History of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad

Postscript

Postscript Since the completion of this volume, two momentous events have occurred which appear to signal a new era in the L & N's history . On November i, 1971, Seaboard Coast Line Industries, Inc., parent company of the Seaboard Coast Line, increased its ownership of L & N stock from 33 to 98 per cent. By this transaction SCL became virtually the exclusive owner of the L & N system. The latter system had completed its own acquisition of the Monon Railroad on July 31. Fulfillment of SCL's long-expected possession of nearly all the L & N's stock fired new rumors that the L & N would at long last be merged into the parent system. These rumors reached their .peak on April 1, 1972, when William Kendall left the L & N's presidency to become vice-chairman of Seaboard Coast Line Industries. He was replaced by Prime F. Osborn III, who moved from the presidency of SCL Railroad to become the L & N's president and chief executive officer. Born July 31, 1915, in Greensboro, Alabama, Osborn studied law at the University of Alabama and served as assistant state attorney general before entering the Army in 1941. After five years' service as an artillery officer, during which he rose in rank from second lieutenant to lieutenant colonel, Osborn entered a long career in the railroad industry. He served as general solicitor for the L & N during 1951-57 before moving up to hold a succession of executive positions with the parent company. He remains president of SCL Industries while W. Thomas Rice, chairman of the boards of both SCL Industries and SCL Railroad, assumed the presidency of SCL Railroad and also became chairman of the board of the L & N. Osborn's high office in the parent company naturally kindled fresh rumors that the L & N would be merged into the SCL. Less than a week after his appointment, however, the new president held a press conference at which he flatly denied that the L & N would be absorbed. "There is 5 2 4 HISTORY OF THE LOUISVILLE & NASHVILLE RAILROAD absolutely no merger in the offing between these two railroads," he asserted. "There is no suggestion, intent or plan to merge them. The L & N will continue to be operated as an independent railroad—one of the greatest in our nation." Osborn did concede that "Of course, there will be coordinations with the Seaboard, and sometimes consolidations, when they can be shown to be in the best interests of all concerned." For the time being, then, the L & N will retain its corporate identity, and a new era in its history has dawned. ...