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Pennsylvania Railroad

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Railway transport

                              Pennsylvania Railroad
                                      logo
    Reporting marks   PRR
         Locale       Chicago and St. Louis to New York City and Washington, DC
   Dates of operation 1846 – 1968
     Successor line   Penn Central
      Track gauge     4  ft 8½  in (1435  mm) ( standard gauge)
      Headquarters    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
   1893 map
   Enlarge
   1893 map

   The Pennsylvania Railroad ( AAR reporting mark PRR) was an American
   railroad that was founded in 1846 and merged in 1968 into Penn Central
   Transportation. Commonly referred to as the Pennsy, the company was
   headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company's symbol was a
   keystone ( Pennsylvania's symbol) with the letters PRR intertwined
   inside it. When colored, it was bright red with silver-grey edges and
   lettering (although it also appears in metal leaf outline on a wooden
   background on station benches).

   The PRR was the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the US
   throughout its 20th century existence and for a long while was the
   largest publicly traded corporation in the world. The corporation still
   holds the record for the longest continual dividend history: it doled
   out annual payments to shareholders for more than 100 years in a row.

   Like the Reading Railroad, the PRR served Atlantic City, New Jersey;
   one of the four railroad squares in the board game Monopoly is called
   Pennsylvania Railroad.

Standard Railroad of the World

   The Pennsylvania Railroad, as the "standard railroad of the world",
   also strove for an air of permanence, decorating its railroad stations
   with symbols of itself such as the Pennsylvania Herald, shown above at
   Newark Penn Station.
   Enlarge
   The Pennsylvania Railroad, as the "standard railroad of the world",
   also strove for an air of permanence, decorating its railroad stations
   with symbols of itself such as the Pennsylvania Herald, shown above at
   Newark Penn Station.

   For a long time the PRR called itself the Standard Railroad of the
   World, meaning that it was the standard to which all other railroads
   aspired, the "gold standard". (Yet when it came to the electrification,
   it followed some of the New Haven Railroad standards.) For a long time
   that was literally true; the railroad had an impressive lists of
   firsts, greatests, biggests, and longests. The PRR was the first
   railroad to rid itself of wooden-bodied passenger cars in favour of the
   much safer steel-bodied cars. It led the way in many safety and
   efficiency improvements over the years. This advantage lessened as the
   years progressed, and the PRR eventually abandoned the use of the
   phrase.

   The Pennsylvania Railroad was standard in another way, too - it was an
   early proponent of standardization. While other railroads used whatever
   was at hand or available, the Pennsylvania tested and experimented with
   solutions until they could decide on one, and then made it standard
   across the whole company. Other railroads bought locomotives and
   railroad cars in small lots, taking whatever was available from
   manufacturers at the time. The PRR produced huge numbers of
   standardized designs. This gave the railroad a feel of uniformity and
   greatly reduced costs. The PRR was also an early adopter of standard
   liveries and colour schemes.

History

   The eastern part of the PRR's main line was built by the Commonwealth
   of Pennsylvania as part of the Main Line of Public Works, a railroad
   and canal corridor across the state. The system opened in 1834,
   consisting of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad from Philadelphia
   west to Columbia on the Susquehanna River, a canal from Columbia to
   Hollidaysburg, the Allegheny Portage Railroad from Hollidaysburg to
   Johnstown, and another canal from Johnstown to the terminus in
   Pittsburgh. The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad had one inclined
   plane at each end; the Allegheny Portage Railroad had ten.

   The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was chartered by the Pennsylvania
   legislature on April 13, 1846. Construction began in 1847 and the first
   section opened from Harrisburg west to Lewistown on September 1, 1849
   (including the original Rockville Bridge across the Susquehanna River).
   Further extensions opened to McVeytown on December 24, Mount Union on
   April 1, 1850, Huntingdon on June 10, and Duncansville (west of
   Hollidaysburg) on September 16, 1850, taking it to a connection with
   the Allegheny Portage Railroad on the east side of the Allegheny Ridge.
   On the other side of the ridge, the main line opened from Conemaugh (on
   the Portage Railroad east of Johnstown) west to Lockport on August 25,
   1851. On December 10, 1851, sections opened from Lockport west to
   Beatty (west of Latrobe) and from Pittsburgh east to Brinton, with a
   temporary stagecoach transfer between via the Southern Turnpike and a
   short turnpike branch built to Beatty. Part of that gap was filled on
   July 15, 1852, from Brinton east to Radebaugh, and on November 29 the
   full line was completed, forming the first all-rail route between
   Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

   Plane Number 1 of the Portage Railroad was bypassed on April 1, 1852.
   Other planes began to be bypassed by the New Portage Railroad,
   completed in 1856, but on February 15, 1854 the PRR's new line opened,
   leaving the old one on the east side of the ridge in Altoona and
   running west via the Horseshoe Curve and Gallitzin Tunnel, only using a
   short portion of the old Portage Railroad near South Fork and a longer
   adjacent section of New Portage Railroad. A reciprocal trackage rights
   agreement made March 18, 1854 allowed the PRR to use that section for
   free.

