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Albrecht, Harry P. (1967). Pennsylvania Railroad K-4s: steam locomotives of
yesteryear. Philadelphia: Author.
Albrecht's tribute to Pennsy's Pacific type 4-6-2 K4s locomotive
contains over 65 black-and-white photographs and several illustrations of K4s
and their tenders. A 500+ word essay by the PRR Motive Power Department
regarding the unique technical qualities of this reliable high-speed passenger
locomotive provides most of the text for this pamphlet. "In all, 425 K4s
locomotives were built which is the largest number of steam passenger engines
of one class to be built by any railroad in this country." Albrecht provides
short captions for most photographs, technical specification for K4s and K4sa
and their tenders, and a roster of class K4s locomotives as of January 1939.
In addition he provides very brief information about the Horseshoe Curve and
locomotive No. 1361 which was built in Altoona in 1918 and was given to the
city of Altoona in 1957 as a permanent monument after rolling up 2,469,000
miles of passenger service. See also: Kramer (1992) below and Pennypacker &
Staufer (1984) under books. (39 pages, pamphlet, obtained from Temple
University Library)
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Albrecht, Harry P. (1972). Broad Street Station, Pennsylvania Railroad,
Philadelphia, 1881-1952. Clifton Heights, PA: Author.
Albrecht presents a very interesting pictorial history of the PRR's
Broad Street Station in Philadelphia and its so called "Chinese Wall", which
carried the track approaches above the city streets from the Schuylkill River
to the center-city station. There is very little text in this work, only a
brief one-page history of the station and a half-page chronology of
electrification in the Philadelphia area. However, Albrecht tells the history
of the once finest railroad terminal in the world through 60+ black-and-white
photographs and short, but informative, captions. Included are photographs of
the site prior to the station construction, the original 1881 building, the
construction of the expanded 1893 facility, and the completed station with
it's ten-story office building. Also covered are the fire of 1923 which
destroyed the arched train shed (306 feet wide, 591 feet long, and 100 feet
above the tracks at its highest point, covering 16 tracks) and the fire of
1943. A 1912 map shows the location of the station and the track layout from
1881 to 1952, and floor plans and interior photographs are included. Numerous
aerial photographs, along with street level and track level shots, reveal the
flavor of activity at the station. (48 pages, pamphlet)
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Altoona Area Public Library. (1980). Altoona and the railroad: an annotated
bibliography of books about the PRR in the collection of the Altoona Area
Public Library. Altoona, PA: Author.
The city of Altoona was founded by the
Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 and the growth and prosperity of Altoona was
dependent on the PRR until the early 1960s. For many years Altoona had the
largest rail facilities in the world, including its famous shops complex, the
largest engine house, a stationary locomotive testing plant, and a chemical
laboratory. The PRR was instrumental in building and maintaining a community
environment that would keep its work force, and their families, satisfied and
productive. Among other cultural institutions sponsored by the PRR was the
Mechanics' Library, built in 1858 and entirely supported by the PRR for 70
years. In 1926 the Mechanics' Library provided a nuclear collection of 65,000
volumes to the Altoona School District for a public library. This
bibliography contains many titles that were originally housed in the
Mechanics' Library collection, and of course many more recent titles that were
acquired after the formation of the public library. Approximately 130 books
are listed in this bibliography, many of historical significance. Each entry
contains complete bibliographic information, the library call number, and a
brief descriptive annotation. Most of the listed books are held in the
library's Pennsylvania Room and must be used within the library. (36 pages,
pamphlet)
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Carter, Charles F. (n.d.). The Beginning of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Fort Wayne, IN: Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County.
This pamphlet is a reprint of chapter four of Carter’s When
Railroads Were New, published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Company in
1926. No date appears on the pamphlet, but it is believed to have been
published around 1956. Carter covers the political, business, and
technological climate in Pennsylvania during the early 1800s, which made
development of the Pennsylvani Railroad difficult. He discusses the
opposition from advocates of a turnpike system featuring Conestoga wagons and
from local Philadaphia farmers who worried about competition from Lancaster
farmers who might ship their produce to Philadelphia. He also covers the
beginning of the Baldwin Locomotive Works and its first locomotive, Old
Ironsides. When the Erie Canal diverted western trade from Philadelphia to
New York, Pennsylvania state officials created a Board of Canal Commissioners
who created a transportation system of canals with railroads filling the gaps
where canals were not feasible. They were clearly opposed to railroads except
as a last resort. In 1834 the 82-mile Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad
officially linked the canals system to Philadelphia. Carter also discusses
the Allegheny Portage Railroad which open a single track in 1833 and double
track in 1834. At the time many engineers believed that locomotives could
only travel on level track. Therefore inclined planes with stationary engines
at the top were used to hoist the cars up slopes. The Portage Railroad
required ten inclined planes with level sections between them to traverse the
2,326 feet summit and connect the eastern canal with the western canal. When
the Portage road opened the 395 mile trip from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh took
91 hours covering 118 miles by rail and 277 miles by canal. In addition,
Carter discusses the Cumberland Valley Railroad from Harrisburg to
Chambersburg. He goes on to discuss the scandalous management of the State
Works system and its unfavorable comparison to transportation systems in other
states and then the beginning of the initial development of the Pennsylvania
Railroad. (47 pages, pamphlet, obtained from Weber State University Library)
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Church, Samuel Harden. (1925). America's first railroad. New York: The
New York Times.
