This website has been archived from TrainWeb.org/eastpenn to TrainWeb.US/eastpenn.

CONRAIL OCS ON THE ROAD (repeated from yesterday)

Conrail's Office Car Special will be out on the road all this week.  For the complete schedule, either go to the schedule page or click here.

CANADIAN PACIFIC WASHOUT

Early this morning, train 411 hit a washout at Bolkow, mile 35.7 White River sub.  There are reportedly 8 cars derailed.  -Wayne Regaudie

ADVANCE REWARD FOR SNOW
 
Richmond-based CSX Corp. wants Chairman, President and Chief Executive John W. Snow to shepherd the company through its difficult Conrail purchase in the years to come and is rewarding him handsomely, in advance, to see that he does.

In addition to a 1997 pay package worth $5.3 million, Snow received stock options worth an estimated $16.5 million, bringing his total compensation for the year to $21.8 million, according to the company's annual proxy statement, released this week.

Snow, 58, and other top officers routinely receive stock options each year. But the 852,400 options Snow received in 1997 are a departure from the past, because they include not just 152,400 options for 1997, but also a total of 700,000 options for 1998, 1999, and 2000.

Members of the CSX board's compensation committee said they decided to give Snow awards in advance "for the purpose of retaining Mr. Snow's efforts on behalf of CSX shareholders over the next four years," the proxy stated.

Stock options represent the right to buy stock in the future at a set price. Corporations increasingly are replacing traditional cash bonuses with stock options. The reasoning is that options tie executive pay to stock price, thus encouraging executives to boost "shareholder value."

Snow's 1997 base pay package of $5.3 million (including salary, long-term incentive payout and other compensation) rose 14 percent from the $4.6 million in 1996. Factoring in the stock options, Snow received $7.4 million in 1996. His $21.8 million compensation for 1997 represents nearly a 300 percent increase.

The board said, "Under his leadership, the company had a strong financial year despite expenses incurred in the Conrail transaction and economic challenges encountered by some of the company's business units."

CSX is a global transportation company with railroad, shipping, barges and other interests.

The company is involved in a joint effort with cross-state rival Norfolk Southern Corp. to buy and split Conrail, a major Northeastern railroad. The split would create two dominant carriers competing throughout the East. Federal regulators are expected to rule on the purchase this summer.

CSX earnings in 1997 dropped 7 percent from the year before, to $799 million, while revenue rose slightly. The company attributes the depressed earnings to costs associated with the Conrail deal.-BY CHARLES SLACK, Richmond Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

Please check this location daily, as new information will be posted, as it becomes available. If you have news to report or information regarding railroads in the Eastern United States, please send e-mail to Kevin Burkholder at KBurkholder@psghs.edu