   On March 21, 1849 the PRR contracted with Eagle Line, primarily a
   steamboat company, for through service over the Philadelphia and
   Columbia Railroad. The PRR obtained trackage rights over the
   Portsmouth, Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad, opened in 1838, on April
   21, providing a route from Harrisburg to the Philadelphia and Columbia
   at Dillerville, just west of Lancaster. On September 1 the first
   section of the PRR opened, with all arrangements in place for service
   from Philadelphia to Lewistown. On December 20, 1860 the PRR formally
   leased the line west of Dillerville, renamed the Harrisburg,
   Portsmouth, Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad in 1855.
   1855 map, including the planned Lancaster, Lebanon and Pine Grove
   Railroad
   Enlarge
   1855 map, including the planned Lancaster, Lebanon and Pine Grove
   Railroad

   In 1853 the PRR surveyed the Lancaster, Lebanon and Pine Grove Railroad
   from Philadelphia west via Phoenixville to Salunga on the Portsmouth,
   Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad. This was done in order to show the
   state that the PRR was willing to build its own alignment around the
   Philadelphia and Columbia. On July 31, 1857, the PRR bought the whole
   Main Line of Public Works. The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad was
   integrated into its system. Most of the New Portage Railroad, just
   completed the previous year at a cost of $2.14 million, was abandoned,
   while short sections became local branches. The canals were abandoned,
   and short sections were filled and covered by rails. In 1904 the New
   Portage Railroad east of the Gallitzin Tunnels (through the " Muleshoe
   Curve") was reopened as a freight bypass line.

Access to New York, Baltimore and Washington

   1911 map of "Lines East" territory
   Enlarge
   1911 map of "Lines East" territory

   In the early 1860s the PRR gained control of the Northern Central
   Railway, giving it access to Baltimore along the Susquehanna River (via
   connections at Columbia or Harrisburg).

   On December 1, 1871 the PRR leased the United New Jersey Railroad and
   Canal Companies, which included the original Camden and Amboy Railroad
   from Camden, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, to South
   Amboy, across Raritan Bay from New York City, as well as a newer line
   from Philadelphia to Jersey City, much closer to New York, via Trenton.
   Track connection in Philadelphia was made via the United Companies'
   Connecting Railway and the jointly-owned Junction Railroad.

   The PRR's Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road opened on July 2, 1872
   between Baltimore and Washington, but with a required transfer via
   horse car in Baltimore to the other lines heading north from the city.
   On June 29, 1873, the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel through Baltimore
   was completed, and the PRR initiated the misleadingly-named
   Pennsylvania Air Line service via the Northern Central Railway and
   Columbia. This service was 54.5 miles (87.5 km) longer than the old
   route via the Washington Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and
   Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, but avoided a transfer
   in Baltimore. The Union Railroad opened on July 24, 1873, eliminating
   the transfer, and the PRR contracted with the Union Railroad and the
   PW&B. New York-Washington trains began using that route the next day,
   ending Pennsylvania Air Line service. The PRR acquired a majority of
   PW&B stock in the early 1880s, forcing the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
   to build the Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad to keep its
   Philadelphia access.

Low-grade lines

   Around 1900, the PRR built several low-grade lines for freight to
   bypass areas of steep grades. These included the following:
     * 1892 - Trenton Branch and Trenton Cut-Off Railroad from Glen Loch
       east to Morrisville (not only a low-grade line but a long-distance
       bypass of Philadelphia)
     * 1892 - Waverly and Passaic Railroad (finished by the New York Bay
       Railroad) from Waverly, New Jersey to Kearny
     * 1904 - reopening of the New Portage Railroad from the Gallitzin
       Tunnels east to New Portage Junction, then continuing north over
       the Hollidaysburg Branch to Altoona
     * 1906 - Philadelphia and Thorndale Branch from Thorndale east to
       Glen Loch (abandoned by Conrail in 1989)
     * 1906 - Atglen and Susquehanna Branch from Harrisburg via the
       Northern Central Railway south to Wago Junction, then east to
       Parkesburg (abandoned by Conrail in 1990)

   The Pennsylvania and Newark Railroad was incorporated in 1905 to build
   a low-grade line from Morrisville, Pennsylvania to Colonia, New Jersey.
   It was never completed, but some work was done in the Trenton area,
   including bridge piers in the Delaware River. North of Colonia, the
   alignment was going to be separate, but instead two extra tracks were
   added to the existing line. Work was suspended in 1916.

