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. Its many years of success achieved it an impeccable credit rating and vaunted status on wall street, which aided the future penn centrals ability to continue securing loans in the face of a doomed destiny. 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. The 1974 penn central map uses the last data available for the failed railroad. After pc went bankrupt, several books were written about the failure, including daughen and binzens the wreck of the penn central, which was published in 1971. Pc post magazine the pc post is the official triannual magazine of the penn central railroad historical society each issue contains indepth articles covering the history of penn central, its predecessor lines, and other closely affiliated railroads. The railroad subjects subcategory is for titles that are grouped by a common subject such as railroads and specific industries as mining or forestry and other. New york, new haven and hartford railroad wikipedia. Volume 2, the second generation, the opening of a coal terminal at port richmond along the delaware river in philadelphia on may 17, 1842 provided the railroad with an eastern outlet for its anthracite. Headquartered in new york city, the railroad served most of the northeast, including extensive routes in new york, pennsylvania, ohio, michigan, indiana, illinois and massachusetts, plus additional routes in the canadian. See more ideas about new york central, pennsylvania railroad and train.
The penn central railroad historical society was formed to preserve the history and heritage of the railroad operated by the penn central transportation company. Twentyfour years separate these two density maps a long time in north american railroading. The records include journals, ledgers, cash books, stock ledgers, etc and. Penn central versus conrail tonnage trains magazine. Penn central railroad mbi railroad color history series. Penn central locomotive paint schemes will be discussed in this blog. This general version was the road name applied to the hood of the unit, nose logos, and side logos applied to the hood. The northern pacific railroad, the sioux, and the panic of 1873 by m. Penn central locomotive paint schemes railroad blog 1west. This is an awesome book about a long despised but now surprize, surprize missed railroad. The new company hoped to integrate the two railroads immediately and quickly realize some of the mergers expected costsavings. The penn central railr oad system was created as a response to challenges faced by all th ree railr oads in the late 1960s. The new york, new haven and hartford railroad was absorbed in 1969. Penn central railroad historical society, flagtown, nj.
The wreck of the penn central, which the new york times called a great book offering the reader a ringside. As a west coast modeler, ive always been puzzled by the popularity of the penn central rr. In princeton, nj, the students at princeton university got into the act to help celebrate the merger. After pc went bankrupt, several books were written about the failure, including daughen and binzens the wreck of. Penn central railroad mbi railroad color history series by.
Cut back plant by 40 per cent of penn central s 20,000 miles. It took ten years of laborious planning and exhaustive negotiations to create the mammoth penn central railroad, the largest railroad in united states history. Penn central railroad color history peter lynch 160 pages hardcover in describing penn central s operational history and the factors that led to its formation and downfall, author and former pc employee peter lynch offers a collection of the best pen. Pa state archives mg286 penn central railroad collection. Instead, penn central was in operational chaos almost from the start.
Get the best deals on collectible railroad rule books 1968 when you shop the largest. Jan 31, 2018 the new york central merged with the pennsylvania railroad on february 1, 1968 to create the mighty penn central. The records of the pennsylvania railroad and new york central railroad contain correspondence, reports, financial records, and technical information primarily from northern and western pennsylvania and eastern ohio. This book covers in detail through many excellant photos the total roster of penn central locomotives. Penn central transportation company, known generally as just penn central, was formed by the merger of the pennsylvania and new york central railroads in 1968. Nyc railroad history new york central system historical. The penn central company acquired the new york, new haven, and hartford railroad in 1969, but filed for bankruptcy two years later.
Penn central transportation company welcome to the online home of the penn central railroad historical society. Penn central railroad historical society posts facebook. When the leviathan was finally born of a merger between the pennsylvania and new york central railroads on february 1, 1968, the event was hailed as a great day for railroading. In describing penn centrals operational history and the factors that led to its formation and downfall, author and former pc employee peter lynch offers a collection of the best penn central color imagery from the archives of photographers thomas mcnamara, j.
As i see it, the penn central was a short lived railroad that started off bad and ended in disaster. For land and trackage owned by the pennsylvania railroad company, the state archives holds a series of 49 microfilm rolls, filmed in 1976 by the penn central, entitled. A good summary history of the penn central is provided. There is quite alot of answers to this question,but in small terms. The new haven railroad, it self a component of the penn central through an earlier new haven. Jun 06, 2015 penn central locomotive paint schemes will be discussed in this blog. Guide to the penn central transportation company records. Jun 22, 1970 the new haven railroad, it self a component of the penn central through an earlier new haven. Why not model the pennsy and nyc prior to penn central, or conrail that came later. American financial enterprises would become the largest single stockholder of penn central company shares by the mid1990s, controlling 32% of the stock of the company.
It took ten years of laborious planning and extensive negotiations to create the mammoth penn central railroad, the largest railroad in united states history. The penn central might have been mismanaged and broke but it still was an interesting period of history for the railroads of the region. The illustrious pennsylvania railroad was an institutional icon for more than a century. Pennsylvania railroad and new york central railroad.
