One of Six:
The Lehigh Valley Railroad as a Case Study for Conrail
by Rudy Garbely
book release event and in-person presentation for the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum
Thursday, April 17, 2025 | 7:30 PM
The Lehigh Valley Railroad declared bankruptcy in 1970. As every other major railroad in the northeast met the same fate between 1967 and 1972, the LV worked to claw its way out of the wreckage. It kept operating under U.S. bankruptcy laws, which protect the operations of a railroad for the sake of the customers and communities it serves. However, for several years during this early 1970s regional and national transportation crisis, the LV showed innovation, ingenuity, and a potential for profitability that showed a different side of what the future might hold for the railroad industry. Ultimately, though, the LV became one of the six railroads merged into Conrail in 1976, bringing its unique operations into the fold of the new behemoth.
Railroad author, researcher, and publisher Rudy Garbely began his publishing career unintentionally, starting with his college honors thesis covering the LV’s final decade of operations. After earning a B.A. in History with Honors as a result of this thesis, Garbely opened The Garbely Publishing Company to publish his thesis as a book. Over a decade and 50 books later, Garbely is revisiting and expanding his first title with new research and improved editorial work. The book, reititled as One of Six: The Lehigh Valley Railroad as a Case Study for Conrail, is being released in a 6”x9” text-only softcover format.
The release has been timed to coincide with Garbely’s April 17th in-person presentation for the R&GVRRM membership, which will provide an overview of the book and anecdotes from the LV veterans he interviewed. The book is available for preorder at https://store.garbelypublishing.com/oneofsix/, and at the checkout screen, R&GVRRM members can click “Coupon/Gift Certificate” and enter the code “RGVRRM” to preorder and pick up their copy in person at Garbely’s presentation. A limited number of additional copies will be available for sale at the conclusion of the presentation.
Reviews for the Previous Edition:
"Mr. Garbely has done an amazing piece of original research. . . . He did a magnificent job in both the conception and execution of this [book]. . . . So few students are interested in business and corporate history, and Mr. Garbely is exceptionally talented at it." - Dr. Richard Saunders, Jr., professor of history at Clemson University and author of Merging Lines: American Railroads, 1900-1970 and Main Lines: Rebirth of the North American Railroads, 1970–2002
"I have just finished reading every page of [this book], and it is outstanding! . . . [Garbely has] presented the facts in a most comprehensive, but extremely readable, format. I had intended to . . . read it at my leisure, but when I got into the first few pages, I found that I could not put it down. For any student of the LV, [Garbely deserves] the utmost credit." - Hays Watkins, former chairman of the Chesapeake & Ohio, Chessie System, and CSX from 1971-1988