Church focuses on the vision and work of John Steven who he refers to
as the "father of the Pennsylvania Railroad" and also the "father of the
American railroad". He advised that Stevens obtained a charter from the
Legislature of Pennsylvania in 1823 to construct a steam-powered railroad from
Philadelphia to Columbia. Stevens furthermore predicted an extension of this
railroad to Pittsburgh and into Ohio. However no moneys were appropriated and
Stevens' personal efforts were unable to raise sufficient capital. Eventually
a state-owned system of canals and short railroads were constructed over the
general route surveyed by Stevens. In 1857 the Pennsylvania Railroad
purchased this system. Stevens also constructed a steam locomotive intended
for the Pennsylvania Railroad before he died in 1938. Church maintains that
Stevens' 1823 charter in the name of the Pennsylvania Railroad actually
predates any other in the United States making the Pennsylvania Railroad the
oldest in America. (12 pages, pamphlet, obtained from University of Minnesota
Libraries)
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Cupper, Dan (Ed.). (1996). The Pennsylvania Railroad: its place in history,
1846-1996. Wayne, PA: Philadelphia Chapter, Pennsylvania Railroad
Technical & Historical Society.
Cupper is a widely published and well respected PRR historian whose
publications are well known for their high quality. This booklet is no
exception to that quality track record. It includes a forward by Kevin P.
Keefe, Editor of Trains Magazine, who, despite his NYC roots, admits to loving
the Pennsylvania from boyhood on. It then provides "A Brief History of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company" by Christopher T. Baer, Hagley Museum and
Library, Wilmington, Delaware. Baer presents an excellent history of the
company within sixteen pages. Cupper then includes a "Selected Research
Bibliography" that provides a sampling of the body of literature about the PRR.
The core of this bibliography was assembled by Reid Miller, park ranger at
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Cresson, Pa. The
bibliography consists of approximately 200 books and periodical listings, some
with very short annotations, plus a list of six periodicals published by the
PRR and three PRR-theme periodicals published by other groups. The final
section of the booklet describes 23 major collections of PRR records held at
various institutions. This is a attractively packaged and very useful
publication that includes about 30 black-and-white and color illustrations and
photographs, and a 1923 map of the Pennsy system. (33 pages, bibliography,
pamphlet)
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Editors of Trains Magazine. (1944). Trains album of railroad photographs:
book 8, Pennsylvania Railroad. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing.
Book number 8 in Kalmbach's series of photographic panoramas of
railroads in the United States focuses on the Pennsylvania Railroad. It
presents a selection of 42 black-and-white photographs printed on one side of
the 10x14 inch pages "so they can be easily removed for scrap-book use or for
framing". Of course, the photographs in this volume focus on PRR steam
locomotives, except for five GGI views, three scenic views of the Horseshoe
Curve, and three shots of New York's Pennsylvania Station including a
remarkable aerial night view of the station. Many photographers are
represented including L.H. Darragh, Anthony P. Formanek, R.J. Foster, Harold
M. Lambert, William Moedinger, Jr., W.R. Osborne, H.W. Pontin, Robert Dudley
Smith, Bliss B. Straight, Jr., and Herb Weisberger. A short half-page
introduction and the photograph captions are the only text in this
publication. See also: Book 17 below. (22 pages, pamphlet)
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- Editors of Trains Magazine.
(1944). Trains album of railroad photographs: book 17, Locomotives of the
Pennsylvania Railroad. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing.
