25 Hz AC: New Haven-Washington, D.C./South Amboy; Philadelphia-Harrisburg 700V DC: Harlem Line; Hudson Line
Length	20,530 miles (33,040 kilometres)
Other
Website	pcrrhs.org

The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroads), all united by large-scale service into the New York metropolitan area and (to a lesser extent) New England and Chicago. The new company failed barely two years after formation, the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time. The Penn Central's railroad assets were nationalized into Conrail along with the other bankrupt northeastern roads; its real estate and insurance holdings successfully reorganized into American Premier Underwriters.