Completed in 500 days, the parallel new york, chicago and st. During this time, frustrations had mounted among east coast merchants and the railroad trunk lines that served them. Pennsylvania railroad photographs historic pittsburgh. Map of the eastern trunk lines, c1855 baltimore and ohio rail road, pennsylvania railroad, erie railway new york and erie rail road 18321861, new york central railroad, courtesy of erin greb cartography. He retired from penn state university, where he received a doctorate in the history of technology, after a 36year career in institutional advancement. Manuscript group 286 penn central railroad collection. The central railroad of pennsylvania railroad history and. Vanderbilt syndicate new york central and pennsylvania railroad competition. It was so named because it was established in the commonwealth of pennsylvania by 1882, the pennsylvania railroad had become the largest railroad by traffic.
The merger took place on february 1, 1968 and penn central fell apart faster than it went together. This page includes links to and information about other custodians of prr pennsylvania railroad company records. I started the first book of south pennsylvania railroad maps book but did some better images with of course had survey maps over the aerials so need to change a few. Aug 09, 2010 by 1869, railroad lines from buffalo through erie to chicago were consolidated into the lake shore and michigan southern railway, which later became part of the new york central railroad. M 1b 6787, east altoona, april 1957, was built by lima, placed into service on april 3, 1930 as an m1a, converted to m1b in september 1946, and was sold for scrap in september 1959.
The prr, incorporated on april, 1846, became by the turn of the century the standard railroad of the world and the largest single employer of men and women in the united states. The illustrious pennsylvania railroad was an institutional icon for more than a century. This book brings together photos, historical materials, and company records from. The largest group of surviving prr records was distributed during the penn central records project of 19841986, a federally funded effort involving eight major repositories.
Peter lynchs new penn central railroad is a nice followon to his excellent new haven railroad of last year. The pennsylvania railroad reporting mark prr, legal name the pennsylvania railroad company, also known as the pennsy was an american class i railroad that was established in 1846 and was headquartered in philadelphia, pennsylvania. Pennsylvania station was, at the time of its completion, reputed to be the worlds busiest train station. Read railroads of pennsylvania by lorett treese for free with a 30 day free trial. The pennsylvania railroad company was incorporated under the laws of pennsylvania on april, 1846. The attempt to reduce new jersey corporate taxes failed, and crp operations were merged back into those of the cnj six years later. Well written by an expert on the subject, it is probably the definitive study available.
Pennsylvania railroad and new york central railroad records. The pennsylvania railroad company one hundred and tenth annual report for the year ended december 31, 1956. Remembering the pennsylvania railroad classic trains magazine. The societys mission is to further scholarly learning and interest in the pennsylvania railroad prr and its predecessor companies by stimulating and encouraging. A history like this needed to be preserved, especially in light of the fact that pcs railroad successor, conrail, become a fallen flag itself on june 1, 1999. Specific to pennsylvania denotes that the book is available from the pennsylvania state library, harrisburg pa. Nov 06, 2017 michael bezilla is author or coauthor of seven books, four of them works of railroad history, and has contributed more than 25 articles about railroads to scholarly and enthusiast publications. According to mike schafer and brian solomons book, pennsylvania railroad, on march 19, 1846 the state house passed a bill to organize the pennsylvania railroad while their counterparts in the senate did so on march 26th. Its many years of success achieved it an impeccable credit rating and vaunted status on wall street, which aided the future penn central s ability to continue securing loans in the face of a doomed destiny. Off, 1965, also by new york central railroad company and united states interstate commerce commission page images at hathitrust.
The train was still purely penn central, and probably consisted of a tired old. The penn central transportation company was a railroad created through the. Millions of tons of coal mined and sent two new england and canada and to great lakes ports. Transactions of the american society of civil engineers. The unused charter of the defunct south pennsylvania railroad was revived in the 1880s as a weapon in a growing war between the new york central railroad and the pennsylvania railroad, the two major eastern railroad systems. This book brings together photos, historical materials, and company records from sources both local and nationwide. It it is an excellent book vividly illustrating how arrogance can destroy even the. Rolfe letterpress copybook and photographs, 18801883.
Wild catting on the mountain the history of the whitmer and steele lumber companies book 2 in the series logging railroad era of lumbering in pennsylvania by benjamin f. The pennsylvania railroad western region northwestern division toledo timetable september 29, 1946 by the pennsylvania railroad and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. This book will become the standard history of the standard railroad of the world. Louis railroad, commonly known as the nickel plate road, was a 5mile, welldesigned.
