@wjstix posted:When two (or more) railroads merge to form a new railroad, the reporting marks and name of the old railroads become the property of the new railroad. Similarly, if railroad A buys railroad B, the reporting marks and name of railroad B become the property of railroad A.
In the early 1990s, Chicago & North Western bought new freight cars that came from the factory lettered with reporting marks "CMO" (Omaha Road) and "MSTL" (Minneapolis & St. Louis), railroads C&NW had taken control of decades earlier. I believe they also used "CGW" (Chicago Great Western) reporting marks on some new cars. Again, these were not old cars still painted for the old railroad, but new cars bought by C&NW.
Some of these reporting marks are still used by Union Pacific, who bought C&NW in the 1990s.
That's true, but just to clarify, it's only true as long as old railroad B still had the legal rights to those names and marks and they had not expired or become public domain at the time of the merger with or acquisition by the new railroad A.
