Remembering Big Blue. June 1 will forever be thought of by many as the day in 1999 that Conrail ceased to exist as an independent company after being purchased by CSX and Norfolk Southern Railroads. One of the last units that I would see painted in the signature paint scheme was on Sunday, August 19, 2007 when Norfolk Southern Corp 3046 (ex-Conrail 3360, GP40-2, 4/1979) sat in the yard in Binghamton, NY with the tower of St. Paul’s Church in the background. This style of patched unit was common for almost a decade as decisions were made to repaint or scrap the engines that had come into their possession. Conrail carries on today to a limited extent as Conrail Shared Assets. The Conrail purchase brought NS to Binghamton for the first time, subsequent acquisitions, including former D&H property from Canadian Pacific, would dramatically expand its presence.