Penn Central merger

   On February 1, 1968, the PRR merged with arch-rival New York Central to
   form the Penn Central. The ICC required that ailing New York, New Haven
   & Hartford Railroad be added in 1969. Penn Central declared bankruptcy
   in June 1970.

Successors

   Penn Central rail lines were split between Amtrak ( Northeast Corridor
   and Keystone Corridor) and Conrail in the 1970s. After the breakup of
   Conrail in 1999, the portion which had formerly been PRR territory
   largely became part of the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Timeline

     * 1915 PRR electrifies its Philadelphia-Chicago mainline between
       Central Philadelphia and Paoli.
     * 1916 PRR adopts new motto, "Standard Railroad of the World".
     * 1916 First I1s 2-10-0 "Decapod" locomotive completed.
     * 1916 A5s 0-4-0 and B6sb switching locomotives introduced.
     * 1918 PRR stock bottoms at $40¼ due largely to Federal railroad
       control, lowest since 1877.
     * 1918 Emergency freight routed through New York Penn Station and the
       Hudson tunnels at night by the USRA to relieve congestion.
     * 1918 N1s 2-10-2 locomotives introduced for Lines West.
     * 1918 PRR electrifies Chestnut Hill Commuter Line between Central
       Philadelphia and Chestnut Hill.
     * 1928- 1938 PRR electrified its New York-Washington Mainline, the
       Chicago-Philadelpia Mainline between Harrisburg and Paoli, several
       Philadelphia and New York area commuter lines, and major
       through-freight lines.
     * 1968- 02-01 Pennsylvania Railroad absorbs New York Central to form
       the Penn Central.
     * August 26, 1999: The United States Postal Service issues 33-cent
       All Aboard! 20th Century American Trains commemorative stamps
       featuring five celebrated American passenger trains from the 1930s
       and 1940s. One of the five stamps features an image of a GG-1
       locomotive pulling the Congressional (A joint New Haven
       Railroad-PRR run-trough train) along Pennsy's route between New
       York and Washington, D.C., and whose slogan was "Every Mile
       Electrified!"

PRR equipment colors & painting

   PRR colors and paint schemes were very standardised. Locomotives were
   painted in a shade of green so dark as to be almost black, called DGLE
   (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel) but often called Brunswick Green.
   Underparts were painted true black. Passenger cars were painted Tuscan
   red, a brick-red shade. Lettering and lining was originally real gold
   leaf on passenger locomotives and cars, but in the post World War II
   period became Buff, a light yellow shade of paint. Some electric
   locomotives and most passenger-hauling diesel locomotives were painted
   in Tuscan also. Freight cars were painted Freight Car Colour, an
   iron-oxide red.

Signalling

   Trackside, the PRR was virtually alone in its exclusive use of
   position-light signals.

Steam locomotives

   1899 map of "Lines East" territory
   Enlarge
   1899 map of "Lines East" territory

   For most of its existence, the PRR was conservative in its motive power
   choices and pursued a path of standardization, both in locomotive types
   and their component parts. Almost alone among American railroads, the
   Pennsylvania designed most of its steam locomotive classes itself and
   built a fair proportion of them in its own Altoona Works. In fact, the
   PRR is believed to have been the 4th-most prolific U.S. builder of
   steam locomotives, after the three largest commercial builders.

   Outside builders were, of course, used - the sheer number of
   locomotives the PRR ordered was far greater than its own works could
   produce. Unlike most roads who left the majority of the decision-making
   and design to the locomotive builder, giving only a broad
   specification, the PRR generally used a commercial builder as a
   subcontractor, building exact replicas of an existing PRR design.

   When it needed to use a commercial locomotive builder, the Pennsy
   favored Philadelphia's Baldwin Locomotive Works. Baldwin was a big PRR
   customer, for one thing — receiving its raw materials and shipping out
   its finished products on the PRR. Moreover, the two companies were
   headquartered in the same city, and PRR and Baldwin management and
   engineers knew each other well. When both the PRR and Baldwin shops
   were at capacity, orders generally went to the Lima Locomotive Works in
   Lima, Ohio. Only at a last resort, it seems, would the PRR use Alco,
   the American Locomotive Company, based in Schenectady, New York -
   serviced by and favorite locomotive supplier to the Pennsy's
   arch-rival, the New York Central Railroad.