Book number 17 in this Kalmbach photographic series focuses on PRR
locomotives. It presents forty-four black-and-white photographs of PRR
locomotives printed on one side of the 10x14 inch pages. All but eight
photographs depict steam locomotives. Each photograph caption provides
information such as road numbers of the series, builder and years built,
diameter of drivers, tractive power, boiler pressure, weights, grate area,
evaporative heating surface, superheater heating surface, tender capacity for
coal and water, etc. A one-page introduction states that the PRR’s
standardization initiative made it possible for this small book to cover all
the standard locomotive designs that were in service when it was published.
The book concentrates on the classes which the PRR considered standard at the
time of publication, and not older engines that were still in use. The
following classes are shown: C-1, B-6sb, D-16sb, CC-2s, E-6s, H-10s, G-5s, J-1
and J-1a, I-1s and I-1sa, K-4s and K-4sa, K-5, L-1s, M-1, M-1a and M1b, N-1s,
N-2sa, Q-1, Q-2, S-1, S-2, T-1, GG-1 electric, B-1 electric, P-5a electric,
O-1 electric, (B-B) 10B diesel-electric, (B-B) 6B diesel-electric, 2(A1A-A1A)
20E diesel-electric, D-3 (old C), D-6 (old K), H-1 (old I), H-3 (old R), G-1
(old D), E-1, and D-16sb. See also: Book 8 above. (22 pages, pamphlet)
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Fox, Charles Douglas & Fox, Francis. (1874). The Pennsylvania Railroad;
with remarks on American railway construction and management. London: W.
Clowes and Sons.
Charles Fox and Frances Fox delivered this paper
on November 24, 1874 at an Institution of Civil Engineers meeting. It was
printed as part of an excerpt of the minutes of the proceedings of the
Institution, volume XXXIX, Session 1874-75, part 1, including an abstract of
the discussion which extended over three evenings. James Forrest, Secretary
of the Institution, edited the discussion minutes. The paper focuses on a
detailed description of the 355 mile main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad
from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, although much information about the Company
and the PRR system as a whole is also presented. The report emphasizes
information of interest to civil engineers such as roadbed construction, curve
radii, grade changes, locomotive and rolling stock specifications, bridges,
tunnels, etc. However it also presents information about management and
economic issues and much data in tabular form. Data on train mileage,
passengers carried, tonnage moved, gross and net revenue, dividends, number of
locomotives and rolling stock, and freight rate per ton per mile, are
included. Tables giving information about all curves on the main line whose
radius is less than 1,000 feet, the position and elevation of points at which
the average grade changes, information about all bridges over streams on the
main line, the dimensions of locomotives, and other data are also included.
Diagrams of standard PRR locomotives, box cars, coal cars, drop-bottom
gondolas, and others are included. (64 pages, speech, obtained on microfilm
from Yale University Libraries)
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Horseshoe Curve,
125 years. (1981). McKeesport, PA: Rails Northeast.
This attractive
8.5x11 inch paperback presents many photographs and much information about the
Horseshoe Curve. It points out that while the fifteen-mile stretch of
mainline around the Curve provides train watchers with unequaled
entertainment, it also handles in excess of 70 million gross ton miles per
year. Many technical data regarding the Curve are included in this
publication along with 13 map sections showing the mainline and major access
roads. It also includes a map showing the original PRR, Allegheny Portage
Railroad, and the New Portage RR from Altoona and Hollidaysburg on the east to
Lilly on the west. Tables and diagrams present information such as the daily
average movement of freight cars passing Gallitzin summit from 1926 through
1947 and the operating grades on the Pittsburgh Division. (47 pages,
pamphlet)
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Jennings, William N. (1889). Through the Conemaugh Valley: a series of
photographs showing the destructive effect of the flood of May 31, 1889, along
the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Philadelphia: Author.
As the title states, this book presents photographs of the horrendous
devastation that resulted after the South Fork Dam bust flooding the Conemaugh
Valley. Commonly referred to as the Johnstown Flood, this tragic event
produced death and destruction that rivals tornados, hurricanes, and earth
quakes. These photographs show the incredible extent of this destruction.
Twenty-four, black-and-white, photographs that were printed from original
negatives are included. Most are 6x8 inches and their quality is excellent.
These images reveal the hardships suffered by the people who experienced this
flood and the monumental efforts that were required of the PRR and citizens to
recover from this tragic event. A map of the Conemaugh Valley is also
included. (24 pages, booklet, obtained from Free Library of Philadelphia.
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Kramer, Frederick A. (1992). Pennsy K-4’s remembered. Westfield, NJ:
Bells & Whistles.
