Why was the PRSL and it's predecessors seperate companies?

I was reading through the Reading Seashore Lines book, in a couple of places the book suggests the P&AC and later the PRSL were marginallly profitable if profitable at all. Southern New Jersey and the Jersey shore is not a particullarly big place, so I am wondering, if thr PRSL and it's predecessors didnt make money, why didnt the Reading and the PRR simply operate the system as a normal part of the Reading and PRR and not seperate railroads when it seems like all the motive power and cars were Reading or PRR property anyway? The PRSL and it's predecessors cover a small area, why have a seperate operating company? I hope this makes sense to you guys.

This happens in other kinds of business, too. It can be a way to keep the looser financially away from the deep pockets back on the mainland that do make a lot of profit.

Actually, the PRSL was a bit of a shotgun wedding. Both the PRR and Reading, which were staunch rivals, everywhere else, had developed fairly extensive separate networks in South Jersey. When the problems associated with the depression severely cut into the profits of both railroads in that region, the ICC forced them to merge their operatons there.

The map on the inside cover of Reading Seashore Lines shows in the legend of the map the WJS and the ACRR, but in parenthesis it is remarked next to WJS (proposed to be leased by ACRR). The map was shortly prior to the creation of the PRSL, so what did they mean by 'lease' on this map?

Somehow the various companies in South Jersey had to be combined to become one P-RSL. This seems like a proposal to do some of it with a lease of the WJ&S to the ACRR. Future steps might be for the Atlantic City RR, owned by the Reading, to change its name to P-RSL and sell 2/3 of its stock to the PRR. PRR, which owned West Jersey & Seashore, might pay for the stock with the lease payments it would otherwise be owed. Somewhere, I think I did read about ACRR becoming P-RSL.

walt wrote:Actually, the PRSL was a bit of a shotgun wedding. Both the PRR and Reading, which were staunch rivals, everywhere else, had developed fairly extensive separate networks in South Jersey. When the problems associated with the depression severely cut into the profits of both railroads in that region, the ICC forced them to merge their operatons there.

No it was the NJ PUC.

JimBoylan wrote:Somehow the various companies in South Jersey had to be combined to become one P-RSL. This seems like a proposal to do some of it with a lease of the WJ&S to the ACRR. Future steps might be for the Atlantic City RR, owned by the Reading, to change its name to P-RSL and sell 2/3 of its stock to the PRR. PRR, which owned West Jersey & Seashore, might pay for the stock with the lease payments it would otherwise be owed. Somewhere, I think I did read about ACRR becoming P-RSL.

The Atlantic City Railroad changed its name to Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines on July 15, 1933.
More info on the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvan ... hore_Lines That I have been working on.