How Long has it been called the "Pittsburgh Line"?

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

It just came to mind to ask this question. Exactly how long has NS’s Pittsburgh to Harrisburg route been called the Pittsburgh Line? I know for sure NS and Conrail have called it as such, but I am not sure if Penn Central referred to it as such or even Conrail in it’s early years. PRR, I know had considered much of the line several different operating divisions, such as Middle, Mountain, and Conemaugh Divisions.

2

I don’t know for sure - I suspect with the start of either Penn Central or ConRail, when a coordinated regional naming scheme became essential with many duplicate lines running to, from, or between the same points. Check out the many, many documents that are available on-line for that territory at -

Railroad Archives

http://www.multimodalways.org/archives/rrs/rrs.html

under all 3 of the road names that you mentioned above, plus 1 that you didn’t - Penn Central Transportation Co. Maybe the fastest way would be to look at the system maps kind of thing.

Or get hold of the Barnard, Roberts & Co. “Triumph” series of books for that portion of the PRR, which may cover that someplace, too.

  • Paul North.
3

Paul,

Thanks for posting that link. I going to have a good time looking at those maps!

4

Dale - Oh yeah. [swg] You’re more than welcome. And as I was going to add to my message above back to BT CPSO 266 -

‘‘If we don’t see or hear from you in a month or so, we’ll send out a search party.’’ [;)]

  • Paul North.
5

Thank you very much, there are some good stuff on that site.

I did not know anyone would miss my questions, or topics I like to talk about, and run by people.[(-D], been busy lately

I did find out the Penn Central originally called it the Allegheny Division, but it only ran from Harrisburg to Conpitt Junction, so Conrail must have changed the name to the Pittsburgh Line.

6

After a quick glance at the “Mountain Railroad Revisited” article in the Jan 1985 Trains, it looks like at that time it was called the Main Line, part of the Allegheny Division, from Altoona to Conpit. West of Conpit, it was the Main Line, and the Conemaugh Line, both of the Pittsburgh Division.

7

I’m guessing it was never officially known as “the Main Line” (tho RRers may have so referred to it). If the Conemaugh was called the Conemaugh Line in 1985, then the main line was probably the Pittsburgh Line.

The 1976 (?) Penn Central TT in Mr North’s link doesn’t use the Conrail terminology.

8

That is an outstanding link.

Outstanding.

Ed