Kramer’s short tribute to the Pennsylvania Railroad’s K-4 steam
locomotives is thoroughly enjoyable. He begins with a two-page outline of the
development and history of the “fast, powerful, economical, and versatile
engines” that served the Pennsy’s passenger power needs across its system.
Just prior to WWI the Pennsy needed high-speed locomotives to maintain
competitive passenger schedules. However brute force and traction was
essential to haul the heavyweight cars over the Alleghenies. Fuel efficiency
and low maintenance were important in addition to versatility to handle
special trains carrying only mail, express, milk, etc. The Pennsy originally
thought to improve the design of its K-2 and K-3 Pacific class 4-6-2
locomotives, and American Locomotive Company built a K-29 for consideration.
Although the Pennsy used some of the K-29 design and dimensions, it chose to
extend the design of its highly successful E-6 Atlantic 4-4-2 locomotive. The
E-6 frame was lengthened to accommodate an additional pair of driving wheels,
a longer boiler, and the Pennsy’s hipped Belpaire firebox. The locomotive was
originally designated as class K-4s because a superheated steam cycle was
used. By 1923 superheating was a given and the “s” suffix was dropped. The
first K-4 (No. 1737) was built at the Juniata shops in Altoona in May 1914.
Subsequently 425 K-4 locomotives were built between 1914 and 1927. All were
built at the Juniata shops except for 75 that were build by Baldwin in 1927.
Only the advent of diesel power removed the faithful K-4 locomotives from
service beginning in 1947 until the last K-4 retired in 1957. Unfortunately
only two K-4 locomotives survive. Number 3570 was renumbered as 1737 to
commemorate the prototype engine and moved to the Pennsylvania State Railroad
Museum at Strasburg, PA in 1956. Number 1361, which was given to the City of
Altoona and set on display at Horseshoe Curve from 1957 until 1985, was
restored to operating condition with help from the Railroaders’ Memorial
Museum (Altoona), the community, and many who gave time, materials and money
to the project. Kramer provides over 60 black-and-white photographs with
informative captions. See also: Albrecht (1967) above and Pennypacker &
Staufer (1984) under books. (32 pages, pamphlet, obtained from the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin Library)
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Long, Fred E. (1966). Conquering the Alleghenies: the Kittanning Trail, the
Allegheny Portage Railroad, the Horseshoe Curve. Altoona, PA: Author.
Long’s three chapters each address efforts to surmount and conquer the
Allegheny Mountains to the west of the Altoona-Hollidaysburg area. The Trail
to Yesteryear presents a brief history of the Kittanning Trail, which ran from
the Frankstown area west to the Hollidaysburg, then northwest past the south
side of Altoona, into the mountains near the Horseshoe Curve area, and then
over the Allegheny summit to the west. The trail was created by Native
Americans and used during war raids by both Native Americans and early
settlers. Long refers to a few specific battles that took place in the 1840s
and 1850s. The next chapter, Canal Boats On The Alleghenies, presents a very
brief history of the Public Works canal system that was constructed from
Middletown along the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers to Hollidaysburg and along
the Conemaugh and Allegheny Rivers to Pittsburgh. The original plan
recommended a four-mile tunnel under the Allegheny summit, but the technology
and expertise for such a tunnel was not available. Instead a system of levels
and inclines was constructed to surmount the summit. The majority of this
chapter discusses the Portage Railroad, which cost $1.6 million to construct
and began operation in 1834. The railroad extended west for 37 miles from
Hollidaysburg to Johnstown. Double tracked incline planes and levels
accomplished a 1,400-foot ascent from the Juniata River in the east and a
1,175-foot ascent from the Little Conemaugh River in the west. Five inclined
planes were used on each side of the summit with slightly graded levels
between them where horses or steam engines provided the power. Stationary
engines were located at the top of each plane, which powered an eight-inch
endless hemp rope, which was fastened to the cars. An ascending car on one
track was used to balance the weight of a descending car on the other track.
Long also describes a trip from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh using the canals
and the Portage Railroad. In 1855 the New Portage Railroad was completed at a
cost of $2.5 million, The New Portage eliminated the inclines enabling a
steam engine to use a 2,000-foot tunnel to pass under the Allegheny summit.
In August of 1855 the entire Main Line of Public Works was sold to the
Pennsylvania Railroad, which closed the Portage Railroad in November 1857.
