P70 a Standard Passenger Coach

In the last years of the 19th Century wooden passenger car construction reached its peak. Many of the conveniences we consider "modern" were standard equipment. Things such as water dispensers, toilets, lights and heat were found on these cars that many people considered works of art.
The growing concern of the fire hazard inherent in wooden cars and the advent of long tunnels into Penn Station in New York City spurred steel car construction on The Pennsylvania Railroad. Designed by the Pennsy's engineers, the Class P-70s were the first passenger cars to take full advantage of the lessons learned from the Class P-58 and P-53 steel coaches built after the turn of the Century. This was the steel passenger car that set the standard for all other American railroads to follow in the adoption of steel cars.
Since steel took up less area than wood, cars gained in passenger area. Because steel was stronger than wood, cars could be longer and wider than their wooden counterparts. The design of the P-70 was so flexible that it was used for several other passenger services including passenger-baggage, baggage-mail, mail cars and dining cars. Indeed, the design was so successful that many of these cars were modernized with lounges, observation sections, rotating seats, and even air conditioning.
The Class P-70 was the basic passenger car design of the railroad for many years. It was brought out in 1907, built in this form until 1925, and then modified in 1926. Over the years approximately 4,000 P-70's were built. These coaches could be found on the main line of the Pennsy well into the 1950's.
This coach was donated to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania by the Lancaster Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society

Details:
Passenger Day Coach
Pennsylvania Railroad, No. 1006
Steel Construction
Standard Steel Car Co., Hammond IN 1928
Class: P-70
Design Adopted: 1907
Length: 80' 3 3/4"
Width: 9' 11 1/2"
Height: 14' 1/2"
Weight: 61 Tons 122,000 lbs.
Capacity: 80

PRR Passenger Coaches After the Wood Years

PRR class P58 No. 1651 above was the road's first all-steel passenger coach.
An early experimental, all-steel, fireproof coach, It was built by the Pennsy at its Altoona Shops in 1906. No. 1651 is constructed entirely of fireproof materials except for the armrests of the seats.. .even the upholstery is fireproof. It shows the restored finish preserved by indoor exhibition at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
Details:
Builder: Pennsylvania Railroad Juniata Shops 1906
Class : P58
Length: 67' 55 3/4"
Width: 9' 1"
Capacity: 72 passengers

Below, steel passenger coach No. 1650, Class P-53, was an experimental coach built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1908. It was built as the prototype for the Class P-54 Suburban Coach. A large number of P-54's later were converted into the famous MP-54 electric commuter carriers that were easily spotted by their "owl-eye" end windows. No. 1650 was essentially the same as previous wooden cars except for the substitution of steel for wood. It was also constructed with wide, enclosed vestibules at either end designed to resist collapse. Contrast the car's finish with the P58 resulting from outdoor storage.


Details:
Passenger Coach
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 1650
Steel Construction Pennsylvania Railroad, Juniata Shops March 1908
Class: P-53
Design Adopted: 1908
Length: (approximately 64 feet)
Width: 9' 1"
Height: 14'-1/2”
Weight: 42.7 Tons (95,400 lbs.)
Capacity: 64
Cost: $17,953.25

Donner Reopens to Doublestacks

In the news today is the end of a year-long Donner Pass improvement project by the Union Pacific which reopens the route to doublestack containers by changes to 15 tunnels. The Donner Pass route is 73 miles shorter than the alternate route through the Feather River Canyon. This route also allows longer trains than can be run through the Feather River route.

I thought I would illustrate this news item with photos of wooden Donner Pass snow sheds taken by my father during a family trip across the USA we took in June, 1955. The wooden sheds are long gone, but they illustrate one of the technologies that allowed the transcontinental railroad to conquer the heavy snowfalls of the Sierra Nevada mountains in 1869.

Get more details in this Journal of Commerce Article.

PRR Baggage Car in the 1920's

Following the introduction of steel passenger coaches in the early part of the 20th Century the Pennsy began to replace the other types of cars that made up passenger train consists. In January of 1928 the PRR placed a large order for steel cars that would eliminate the wooden cars from all PRR passenger trains. Included in that order were 210 steel 60' baggage cars.
This exhibit at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania has a star below the Railroad Express Agency lettering indicating the car is equipped with facilities for an express guard to "ride shotgun". This car has been the subject for a number of model railroad car builders.
Details:
Baggage (Express Messenger)
Pennsylvania Railroad, No. 9356
Steel Construction
Builder: Unknown Ca. 1928-1929
Class: B60B
Length: 63' 7 1/4 "
Width: 9' 11 1/2"
Height: 14' 1/2"
Weight: 50.6 Tons (101,200 lbs.)
Capacity: 20 Tons (40,000 lbs.)

