What train lines used to go through or around Philadelphia back in, lets say, the '50? I lived out there back in the late '90s and I know that CSX and Conrail were there but what was it before them?
That’s what I hate about only being 29, I never got to see what it was like to have a bunch of railroads going across this country. At least I got to see, Rio Grande, SP, Conrail, before the were gone. I mean what’s left for my son, BNSF, UP, CSX, NS. Correct me if I’m wrong but it looks like we’re down to four big ones. I guess that is why I love Regionals and Shortlines so much.
They are still there, but only on the Monopoly Board. You have the Pennsylvania, the Reading, the Baltimore and Ohio, and the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, which I guess was the “Short Line”.
There also was the Philadelphia Belt Line connecting the PRR and Reading dockside operations. You would have seen run through Central Railroad of New Jersey Trains on the Reading complete with CNJ Pacifics, Trainmasters, GP7s and RS3s on the passenger trains and Mikados, F3s, DR4-4-1500s and RS3s on the freights. You would have also seen run through Lehigh Valley sleepers on the Reading. Over on the Pennsylvania you would have seen run through passenger trains from Atlantic Coast Line, and Seaboard Air Line to and from New York City. These would have included cars from RF&P and FEC. Also on the Pennsy you would have seen run through passenger trains from the New Haven on their way to or from Washington DC.
A bit earlier you would have been treated to seeing the output of the Baldwin Locomotive Works being shipped worldwide. Earlier still, many trolleys, passenger cars, doodlebugs, a few gasoline locomotives and one diesel locomotive being shipped out by the Brill Company (later AC&F).
There were lots of industrial locomotives around in the 50’s.
And in the 50’s there still were lots of trolleys in Philly. I spent many an afternoon on the street corner just down from our house watching them (the sweepers were worth standing in the cold to watch). Unfortunately now there are no lines even close to where we lived.
Philly was then and still is a great place for railroading. Back then it was PRR, the Reading, B&O with the occasional Jersey Central on the Reading B&O routes and of course the Phila and Western to Norristown and the the interurbans to Allentown and West Chester. Surprisingly much of this infrastructure still exists and today the city has Canadian Pacific as well as Conrail Shared Assets, Amtrak, CSX, NS, Septa ,NJT and PATCO. As for missing out on these earlier lines don’t fell bad. By the time you hit my age a lot of what is around now will be gone or morphed to something not yet imagineable. Remember to day is tomorrow’s “good old days” and GP 38’s and AEM 7’s will be museum peices. Get your pictures now.
The PRR was the big dog on the block with the Reading second and B&O a very distant third. The PRR had Broad Street station and 30th Street station and the Reading had Reading Terminal. All were major stations. Reading Terminal had/has a farmers market in the basement which was run by Pennsylvania Dutchman and you won;t get a better scoop of ice cream than at Bassets there. B&O had a classic victorian station at 34th and Chestnut I believe but it was destroyed when the Schulkill Expressway was built. It wasn’t until the late 50’s that PRSL trains operated out of 30th Street to the shore. The PRR had hourly service and some hours half hour service to and from Washington DC and New York. The Reading had “The Crusader” to New York that was a very early streamlined train and steam engine. it had an observation car on each end so it didn;t need to be turned. Philly also had the PTC and the Red Arrow high spped trolley line from 69th street to Norristown. The PRR and Reading mains passed each other just south of North philadelphia station
Okay, once again I was misunderstood. If you read what I said closer you would see that I was pointing out what was running when l lived there. I am old enough to know just a little bit of railroad history to know that both of these railroads weren’t there or I wouldn’t have posted this question, now would I have?
The question is: What ran through Philly before CSX and Conrail? I’m not from the East Coast so I don’t know.
In the '50s, it was B&O, RDG and PRR. After Conrail, which ate up PRR and RDG, B&O entered CSX. Since Conrail, the ex B&O and some RDG are now CSX. PRR has become SEPTA, AMTRAK and NS. The divisions aren’t that clean of course.