The northern pacific railroad, the sioux, and the panic of 1873 by m. The penn central book is formatted and laid out in a similar manner to peters previous work, combining wellwritten historical narrative with a good selection of photographs of trains and locations. It planned to move coal from mines near the panther creek valley at tamaqua to port. Once the pennsylvania railroad reached pittsburgh, cincinnati was the great inland city to which the railroad had to connect. The bellefonte central railroad in historical perspective.
Read railroads of pennsylvania online by lorett treese books. Where the proposed alignment of the south pennsylvania railroad was to be built west of new stanton, pa. Well written book explaining railroads to the central pennsylvania coalfields around clearfiled and philipsburg. Coming from a city deeply dependent on the pennsylvania rr, i found this a fascinating account of the railroad s history. The reports through the west that the pennsylvania central railroad is obstructed by transportation of troops and government supplies, or that it has been in. It lost money for the first time in its fabled history during 1946 but continued to.
Pennsylvania railroad and long island rr directors inspection trip book, 1947. Primary resources company history annual reports dredge, james. The central railroad of pennsylvania reporting mark crp was an attempt by the central railroad of new jersey to avoid certain new jersey taxes on their pennsylvania lines. The company was formed during a period of rivalry among the northeastern seaport cities to secure the trade of the great lakes and the ohio valley.
Founded in july of 1853 as a consolidation of ten small railroads, the new york central railroad company later merged with the hudson river railroad, forming the new york central and hudson river railroad company in 1869. Temple university libraries pennsylvania railroad records. A good summary history of the penn central is provided. Central railroad of pennsylvania the central railroad of pennsylvania reporting mark crp was an attempt by the central railroad of new jersey to avoid certain new jersey taxes on their pennsylvania lines.
The bulk of this collection consists of the records of the pennsylvania railroad company, ca. Railroad microfilm pennsylvania historical and museum. It was created by the 1968 merger of the pennsylvania and new york central railroads. Electrification of the system was initiated in the spring of 1929 and completed in 1938. The penn central transportation company, commonly abbreviated to penn central, was an american class i railroad headquartered in philadelphia, pennsylvania, that operated from 1968 until 1976. Pictorials are truly an authentic depiction of what the road wasa first class passenger and freight movement icon of the 30s and. Pictorials are truly an authentic depiction of what the road wasa first class passenger and freight movement icon of the 30s and 40s. This book is not a history of the failure of the merger. The commonwealth of pennsylvania granted a charter to the pennsylvania railroad to build a private rail line that would connect harrisburg to pittsburgh. In 1968, the railroad was merged with the new york central to form the penn central railroad. Abebooks 100 million books from independent booksellers, including thousands of railroad titles. The new york tunnel extension of the pennsylvania railroad. And so, a group of a dozen individuals met in altoona, pennsylvania, in october 1999, to put together what is today the penn central railroad historical society. This page provides a directory of websites offering railroad books including new, used, rare, and outofprint books covering railroad history, train operations, railroad photography, and model railroading.
Rather, it is more of a photographic and written record of some of the trains that were the penn central. Regional histories of the great railroads rail stories of the people and events that shaped history rails to trails paths, tourist attractions, and more divides the state into regions and explores the major railroads, recounts the lore, profiles the individuals involved, and identifies places one can go to experience the relics of rail culture. Who we are penn central railroad historical society. This is the quintessential tome on the history of one of the, if not the greatest business enterprise of the 19th and 20th centuries the pennsylvania railroad prr. Pennsylvania and new york central surprised the railroad industry by announcing merger plans in 1957. The book actually begins decades before the prrs start date in 1846 and sets the stage for its coming on the scene. Published february 19th 1999 by beard books first published january 1st 1971. The two had long been rivals, and the merger would be one of parallel roads rather than endtoend. In the ensuing years, the penn central corporations holdings created by a 1968 merger of the pennsylvania and new york central railroads, along with a number of other bankrupt railroads in the northeast were split between the federallycreated national railroad passenger corporation amtrak for passenger rail assets and the consolidated. Choose our history of pennsylvania books at arcadia publishing. Visual resources railroads in pennsylvania library guides at. Pennsylvania railroad company and new york central railroad company merger. Pennsylvania reading seashore lines, providing commuter service across southern new jersey.
Pennsylvania railroad company that it was unconstitutional for the legislature to give away a revenue source in perpetuity. Coming from a city deeply dependent on the pennsylvania rr, i found this a fascinating account of the railroads history. Cooper wingert is the author of ten books, including the confederate approach on harrisburg and slavery and the underground railroad in south central pennsylvania. The northern central railway ncry was a class i railroad connecting baltimore, maryland with sunbury, pennsylvania, along the susquehanna river. The central railroad of new jersey, also known as the jersey central or jersey central lines reporting mark cnj, was a class i railroad with origins in the 1830s.
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