Later, the Pennsylvania began using much of the original New Portage roadbed
for a time. The last chapter, Steam Conquers a Mountain, briefly covers the
Pennsylvania’s construction of the 3,600-foot summit tunnel and the Horseshoe
Curve. The importance of Altoona as an locomotive repair and building site,
the importance of K-4s locomotives, and a train wreck on February 18, 1947 are
briefly mentioned. Included are a few photographs and a map showing the
location of the Kittanning Trail, the Allegheny Portage Railroad and principle
highways in the Altoona-Hollidaysburg-Cresson area. (22 pages, pamphlet,
obtained from the National Park Service Library)
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Miller, Harry W. (1977). Trains of the Broadway Limited route: 1922-1977.
Washington, DC: Rail Ways of the Americas.
This report summarizes the Pennsylvania Railroad's passenger service
between New York and Chicago, including the Washington-Baltimore-Harrisburg
service, by presenting schedules and equipment listings at roughly five-year
intervals from 1922 through 1977. Of course the 1972 and 1977 information
refer to Amtrak passenger service. All passenger trains running on the route
are included. For example in January 1942 the listed westbound trains are
Express, Metropolitan, Duquesne Golden Triangle, Pennsylvania Limited,
General, Liberty Limited, Trail Blazer, Broadway Limited, Manhattan Limited,
Iron City Express Golden Arrow, Golden Arrow, and Golden Arrow Rainbow. The
report shows departure times from each location for each westbound and
eastbound train, and running times for each train between New York and Chicago
and between Washington and Chicago. In addition the report lists the
equipment used on each westbound train. For example the westbound
Pennsylvania Limited in January 1942 included, a lounge car, four sleeping
cars, a parlor car, a dining car, and two coaches. The information for this
report came from the Official Guide of the Railways and Amtrak timetables.
(41 pages, pamphlet)
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Paige, John C. (1989). A special history study: Pennsylvania Railroad shops
and works, Altoona, Pennsylvania (America's Industrial Heritage Project).
Washington, DC: National Park Service, U.S. Government Printing Office.
Read this publication online.
Paige provides an interesting outline of the history of the PRR shops
in Altoona. He includes brief sections on the development of the shops prior
to the Civil War, the impact of the Civil War, the construction of the Juniata
shops, the impact of World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and
more. His chapter on the products of the Altoona shops covers the railroad
cars and locomotives built by them and a history of the famed Test
Department. He also includes a chapter on labor and management relations at
the Altoona Railroad Shops. Pictures, maps, several interesting appendixes,
and a bibliography are included. (156 pages, government publication)
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Peltz, Hamilton. (1905). A night on the locomotive of "The Pennsylvania
Special". New York: The New York Herald Company.
This little booklet is a truly enjoyable narrative of a newspaperman's
locomotive cab ride from Jersey City to Chicago on the Pennsylvania Special,
No. 29. Born in 1902, the Pennsylvania Special provided an ultra-modern
luxurious eighteen-hour trip between the two cities. Seven years after
Peltz's ride, the Pennsylvania Special name was changed to the Broad Way
Limited which would become know as the Broadway Limited. On a Saturday
afternoon in mid-summer at exactly 4:14 p.m., Peltz began his adventure in the
cab of old 1416, an Atlantic-type locomotive with a consist of the combination
baggage, library, and smoking car Cassius, the sleeping car Marigold, the
dining car, and the state-room observation car Veritas. Peltz skillfully
conveys both the exhilaration and hardship that was experienced by the
enginemen and firemen during this wild ride to Chicago with scheduled stops at
North Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Altoona, Pittsburgh, Crestline, OH, and Fort
Wayne, IN. He describes the extreme heat and soot of the cab, a frightening
night climb up the Allegheny Mountains and around the horseshoe Curve through
rain squalls, and the excitement of seventy-five miles an hour speeds that
were necessary to bring No. 29 into Chicago on time at 9:05 a.m. Sunday
morning. (17 pages, pamphlet, obtained from the New York Historical
Archives, NYC)
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Penrose, Charles. (1946). Samuel Vaughan Merrick (1801-1870) merchant,
engineer, industrialist, first president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. New
York: The Newcomen Society of England, American Branch.
The Newcomen Society of the United States
was founded in 1923. It is named for Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729), a British
inventor of the first atmospheric steam engine. The society studies the
history of industry, transportation, communication, mining, agriculture,
banking, insurance, medicine, education, invention, law, and related
historical fields. This pamphlet contains an address delivered by Charles
Penrose at a meeting of the society held on January 17, 1946 at the Franklin
Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to commemorate the 240th birthday of
Benjamin Franklin. Penrose presented a very interesting introduction to the
PRR's first president, who left his home in Maine when he was fifteen to work
for his uncle, John Vaughan, a respected wine merchant in Philadelphia. In
1820, when Merrick was 19, his uncle made him part owner and head of Merrick &
Agnew, a company that built fire engines. Merrick then studied mechanical
engineering and industrial management and founded The Franklin Institute of
the State of
Pennsylvania in 1824 after his admission into the Mechanics Institute of
Philadelphia was rejected. In 1836 Merrick served as Chief Engineer of The
Philadelphia Gas Works that brought gas lights to the city of Philadelphia.
