RAILROADS: Count Me In

At a time when mergers are all the talk, the New York Central Railroad has often ended up talking to itself. Fifteen months ago, the Central broke off merger talks with the Pennsylvania, the biggest U.S. railroad, after palavering for 14 months without agreement. Fortnight ago, after the Central had discussed merger for some months with the Chesapeake & Ohio and the Baltimore & Ohio Rail roads, the C. & 0. and the B. & O. an nounced that they plan to merge into the nation's second biggest line—and did not even mention the Central. Last week, with the prim-lipped hurt of the jilted party. Central President Alfred E. Perlman said loudly that the Central wants to be included if there is to be any merger in its neighborhood.

The Pennsylvania and its subsidiaries, said Perlman, are in the process of developing a huge rail complex. Eventually, he went on, there will be only two competitively balanced rail systems in the East, and the Central must be "an inte gral and important part of one of these systems." It expects to take part in any merger worked out by the B. & O. and the C. & O., and even to act "as the base" for such a merger. Merger talks between the Central and the two roads are "continuing," but Perlman wants to be in on the preliminaries too. And, as a reminder to the others that the New York Central has other possible partners, Perlman said that, although the Central and the Pennsy are not currently engaged in merger talks, "neither has foreclosed the possibility of resuming them."