Santa Fe Industries was the diversified parent company, headquartered in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...

. Formed in 1968, its non-railroad operations included construction, real estate, and energy units. In the early 1980s, after longtime head John Shedd Reed

John Shedd Reed

John Shedd Reed was president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway from 1967 until 1986. The rail transport industry journal Modern Railways named Reed its Man of the Year for 1970....

 had been succeeded by John J. Schmidt, they arranged a merger with the Southern Pacific

Southern Pacific Railroad

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

, where new head Robert Krebs

Robert Krebs

Robert D. Krebs has headed three major United States railroads in succession, leading the Southern Pacific when it was acquired by Santa Fe Industries, rising to lead the resulting Santa Fe Pacific Corporation, and finally being chosen to head the new Burlington Northern Santa Fe when Santa Fe...

 had recently succeeded Benjamin Biaggini

Benjamin Biaggini

Benjamin Franklin Biaggini was president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of Southern Pacific Railroad, from 1964 to 1976 and chairman of the Board of Directors from 1976 to 1983.- References :...

.

When the Interstate Commerce Commission

Interstate Commerce Commission

The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...

 denied permission to merge the respective companies' railroad subsidiaries as the Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad

Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad

In the 1980s, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and Southern Pacific Transportation Company attempted a merger. It began with the merger of holding companies Santa Fe Industries and Southern Pacific Company on December 23, 1983 to form the Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corporation , which...

, the merged holding company, which retained both companies' non-rail interests while being forced to sell the Southern Pacific, changed its name to Santa Fe Pacific Corporation

Santa Fe Pacific Corporation

The Santa Fe Pacific Corporation was formed as the Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corporation in 1984 by the merger of Santa Fe Industries, which owned the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, with the Southern Pacific Company, which owned the Southern Pacific Railroad...

.