He also established, with John Henry Towne, The Southwark Foundry which became
one of America's largest builders of steam engines. In 1846, Merrick was a
prime proponent for the establishment of the Pennsylvania Railroad claiming,
"The absolute necessity of this road to the trade of Philadelphia is
universally acknowledged." (24 pages, pamphlet, obtained from Black Hills
State University Library)
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Rea, Samuel. (1926). Engineering reminiscences: address by Samuel Rea,
retired president, Pennsylvania Railroad, before the Franklin Institute of
Philadelphia at the presentation of the Franklin Medal, May 12, 1926.
Philadelphia: Franklin Institute.
Samuel Rea delivered this address to the Franklin Institute when he was
awarded the Franklin Medal in recognition of his long and important career in
engineering and railroad management. Rea chose to reminisce about the many
outstanding engineers that he had the good fortune of interacting with during
his career. He briefly mentions several engineers who worked on the location
and construction of the main line of the PRR under Chief Engineer John Edgar
Thomson. Rea stated that he had never met John Edgar Thomson, although he
worked for the PRR during Mr. Thomson’s presidency. He provides more detailed
information about several men. William Hasell Wilson was Chief Engineer of
the PRR during the Civil War and received the award of Honorary Membership in
the American Society of Civil Engineers when that organization was formed in
1852. Mr. Wilson’s oldest son, John A. Wilson, was the first Chief Engineer
under whom Rea served when he began working for the PRR in 1871. Moncure
Robinson was an extraordinary engineer who urged the abandonment of the canal
scheme in 1821 when he advocated the great advantage of railroads over
canals. When consulted by the Canal Commissioners of Pennsylvania on the plan
to build an inclined plane railroad over the Allegheny Mountain range, he
recommended a tunnel at the summit of Blair’s Gap, which would have reduced
the summit level by 140 feet. This plan was rejected, but the first tunnel
built in America was completed in 1833 at Staple Bend on a spur four miles
east of Johnstown. Mr. Robinson was later Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia
and Reading Railroad and he also designed a locomotive, the Gowan and Marx,
built by Eastwick & Harrison of Philadelphia in 1838. As Chief Engineer of
the Baltimore Belt Railroad in 1890, Mr. Rea began a long acquaintance with
John H.B. Latrobe who was Counsel for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for more
than 60 years. He stated “My own career has covered the second half of the
first century of railroads, and my conversation with Mr. Latrobe familiarized
me, at first-hand with one who lived and worked and legally guided his Company
through the first half…” Benjamin H. Latrobe, a younger brother of John H.B.
Latrobe was a Chief Engineer of the B&O, and his friends on the Pennsylvania
Railroad laid out a town on the banks of the Loyal Hanna River in Westmoreland
County, PA and named it Latrobe after him. Gamble Latrobe, great grandson of
Benjamin was General Superintendent of the Southern Division of the
Pennsylvania Railroad. Rea then relates his work as a young engineer on the
Point Bridge in Pittsburgh during its construction in 1875 and 1876, and he
briefly discusses the work of Edward Hemberle, the German engineer who
designed this remarkable bridge. Rea also discusses the work of Gustav
Lindenthal, an eminent civil engineer, who was Chief Engineer and Architect of
New York City’s Hell Gate Bridge, which linked the PRR lines with the New
England lines when competed in 1917. Rea stated, “As I look back, I now
perceive that these contacts with old experienced engineers were of
inestimable value to me, a young man, who without technical education, had to
learn by study and experience under the tutelage of older engineers who had
traveled the same road as myself.” This speech is an interesting read. (20
pages, published speech, obtained from University of Missouri Libraries)
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Roebling, John A. (1847). The great central railroad from Philadelphia to
St. Louis. Philadelphia.