The Bobber

Called "Bobbers" because of their motions while underway, these were forerunners of the cabooses and cabin cars of the 20th century. Lehigh Valley Railroad No, 2606 Cupola dates from around 1900 and was built at the road's shops at Lehighton, Pennsylvania. On display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania its history includes time spent working for the C.W. Sones Lumber Company and possibly the Williamsport and North Branch. Current frame, undercarriage and trucks are from Lehigh & New England tunnel car No. 671. It was a gift by a private party in 1997.

A Sad and Dark Day

Friday, November 20, 2009 was a dark day in the history of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and for the whole Pennsylvania state museum system. The botched, bumbling resolution of Pennsylvania's state budget this year has led to the loss of 128 employees this year in the state museum system; about a 33% reduction. On Friday, 9 employees at the Railroad Museum worked their last day. This leaves but a single state employee to oversee visitor services at a site that attracts some 130,000 people a year; the largest attendance in the state's museum system by far.

Clearly museums are not politically sexy. State lawmakers see their re-election as more important than living up to the trust the public has placed in the state to preserve it's heritage. Bumbling lawmakers are aided by administrators more concerned with preserving their jobs than with living up to the responsibilities of public service. I have heard some people make comments like "watching 75 years of building one of the best statewide historical agencies in the country go up in smoke".

If it were not for the Railroad Museum's strong volunteer program, Friends of The Railroad Museum, the state would have to be looking into ways of closing an institution that attracts visitors from all over the world. A good number of volunteers live in other states and travel to Strasburg, Pennsylvania to help an institution they support. Some have moved from other parts of the country in order to live near this great museum.

Note: I try to avoid negative opinions about anything in my area of interest. Sometimes events overpower one's best intentions.

Ravaged by the Weather

These 2 photos of Reading Lines Class HTh hopper car #78847 were taken 3 years apart at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Without some restorative re-painting or at least some protective primer this artifact, built in 1916 by the Reading Shops, is going to be losing some steel to corrosion. Help save the trains by joining the Friends of the Railroad Museum.


Details:
Builder: uncertain
Class: Hth
Weight: 40,200 lbs.
Capacity: 110,000 lbs.
Date: circa 1920
Currently identified as P&R #78847

The Beginning of the Passenger Coach

Camden & Amboy Railroad No.3 was built in the C&A shops around 1836. It is the oldest eight-wheel passenger car in the U.S. On loan from the Smithsonian Institution, the old coach is shown here during an exhibit rearrangement at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania where No. 3 is on exhibit behind the PRR-built replica of the C&A "John Bull" locomotive. The plastic panels are not original equipment but put there to protect this old artifact.

The End of the Open Platform Wooden Coach

The transition from open end platform to fully enclosed vestibules was not accomplished in one step. The mid phase was the semi-enclosed vestibule displayed on PRR No. 8177. The steps are blocked off from the platform by folding wooden doors. While the end of the platform leading to the next car is open, there is a metal gate for passenger safety. Known as a semi-enclosed vestibule car, it figured prominently in PRR advertising in 1896, as Pennsy touted that all through passenger trains were "All Vestibuled."

Like other cars of this time period, the frame is made of oak and strengthened by the addition of truss rods. When this car was built, the art of wooden car building had reached its peak. In a few years, steel cars would cone out of the Altoona shops and consign these wooden marvels to work train and branch line service. In 1928, the last of the wooden passenger cars was retired from active service on the PRR.

Details:
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 8177 Passenger Coach
Class PH
Design adopted 1892
PRR Altoona Car Shops, Altoona, Pa.
Width: 10' 14"
Height: 14' 1 3/8"
Length: 60' 11"
Weight: 35.8 tons (71,650 lbs.)
Capacity: 62

Twilight of the Wooden Passenger Coach

Here, at the West end of platform 1 at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PRR #3556 makes a polished varnish appearance at the end of the museum's late 19th century train exhibit.
As originally built, the outside of the car had yellow poplar panels whose edges were covered with curved molding. The paint is Tuscan Red with contrasting window sashes and gold lettering. Green stained glass clerestory windows add an elegant touch.

The interior has seat frames, side panels and finish wood of golden oak. The chandeliers are silver plated with two Adams & Westlake single-center oil burning lamps and the seats are upholstered with plush red fabric. Additional passenger conveniences include a toilet, water cooler with brass spigot and drain, and a coal burning stove for heating at each end of the car. Preliminary research indicates that this car might have been built with steam heat lines. The overall effect is of a much more luxurious car than it really was.

