CYOA - Building an Empire - 54

      You decide that the drawbacks the system may have cannot be more than the benefits it would bring. You adopt the system and quickly install it. At first, performance drops as the system is fine-tuned. Once it is fully operational, however, profits increase and on-time performance improves. The Chicago & North Western looks at you with a green eye and quickly follows. The battle between the two companies continues as you both expand west. As airplanes and cars become a more popular form of travel, both companies surrender their passenger services to the newly formed Amtrak and focus their efforts on freight service. However, the loss of passenger service affects both companies. In the race to be the best, both the Chicago & North Western and the Illinois Union focus so much on providing the best passenger service that they almost neglected their freight services. When it came time to focus on freight, their freight service wasn’t in good shape and the loss of passenger service took its toll on profits.
      Both companies start to lose money. In a desperate attempt to save each other, old rivals become allies and the two companies merge. An election is held and you are appointed the CEO of the new company, the Illinois Union & North Western Railway, AAR markings IUNW. The merger helps and the new company continues to expand.