D&RGW Buys SP?

[rjemery]

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Pacific_Railroad

it was the D&RGW holding company who purchased the SP:

“On August 9, 1988, the Interstate Commerce Commission approved the purchase of the Southern Pacific by Rio Grande Industries, the company that controlled the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The Rio Grande officially took control of the Southern Pacific on October 13, 1988. After the purchase, the combined railroad kept the Southern Pacific name due to its brand recognition in the railroad industry and with customers of both constituent railroads.”

Is the above correct?

[CaptainChuck]

Yes it is.

[RR_Redneck]

OH that right there is true to a fault.

[coborn35]

DRGW bought them and then renamed themselves the Southern Pacific.

[RR_Redneck]

Which I think was stupid.

[Texas_Chief]

I was under the impression that U.P. owned both the DRG and the SP.

Dick

Texas Chief

[Anonymous]

UP bought the SP well after the SP/DRGW merge.

Piror to the SP/DRGW merge, SP and ATSF were both owned by Santa Fe Pacific Corp. SFP Corp was the result of a merge between SP’s and ATSF’s holding companies in the hopes to merge the two (remember the yellow and orange SFSP units in the 80’s?). When the ICC shot down the merge of the two, SFP Corp decided that Santa Fe was the better company (which it was) and sold off the SP.