The Penn Central combined the operations of the New Haven and the New York Central in 1968. Conrail succeeded them 1976, but would only operate the south-side lines until March 12, 1977. B&M won the contract for the southside lines; for the first time, all Boston commuter service was operated by one entity. After bankruptcy, B&M continued to operate trains under the protection of the federal bankruptcy court, in the hopes that a reorganization could make it profitable again. It emerged from the court's protection when Timothy Mellon's Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) bought it in 1983. GTI let the contract expire in 1987, after a bitter strike had shut down most of the northside lines in 1986.