   The PRR had a definite style that it favored in its locomotives. The
   square-shouldered Belpaire firebox was a PRR trademark that otherwise
   found little favour in the United States; almost every PRR locomotive
   had it. It traded more difficult construction for a greater heating
   surface and simpler firebox staying. The PRR used track pans
   extensively to pick up water on the move, so the tenders of their
   locomotives had a comparatively large proportion of coal (which could
   not be taken on board while running) compared to water capacity. The
   PRR was wary of gadgets and its locomotives were not generally
   festooned with devices; the PRR also favored a neat mounting of such
   devices when necessary, leaving the lines of the locomotive
   comparatively clean. Smokebox fronts bore a round locomotive
   numberboard (freight) or keystone numberboard (passenger) and were
   otherwise uncluttered except for a headlamp mounted at the top, with a
   steam-driven turbo-generator behind it. In later years the positions of
   the two were reversed, since the generator needs more maintenance than
   the lamp.

   The PRR, until its final years, preferred a philosophy of smaller
   locomotives rather than buying the biggest.

   Each class of steam locomotive was assigned a class designation. Early
   on, this was simply an alphabetical letter, but when these began to run
   out, the scheme was changed so that each wheel arrangement had its own
   letter, and different types of the same arrangement were defined by a
   subsequent number. Subtypes were in turn indicated by a lower-case
   letter; superheating was designated by a "s" until the mid 1920s, by
   which time all new locomotives were superheated. Thus, for example, a
   'K4sa' class was a 4-6-2 "Pacific" type (K) and of the fourth class of
   Pacifics designed by the PRR. It was superheated (s) and was of the
   first variant type (a) after the original (unlettered). See PRR
   locomotive classification for details.

Major passenger stations

   1879 map showing the main lines
   Enlarge
   1879 map showing the main lines

   The PRR built several grand railroad passenger stations in major
   cities, either alone or in conjunction with other railroads. These
   architectural marvels served as the hubs for the PRR's extensive
   passenger service. Many of these stations are still in use today,
   served by Amtrak as well as regional passenger carriers. See also
   Pennsylvania Station, the name given to many of them.

Union Station, Washington, DC

   Union Station served as a hub for PRR passenger services in the
   nation's capital, with connections to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
   and Southern Railway. The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad
   provided a link to Richmond, Virginia, about 100 miles to the south,
   where major north-south lines of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and
   Seaboard Air Line Railroad provided service to the Carolinas, Georgia,
   and Florida.

Penn Station, New York, NY

   The original Pennsylvania Station was designed to be a replica of the
   Baths of Caracalla; it was notable for its enormous railshed and
   infamous demolition in the railroad's waning years. The station was
   built in 1910 to provide direct access to Manhattan from New Jersey
   without having to use a ferry, and was served by the PRR's own trains
   as well as those of the PRR's subsidiary the Long Island Rail Road. The
   demolition did not extend to the platforms, or the tracks, or even some
   of the staircases, however.

Penn Station, Newark, NJ

   This Art Deco station was built in the 1930s as part of the Pennsy's
   Northeast Corridor infrastructure. It still stands, unlike the enormous
   trainshed of the New York station.

30th Street Station, Philadelphia, PA

   In classical grandeur, the 30th Street Station displays its majestic -
   and traditional - architectural style with its enormous waiting room
   and its vestibules. The station, in spite of its apparent architectural
   classicism, was constructed in the early 1930s, when moderne and art
   deco styles were more popular.

Union Station, Chicago, IL

   The Pennsylvania Railroad, along with the Milwaukee Road and the
   Burlington Route, built Chicago's Union Station, the only of Chicago's
   old stations to still exist as a train station (the rest of Chicago's
   operating passenger stations have been substantially remodelled). It
   was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White in the Beaux-Arts
   style.

Company officers

   Presidents of the Pennsylvania Railroad:
     * Samuel V. Merrick ( 1847– 1849)
     * William C. Patterson ( 1849– 1852)
     * J. Edgar Thomson ( 1852– 1874)
     * Thomas A. Scott ( 1874– 1880)
     * George B. Roberts ( 1880– 1896)
     * Frank Thomson ( 1897– 1899)
     * Alexander J. Cassatt ( 1899– 1906)
     * James McCrea ( 1907– 1912)
     * Samuel Rea ( 1913– 1925)
     * William W. Atterbury ( 1925– 1935)
     * Martin W. Clement ( 1935– 1948)
     * Walter S. Franklin ( 1948– 1954)
     * James M. Symes ( 1954– 1960)
     * Allen J. Greenough ( 1960– 1968)

   Chief Executive Officers of the Pennsylvania Railroad:
     * James M. Symes ( 1960– 1963)
     * Stuart T. Saunders ( 1963– 1968)

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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