The economic status of Ivy City went up and down with the economic success of the railroads. After World War II, U.S. rail travel suffered terrible declines due to the rise of the commercial airline industry and the Interstate Highway System. In 1963, B&O was bought by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad; the two were combined in the Chessie System in 1973. Three years after that, the Ivy City yard was acquired by the newly created Amtrak, which leased it to commuter rail services.