Stop! Don't PANYC!!

[Otto Vondrak]

Wow... anyone ever see these before? A protest pin against the PRR+NYC merger. What do you get when you merge the Pennsylvania with the NYC? PA-NYC!

[dcm74]

They worked almost as well as the Dewey For President buttons.

[ThePointyHairedBoss]

Yeah, PAYNC should have been the name of the railroad.

"If you're a grocery store, expect to get a shipment of rotten fruit in 10 weeks...MINIMUM."

[Noel Weaver]

Wow... anyone ever see these before? A protest pin against the PRR+NYC merger. What do you get when you merge the Pennsylvania with the NYC? PA-NYC!

This is from the book The Wreck of the Penn Central which I highly
recommend to all.
There was an individual in Pennsylvania who was very much opposed to
the merger of the Pennsylvania and the New York Central and he was
also the Democratic candidate for governor during the period. He was
elected governor in 1970. He may have been responsible for the pin in
the picture. There is a whole chapter in the above book devoted to this
person. His name was Milton Shapp.
There is a lot more about this ill-fated merger in the book.
Noel Weaver

[Dieter]

Interesting that it is not "PRRNYC", as at that point in history, the abbreviation for Pennsylvania was "PENN". We didn't cut State abbreviations to two letters for at least another decade, with "Penn" contracted to "PA".

D/

[KillerB]

According to my parents, who were alive at the time, Pennsylvania had been referred to as "P.A." in local speak long before the Postal Service went to two-letter state abbreviations.

[rnetzlof]

[quote="Dieter"]...at that point in history, the abbreviation for Pennsylvania was "PENN"...[/quote]

Nay sir. When I was in grade school, 1950 and earlier, the teachers were fighting a battle against the "old fashioned" Penna, in favor of the sleek, modern, up-to-date Pa. with side excursions into "if you insist on Penna, remember it is a contraction, not an abbreviation, hence it must not be followed by a period".

I can't recall a time when Penn was used as an abbreviation for the name of the commonwealth.

Bob Netzlof

[rnetzlof]

[quote="Dieter"]...at that point in history, the abbreviation for Pennsylvania was "PENN"...[/quote]

Nay sir. When I was in grade school, 1950 and earlier, the teachers were fighting a battle against the "old fashioned" Penna, in favor of the sleek, modern, up-to-date Pa. with side excursions into "if you insist on Penna, remember it is a contraction, not an abbreviation, hence it must not be followed by a period".

I can't recall a time when Penn was used as an abbreviation for the name of the commonwealth.

Bob Netzlof

[walt]

There were some Pennsylvania entities which used "Penn" in their names, or in abbreviations of their names ( The Southern Pennsylvania Traction Company- later known as the Southern Pennsylvania Bus Company- both entities were known coloquially as the "Southern Penn"; and the Central Penn Bank are two which come to mind) but, as has been noted, the two "official" abbreviations in those days were Penna and PA.

[Dieter]

Aren't we lucky they didn't try and call the merged mess "PACENT"?

Then we all could have nicknamed the railroad "The BIG ZERO", which is pretty much as it ended up.

D/