pennsy/penn central question

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

so im modeling 1973 on the P&LE … so id like to incorporate some pennsy box cars and hoppers onto my line in addition to my P&LE roster…

the question is should i incorporate penn central cars or pennsylvania rr cars? were the pennsy cars all painted to penn central following the 1968 merger? or did many cars keep their pennsy colors???

many thanks

2

Both. PC and unrepainted PRR cars could be found running side by side throughout PC’s existance. Alot of PRR and NYC cars lasted into the Conrail era with their PRR and NYC paint and reporting marks intact. In the chaos preceeding and following PC’s collapse, repainting equipement was not a high priority.

Nick

3

Ditto. Plenty of PRR cars (especially hoppers and boxcars) were still on the rails in 1973. My suggestion would be to weather your PRR cars much more heavily than your PC cars to kind of reinforce the idea of the PC merger being a more recent thing. Also, with it being 1973, you should be removing roofwalks from the PRR boxcars.

4

you guys have been a great help! thanks so much!

5

You may as well add some New Haven cars to the mix.

6

Quite a few PRR, NYC, and NH cars were still floating around in 1973. Several had been repainted before then…but since PC was a huge (and by then, bankrupt) road, repainting things wasn’t a real priority. In some cases, keystones and other logos were covered, and PC reporting marks applied. All of the stuff PC bought came in their paint scheme. PC engines were another story–many had been repainted, but towards the end, the rest still had the former colors, but with the names painted out.

Here are some links to ex-PRR cars that have been relettered:

http://pc.smellycat.com/pics/equip/pc_x58.jpg (Ex-PRR X58 boxcar)
http://pc.smellycat.com/pics/equip/prr900635cs.jpg (Ex-PRR H21G hopper)
http://pc.smellycat.com/pics/equip/pc892066rad.jpg (Ex-NYC covered hopper)
http://pc.smellycat.com/pics/equip/pc37769.jpg (Ex-PRR X29 boxcar)

BTW, some P&LE cars got PC worms as well. I’ve seen photos of P&LE boxcars and some hoppers with the worm logos. The PC Freight and Passenger Color Guide has some shots of these cars. I hope this helps!

7

thanks for the pictures. all of you have been a great help