In Wall Street brokerage houses one day last week traders watched Louisville & Nashville Railroad common soar 7¾ points, close at $110up $40 from its 1944 low. Two days later L. & N. directors decided to split the $100 par value blue chip stock two shares for one, the first major split in a rail stock since that of C.& O. in 1930.
L. & N's rise is typical of the railroads' wartime boom. The stream of freight to Southern industries and troops to & from Southern camps boosted L. & N.'s gross from $88 million in 1939 to $178...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
