Conrail for Sale

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Much of the credit for Conrail's resurgence goes to Chairman Crane, 67, who took over the line in 1981 after spending nearly his entire career at the Southern Railway, the last three years as president. A short, wiry expert in operations, Crane charged up employees with a sense of purpose and firmly established company goals.

Thanks to Conrail's impressive recovery, it is expected to show a profit of about $1 billion over the next five years. One interested buyer is a group of the railroad's employees, who say they plan to make a bid by June 14. But whatever price the Government gets for Conrail, it will not match the $7 billion investment. ∎