When the pc collapsed in 1970 it began a long decade of uncertainty, leaving many to wonder if the railroad was an obsolete mode of transportation. Wh ile railr oads elsewhere in north america drew a sizable percentage of revenues from the longdistance shipment of commodities such as coal, lumber, paper and iron ore, northeast ern railr oads. Penn central railroad railroad color history by peter e. Peter lynchs new penn central railroad is a nice followon to his excellent new haven railroad of last year. 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. The bankruptcy of penn central was the biggest business failure in united states history and led to the 1976 creation of conrail. The pcrrhs offers for sale books about the penn central and other related railroads that our members may find of interest. The wreck of the penn central is a good book for the ins and outs of the. Who we are penn central railroad historical society. Collectible railroad rule books 1968 for sale ebay.
Founded in 1999, the penn central railroad historical society is dedicated to preserving the railroad history of. Oroszi panhandle passenger trains penn central pennsylvania railroad philadelphia plant prr and nyc prr. The northeast united states is the most densely populated region of the u. Two locomotives representing a tumultuous transition in eastern u. The preservation group penn central railroad historical society was formed in july 2000 to preserve the history of the often scorned company. This brought to an end the 108year corporate history of the storied railroad, and the end to the 19year saga of its second bankruptcy reorganization. The penn central existed only from the new york central pennsylvania merger in 1968, until the formation of conrail in 1976. In describing penn central s operational history and the factors that led to its formation and downfall, author and former pc employee peter lynch offers a collection of the best penn central color imagery from the archives of photographers thomas mcnamara, j. It is hard to believe that a railroad who had baldwins and fairbanksmorse diesels on their roster, assigned funits to freight trains and sets of eunits to mail trains, used a fleet of big alcos to haul ore trains to steel mills and maintained a class of vintage streamlined electrics was one of the most despised in history. The wreck of the penn central law and business books. Our mission is to preserve the history of the railroad known as the penn central transportation company, including its people and equipment, its heritage before. The railroad localities subcategory includes titles that are specific to geographic locations by political boundaries such as country, state, province or by general geographic region.
Railroad microfilm pennsylvania historical and museum. The new york central merged with the pennsylvania railroad on february 1, 1968 to create the mighty penn central. The cards contain the same type of information found for subseries 1. Founded in 1999, the penn central railroad historical society is dedicated to preserving the railroad history of the penn central. Materials include 527 bound volumes, 25 reels of microfilm, and 1 reference map. The pennsylvania railroad absorbed the new york central and eventually went by the name of penn central transportation company. A new national passenger rail service, amtrak, was formed in the same year, 1971, followed by the establishment of the consolidated rail corporation conrail in 1976.
Oct 21, 2004 there is quite alot of answers to this question,but in small terms. Browse maps, pictures and histories of abandoned railroad lines of the penn central railroad. Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features. Rather, it is more of a photographic and written record of some of the trains that were the penn central. From the simple barns of the outlying farm community, to the grand hotels and lively saloons kept busy by the southern pacific railroad depot, and back full circle to the mission revival style edifices of california polytechnic state university, san luis obispos architecture has echoed its. Penn central locomotive paint schemes railroad blog 1. Penn central railroad historical society home facebook. 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.
For many years, penn central was not looked upon favorably by railroad enthusiasts or some former employees, as it brought to an end three popular railroads in the eastern united. Consists of index cards 5x8 that were printed prior to 1950 and which cover employment back to the early 1900s. The new york central railroad and the pennsylvania railroad, and their extensive networks of merged and leased lines, subsidiaries, and related businesses, rank among the most important railroads in the world. Jun 03, 2004 peter lynchs new penn central railroad is a nice followon to his excellent new haven railroad of last year. Our mission is to preserve the history of the railroad known as the penn central transportation company, including its people and equipment, its heritage before its formation in 1968, its alltoobrief life, and its slow fade into. Welcome to the online home of the penn central railroad historical society. Apr 15, 2004 the penn central might have been mismanaged and broke but it still was an interesting period of history for the railroads of the region. It was created by the 1968 merger of the pennsylvania and new york central railroads. Cut back plant by 40 per cent of penn centrals 20,000 miles. Nyc railroad history the new york central system was a one of the largest american railroads operating in the northeast. Penn central, officially known as the penn central transportation company, spawned the modernday mega railroad although the illfated system also marked the industrys low point. I feel a better book has not been written about the penn central.
This book fills an information void with its 208 wonderful photographs. Bound field notebooks listing names of towns along the pennsylvania railroad, definitions of town names, locations by state or county of post offices assigned town names, and the railroad divisions on. Churella chronicles the history of the pennsylvania railroad within the. Pennsylvania railroad and new york central railroad records. The new york central railroad and the pennsylvania. Some personnel cards originating from the new york central railroad company also are present.
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