From the 1960's until 1982 the car was leased to the Strasburg Railroad where this writer had to opportunity to ride in it on more than one occasion.

Details:
Class PF Passenger Coach design adopted 1885
Pennsylvania Railroad No. 3556
Wooden Construction
PRR Altoona Car Shops, Altoona, Pa, 8-1886
Length: 53'
Height: 14' 1 3/8"
Width: 10' 1 5/8"
Weight: 26.2 Tons (52,400 lbs.)
Capacity: 58

Let's Catch up on Some News

Union Pacific Named One of Top 50 Military Employers

Buffet's BNSF Investment Shows Long Term Growth Vision

Union Pacific to Trade Ranch for Intermodal Terminal Real Estate near El Paso

Future of High Speed Passenger Rail in the US is Cloudy:
Story One: Where Do You Put It?
Story Two: Is There Profit in it?
Story Three: What if You don't want it?

Thanks, American Association of Railroads for leads to these stories

Combination Car for PRR

Combination or "Combine" cars were very common throughout the entire history of railroading in the United States. So called because they offered a combination of services on the same car platform they came in different types.
On display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, combine No. 4639 is constructed of wood with much of the car including the doors, end walls, seat arms, some paneling and most of the trim made of golden oak. The baggage racks and chandeliers are made of brass. Kerosene is burned to provide light. A coal stove is provided for heating in the winter. There is also a toilet compartment on the car for use by the passengers and crew. The baggage compartment has its own chandelier for lighting. An interesting feature of the baggage section is the "pigeon-hole" rack for small express packages. At times cars such as these would carry mail in sacks for delivery to post offices along the route. The car has a seating capacity of 42 passengers who rode on plush maroon seats that are reversible.
Details
Design adopted 1891
Passenger/Baggage Car
Length:66'9"
Pennsylvania Railroad, No. 4639
Width: 10'14"
Wooden Construction
Height: 14' 1 3/8"
Pennsylvania Railroad Altoona Shops, Altoona, Pa., 3-1895
Weight: 38.9 Tons (77,800lbs.)
Capacity: 42
Class OG

Express Car for PRR at The Turn of The 20th Century

Express cars are a variation of the baggage car. The express car is used for the rapid, safe transportation of larger valuable items not associated with passenger traffic. These cars were assigned to passenger trains because they traveled at the high speeds associated with express service.
PRR No. 6076 was originally built as a baggage car and later modified for Adams Express use. One such modification is the small ventilators mounted in the car sides. Constructed primarily of wood and lit by gas lamps it posed a very dangerous combustible situation. Under the car can be seen the metal truss rods used to give wooden cars added strength. This is one of the earliest cars built without end platforms, which were being phased out at this time. It is also likely that this was among the last cars built of wood as steel car building was taking place on at least an experimental basis.
Details:
Pennsylvania Railroad, No. 6076 Wooden Construction built at PRR West Philadelphia Shops, Philadelphia, Pa.1899
Class BD
Design Adopted 1892
Length: 53' 1/2"
Width: 10' 1 1/2"
Height: 14' 1 3/4"
Weight: 55,000 lbs.
Capacity: 30,000 lbs.

Philly Commuter

Reposted from Feb. 2008. SEPTA Rail is currently in heavy use due to a strike by the Transport Workers Union representing employees on the SEPTA buses, subways, and streetcars.

Trainman on SEPTA's R5 line checks the platform for safety at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station commuter level. The overhead Faiveley Arm for high voltage AC power is down at its lowest level. This train from Thorndale, west of Philadelphia is bound for the tunnel underneath Center City to Suburban Station, Market Street East Station below the old Reading Terminal (now Philadelphia's modern convention center); to emerge aboveground for the Temple University station and its destination Landsdale. From Thorndale to Landsdale the scheduled run is just over two hours. A nice stop in route would be at Market East for a coffee or lunch at the Reading Terminal Market, an old Philadelphia fixture. Take a look upstairs from the station at how Philly has turned the Reading Terminal train shed into a spacious, airy entrance to the new convention center. Another good trip is to take the train to Market East for the Philadelphia Flower Show, running this year from March 2nd to March 9th. The R5 with its air conditioned electric multiple unit cars was known in Pennsy days as The Paoli Local.

