which reparations were finally paid in 1979. After the U.S. entered World War I, the railroads were nationalized in order to prevent strikes and interruptions. The United States Railroad Administration controlled the railroad from 1918 to 1920, at which time control was transferred back to the private companies. Although the heavy wartime traffic had left the railroad's plant and equipment in need of repair, the damage was partly offset by new equipment that had been purchased by the government. In 1920, the LVRR sold its lake line company, the Lehigh Valley Transportation Line, to private interests due to new federal legislation which stopped the practice of railroads owning lake lines. 1921–1930 Throughout the 1920s the railroad remained in the hands of the Morgan / Drexel banking firm, but in 1928 an attempt was made to wrest control from it. In 1927, Leonor Fresnel Loree, president of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad, had a vision for a new fifth trunk line between the East and West, consisting of the Wabash Railroad, the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway, and the LVRR. Through bonds issued by the D&H, he obtained 30% of the LVRR stock, and won the support of nearly half the stockholders. In 1928, he attempted to seat a new president and board. A massive proxy fight ensued, with existing President Edward Eugene Loomis narrowly retaining his position with the support of Edward T. Stotesbury of J. P. Morgan. Following the defeat of its plan, the D&H sold its stock to the Pennsylvania Railroad. In the following years, the Pennsylvania quietly obtained more stock, both directly and through railroads it controlled, primarily the Wabash. By 1931, the PRR controlled 51% of the LVRR stock. Following Loomis' death in 1937, the presidency went to Loomis' assistant Duncan J. Kerr, but in 1940 he was replaced by Albert N. Williams, and the road came under the influence of the PRR. In 1941, the Pennsylvania placed its shares in a voting trust after reaching an agreement with the New York Central regarding the PRR's purchase of the Wabash. Decline and bankruptcy Following the Great Depression, the railroad had a few periods of prosperity, but was clearly in a slow decline. Passengers preferred the convenience of automobiles to trains, and airlines much later provided faster long-distance travel than trains. Oil and gas were supplanting coal as the fuel of choice. The Depression had been difficult