Roebling read this paper before the Pittsburg Board of Trade in January
1847. He presented a strong case for construction of a railroad from
Philadelphia to Pittsburg via Harrisburg and then on to Columbus, OH,
Indianapolis, IN, and St. Louis, MO. The objective of this railroad was to
secure the trade of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri for Pittsburg and
Philadelphia. Roebling stressed the competition from New York and other
eastern states, and argued against construction of the railroad directly to
Erie or Cleveland in favor of the more central route through Columbus and on
to St. Louis. This sixteen-page pamphlet seems to have been published and
circulated as an American Railroad Journal Extra and is also available as part
of the Microbook Library of American Civilization. (16 pages, pamphlet)
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Strong, Sturgis and Company. (1916). Seventy years of America's greatest
railroad, the Pennsylvania, 1846-1916. New York: Author.
This brief (27 pages of text) publication seems to have two purposes,
to glorify the great Pennsylvania Railroad on its seventieth birthday and to
caution the nation about the difficulties that inconsistent regulation was
causing for America's railroads at the time. It presents a very interesting
picture of the accomplishments of the PRR with much financial and statistical
data. It then calls for a "...unified system of regulation instead of our
present inconsistent rule of forty-nine masters, the Federal Government and
forty-eight States..." (31 pages, pamphlet, obtained from University of South
Dakota Library)
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U.S. Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (1930). Pennsylvania Railroad wage data from
report of Joint Fact Finding Committee In Wage Negotiations, 1927
(Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 514, May,
1930). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Certain employees of the maintenance of way
and other departments of the Pennsylvania Railroad made a request for
increases of the October 1, 1927, wage rates. A joint fact finding committee,
consisting of four representatives of the railroad management and four
representatives of the employees was appointed to obtain and tabulate
information to be used in arriving at a decision. The report of the committee
contains comprehensive data regarding the wages paid by various Pennsylvania
Railroad companies. Included are rates of pay by occupation on specific dates
from December 31, 1917 to October 1, 1927. Occupations such as assistant
foreman – track, assistant foreman – floating gang, fence foreman, cooks,
crossing watchmen, laborers – track, laborers – floating gang, laborers – work
train, pumpers, plumbers, blacksmiths, machinists, electricians,
cabinetmakers, etc. This report also includes statistics on the number of
laborers, by division, for each month November 15, 1926 to October 15, 1927.
The report also contains: * data on the rates of pay of employees by
occupations on 64 railroads, including the PRR, on October 1, 1927 * data on
the average straight time or daily earnings of maintenance of way workers by
occupations on 43 railroads, including the PRR, during August 1927 * rates of
pay per hour for various relevant jobs in industries other than railroads *
entrance wage rates for common labor in various industries, July 1, 1927 *
average monthly earnings of various classes of PRR employees 1900 to 1927 *
data on the number of employees killed and injured on railroads, by causes *
average monthly earnings of maintenance of PRR way employees 1926-27 * number
so PRR maintenance of way employees, monthly 1921 – 1927 * number of PRR
laborers voluntarily off duty and total and average days of absence *
date on the pay increase requested by PRR employees and cost to the company.
(209 pages, U.S. government publication)
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U.S. Department of the Interior, Southwestern PeGo to:nnsylvania Heritage
Preservation Commission, & U.S. National Park Service. (1993). The people
of the Pennsy: interpretive and exhibit concept plan for the Altoona
Railroaders Memorial Museum. Washington, D.C.: Author.
This eighteen-page government publication outlines the exhibit concept
plan for the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
The museum exhibits focus on the story of the workers of the Pennsylvania
Railroad, not just on the technology and "glamour" jobs of the train crews or
corporate magnates, as do many other railroad museums. This focus is
appropriate for a museum located in Altoona where as many as 17,000 employees
at one time worked in the largest railroad shops in the world. The plan is
interesting reading and includes several nice photographs of PRR labor working
in track gangs, the Juniata shops, the blacksmith shop, the test plant, and
other locations. (18 pages, government publication)
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Van Trump,
James D. (1964). Railroad stations of Pennsylvania: an architectural
excursion, metropolitan terminals. Pittsburgh: Railroad and Locomotive
History Society.