Nineteenth Century PRR Baggage Car

Part of the fine collection of 6 wooden passenger cars at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PRR #6 is a class Ba baggage car built in 1882. Along with the other cars I will be featuring in coming days it was part of the PRR Historical Collection carefully restored in 1939 for the New York World's Fair.
Originally baggage cars were converted box cars. They were shorter than the passenger cars that made up the rest of the consist of the train in which they ran. As this type of business flourished, however, they became longer and were designed and built for this type of service. Furnishings such as lamps, stoves and toilets were added to provide some comforts for those who worked aboard these cars. At times, baggage cars could be pressed into service to handle express shipments. Baggage cars were seen on almost all mainline passenger trains.

Part of the Pennsy’s contribution to the railroad exhibit at the 1939-40 World's Fair in 'New York City was an old time wooden passenger train. Finding cars for such a train was no easy task as rebuilding and modernization programs had greatly reduced the number of cars that were available for such an exhibit. Those cars that did exist were often assigned to work train use or similar tasks. No. 6 was found serving as a wayside structure. It had been taken off of its trucks and placed on the ground. After being located, it was loaded onto a flat car and sent to Wilmington Shops for a major restoration effort. it should be noted that the PRR chose to restore both the inside and the outside when they could probably have done only the outside. After the Fair ended, the entire old time train was stored at the Pennsy yard in Northumberland. Pa. While there, it was occasionally seen by railfans on excursions. In 1979. the train became the property of the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission and it has been on exhibit at the Museum ever since then.
Details:
Baggage Car Pennsylvania Railroad, No. 6
Wooden Construction PRR Altoona Car Shops, January 1882
Class BA
Design adopted circa 1880's
Length: 46'6" (Some sources say 47'0")
Width: 10' 1 3/4"
Height: 13' 1 5/8"
Weight: 19.2 Tons (38,400 lbs.)
Capacity: 10 Tons (20,000 lbs.)

Catch up on The Big News

I have more details on Warren Buffet's huge vote of confidence in the American Economy with his BNSF purchase.

Reuters

The Topeka Capitol-Journal

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Wall Street Journal

Thanks to American Association of Railroads for steering me to these links.

And here is a USA Today link via the AARP with more details on how the deal was struck.

Training Wheels?

This odd little track car is something of a mystery. A gift to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania by a private party in 1980, it may have been built around 1880. Looks like a bike with training wheels, doesn't it?

The Biggest Railroad News in Years

Nati Harnik / AP photo
The news today, that Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffet is buying Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation outright for $44 Billion is a huge bet on the future of the U.S. economy. Buffet's corporation already held a 22% stake in BNSF.

The majority of the stock in the deal will be Berkshire's "A" shares, but Berkshire's board also approved a 50-for-1 split of its Class B common stock for holders of smaller amounts of Burlington shares who opt for a share exchange rather than cash. Berkshire's Class B shares closed Monday at $3,265. With the split, each share will be worth $65.30. Burlington shares shot up $21.33, or 28 percent to $97.40 in morning trading. Shares of other major rails, including Burlington's larger rival Union Pacific Corp., rose as well.

Berkshire also owns stock in two other major U.S. railroads — 9.56 million shares of Union Pacific Corp. and 1.93 million shares of Norfolk Southern Corp., as of June 30.
Get the details from MSNBC and the Associated Press.

One of the Oldest Railway Cars

Little did the men of the Cumberland Valley Railroad Shop in Chambersburg, Pa. realize that when they built combine car B in 1855, it would became the oldest piece of passenger equipment on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and, possibly, the second oldest piece of passenger equipment in the United States. Research seems to indicate that this car was built to handle U.S. Mail service in the Cumberland Valley.
As part of the PRR historical collection, this car was exhibited at Northumberland, Pa. with the Cumberland Valley Locomotive "Pioneer". It was also part of the Pennsy's extensive exhibit at the 1939-40 World's Fair in New York City. It was later loaned to the Strasburg Railroad in 1963 for exhibition.
The "Cumberland Valley Car" has a wooden frame and body. There are no provisions in the passenger compartment for heat or sanitation. What little light there was came from a single candle stand. There is seating for 29 passengers.

A Texas Welcome

(reposted from 2008) At one of my favorite places, the Texas Transportation Museum in San Antonio, this 1913 depot from Converse, Texas serves as the welcome center and ticket booth for visitors coming to see the goings-on of the Longhorn & Western Railroad, the museum's road vehicle collection, the layouts of the San Antonio Garden Railroad Society and the Alamo Model Railroad Engineers, attend a meeting of the Longhorn Chapter of NRHS, or just stroll the grounds. TTM is in a very accessible location at the Northern edge of San Antonio International Airport. The volunteers who keep this fine museum operating will make your visit very worthwhile. Y'all come.