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Clark's Pennsylvania Railroad Page |
The Pennsylvania RailroadThe mighty Pennsylvania Railroad (The Standard Railroad of the World) hauled itself into the history books during its 121 years of passenger and freight service. Many would argue that it was the greatest railroad company that ever existed and one of America's most important business corporations. It made unrivaled contributions to America's industrial, economic and social development. In the words of Christopher T. Baer of the Hagley Museum and Library, "It dominated the northeast quadrant of the country in an era when the region was our industrial heartland, linked its political and economic capitals, carried more commuters, more vacationers, more coal, more steel, and fielded more locomotives, more cars, more trains, more miles under wire, and, it seemed, more of everything than any other carrier." (Cupper, Dan, ed. 1996. The Pennsylvania Railroad: Its Place in History 1846 - 1996. p. 3.) A Personal RecollectionThose of us who were born and raised in the heart of PRR country, Altoona, Pennsylvania, while the Pennsy was still hauling have a more personal relationship with the PRR. In 1849 the Pennsylvania Railroad engineers laid out the city of Altoona in the Logan Valley of Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains. The chief engineer of the PRR, J. Edgar Thomson who later served as president of the company, named the city where the PRR shops would become the largest of their kind in the world. By 1930 the population of Altoona peaked at 82,054 and approximately 15,000 Altoona residents were PRR employees. The Altoona workforce built most of the Pennsy's steam locomotives and many of its cars. The PRR Altoona Test Plant became renowned for its role in the testing and development of railroad equipment and materials. Its locomotive test plant allowed an engine to be held stationary with a full head of steam and its driving wheels revolving at full speed. Of course, Altoona was also a major site for PRR equipment repair and salvage shops. When I was growing up in Altoona and Hollidaysburg, almost every adult man in my extended family worked for the PRR. Both my grandfathers retired from PRR employment after more than 40 years or service. One grandfather began on a track crew at a very young age, worked his way up to a locomotive engineer, and finished his career in the test plant. When I was young, I was fascinated by the stories of his railroading adventures including narrowly escaping death by jumping from a speeding locomotive that had left the tracks. I came to love the mighty steam locomotives that hauled heavy coal trains over the Allegheny Mountains and around the Horseshoe Curve, even though diesels had replaced them by the time I reached my teens. Most of my family worked in the PRR shops, a somewhat less glamorous vocation than a trainman. However, the PRR shops provided noble, although often hard and gritty, employment for thousands of Altoona men. My father worked in the Juniata Shops as a machinist apprentice for several years. However, it was difficult (very competitive) to achieve union status as a machinist and he eventually moved to the Samuel Rea Reclamation Plant in Hollidaysburg where he worked until he had to retire on disability. The Pennsylvania Railroad dominated the life of its employees not just because it was their employer. Most of them loved the company. When my family went on vacations (a somewhat rare event) we usually took the Pennsy. All PRR employees had company passes and trip passes could be obtained for family members. I fondly remember our train trips to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh where we visited relatives. When I was in college my father obtained a rail pass for me to use when I came home for visits. It was a great way to travel, although at the time the once mighty Pennsy was running on hard times and it ran into oblivion during my college years. Luckily I was eligible for a Penn Central and later an Amtrak pass for a few years. When the Pennsy merged with its rival the New York Central to form the Penn Central in 1968, PRR loyalists were heartbroken. In 1970 when the Penn Central filed for the largest corporate bankruptcy up to that time, it was a devastating blow to the city of Altoona and to all the former PRR employees. However, Altoona has recovered, and the legions of PRR devotees are keeping the Pennsy alive with publications, websites, e-mail lists, organizations, and memories. Long live the PRR! PRR Links
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