Van Trump, an architectural historian of considerable repute, produced
and edited many publications related to architecture and was particularly
interested in the Western Pennsylvania area. This short work focuses on the
history and architecture of 13 railroad stations, i.e., three in Philadelphia
and 10 in Pittsburgh. The volume begins with an eleven-page history of
railroad stations development prior to 1865 with special emphasis on
Pittsburgh. Part II addresses three stations by Philadelphia architect, Frank
Furness, 1865-1900. Part III discusses Pittsburgh railroad station,
1900-1950. Several black-and-white photographs and illustrations supplement
the text. Van Trump discusses the following PRR stations: * Ohio and
Pennsylvania Railroad; Federal Street Station (later part of the Pittsburgh,
Fort Wayne and Chicago and then part of the Pennsylvania System) *
Pennsylvania Railroad; Duquesne Depot, Pittsburgh * Pennsylvania Central
Lines, second and third Union Stations, Pittsburgh. * Pennsylvania Railroad,
Broad Street Station (including first and second), Philadelphia. *
Pennsylvania Railroad, Shadyside Station, Pittsburgh * Pennsylvania Railroad,
Federal Street Station, Pittsburgh * Pennsylvania Railroad, Union Station,
Pittsburgh * Pennsylvania Railroad, East Liberty Station, Pittsburgh. In
addition, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad stations in Pittsburgh and
Philadelphia, George Gould's Wabash-Pittsburgh Terminal Railroad - Palace
Depot, and the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Station (P&LE was closely associated
with William Vanderbilt and the New York Central) are discussed. Near the end
of this work Van Trump states, "Everywhere stations and termini, the great and
little railroad palaces, are falling -- all across the land they lie like the
bones of prehistoric animals which have had their day. The great halls and
the platforms are deserted and the poets must find new metaphors. It seems
improbable that this cycle of decay and death can be arrested, but it would be
fitting if some of these stations could be preserved as memorials of a past
era. Who shall breathe upon these slain that they may live?" See also: Van
Trump. (1968). (47 pages, pamphlet, obtained from University of California
Berkeley Libraries)
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Van Trump, James D.
(1968). Pittsburgh's neglected gateway: the rotunda of the Pennsylvania
Railroad Station. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
In 1966 the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company announced an ambitious urban renewal project in
Pittsburgh called Penn Park. The project called for the destruction of the
PRR's Pittsburgh headquarters, the station and its attached Rotunda or
cabstand. The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation published this
pamphlet in 1968 to garner support to save the unique Rotunda. The report
presents a record of the history and continuing value of Pittsburgh's PRR
station and its predecessors with particular emphasis on the vehicular
concourse Rotunda. The building was commissioned in 1898 and designed by
Daniel Hudson Burnham who was distinguished for his work at the Chicago
World's Fair of 1893 and several buildings in the Pittsburgh area. Van Trump
discusses the unique architectural qualities of the Rotunda as well as it
historical and aesthetic value to the city of Pittsburgh. Several photographs
and diagrams contribute to this interesting work. See also: Van Trump.
(1964). (12 pages, pamphlet)
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Wallace, Kim E. (Ed.). (1990). Railroad city: four
historic neighborhoods in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Washington, DC: Historic
American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record, National Park
Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
This work is not primarily about the Pennsylvania Railroad. However
the histories of the city of Altoona, Pennsylvania, and that of the PRR are
entwined. In 1849 the Pennsylvania Railroad engineers laid out the city of
Altoona in the Logan Valley of Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains because they
wanted to establish the company's main shop complex at that location. The
city was named by J. Edgar Thomson, then chief engineer of the PRR. The
Altoona PRR shops eventually became the largest of their kind in the world,
and the population of Altoona peaked in 1930 at 82,054. Approximately 15,000
Altoona residents were PRR employees. This publication outlines the
relationship between the PRR and the city of Altoona with special emphasis on
four historic city areas, the Commercial Center, First Ward, Fourth Ward, and
Llyswen. Historic buildings and houses are pictured and described along with
the social histories of the city and its more prominent residents. (502
pages, government publication)
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Wharton, Thomas I.
(1846). A letter to Robert Toland and Isaac Elliott, Esqr’s, on the subject
of the right and power of the City of Philadelphia to subscribe for stock in
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Philadelphia: Crissy & Markley.
The successful
construction and operation of a railroad line west from Philadelphia across
Pennsylvania and beyond was very important for the economic and social growth
of the City of Philadelphia. Likewise the Pennsylvania Railroad needed
financial help to construct such a line and initiate and maintain service.
This letter, written in September 1846 by Thomas Wharton, Esq., illustrates
the controversy that erupted when it was proposed to use Philadelphia city
government funds to purchase stock in the PRR. Wharton addresses a previously
printed pamphlet and an opinion printed in the U.S. Gazette, which were both
opposed to the use of public funds in this manner. Wharton’s legal opinion
was that no laws or regulations prohibited the purchase of the stock with
public funds. The letter is an interesting read, but the mid-nineteenth
century legal dialect is somewhat difficult to comprehend. (30 pages,
published letter, obtained on microfilm from Yale University Libraries)
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