In the heyday of passenger travel by steam between Philadelphia and New York City, the PRR ran frequent service called Clockers. I would like to learn more about these trains, their scheduling and stops, and overall travel time between origin and destination including time spent at Manhattan Transfer.
Can anyone knowing the details please share them here in this forum and thread?
I have heard stories that there were three named trains.
Clockers, Clerkers and Shirkers based on time of morning they ran.
I assume “Clocker” means a NY-Phila or Phila-NY train leaving on the hour-- and, in steam days, scheduled to arrive on the hour. They were the expresses-- there were other non-Clocker trains for people riding from Elizabeth or New Brunswick to Philadelphia. All the Clockers stopped at West Phila and North Phila, but a few of them even skipped Newark. Trenton was a possible stop, and Princeton Jct.
In 1922 the public timetable shows three minutes at Manhattan Tfr; I think they allowed four minutes in later years.
They were callled clockers because departures from Broad Street Station, later in Post WWII years after Broad was closed from 30th Street, were every hour on the hour from 6AM to 9PM. Ditto from Penn Station, NY. Again someone can check schedules and check my memory. And the departure times were not changed when the schedule was speeded up upon the extension of catenary from Trenton north to Sunnyside Yard Queens and the Harold Tower connection with the New York Connecting Railroad (Hell Gate Bridge line) New Haven electrificaiton. I rode these trains, of course electrified and all pulled by GG-1’s, in the post WWII era. Generally, they had mostly non-air-conditioned P-70 coaches with the only concession to comfort being high backs instead the walkover low-back seas, and Pullman six-wheel truck ice-air-conditioned parlor cars, with a conventional heavyweight dining car serving good food with good service between the coaches and parlors on trains during meal hours. Generally, on clockers, the parlors were at the rear going north, but could be at the front going south for less walking at Broad Street, until Broad was closed, then they were always at the rear. The trains were probably looped at Sunnyside (most were), and wyed at 30th Street, keeping the consists together. Typically, there were about ten coaches and four parlors, but this varied with time of day. As new equipment and rebuilt equipment were assigned to the premier trains, such as the five sets of Budd equipment for the Morning and Afternoon Congressionals and the Senator, air conditioned cars, mostly with picture windows and low arch roofs, actually rebuilt P-70’s, started replacing the non-airconiditioned coaches, but the old parlors remained, with mechanical air conditioning gradually replacing ice airconditioning. I do not remember any of the really deluxe 44-seat long-distance coaches ever being used on clockers. The schedules co
What happened to all the tracks leading to and from the Broad Street Station? Were they at below ground or ground level?
Most or all of the Broad St Station approach was above ground level. Should be some pics online, somewhere.
The on-the-hour-every-hour rule ended in the middle? 1950s.
In 1930, the 5 PM and 6 PM departures from NY ran nonstop Manh Tfr to North Phila-- then the 7 PM departure stopped at Newark, New Brunswick, Princ Jct and Trenton. But all three trains were scheduled to arrive Broad St in two hours even.
timz,
Then I presume the approach tracks were removed and the real estate developed with skyscrapers and such. It would be interesting to see a ca. 1950’s map of both the PRR in Philadelphia as well as a city map at that time.
Might as well look at
http://www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images/view-image.cfm/DAL1930.PhilaMetroAerials.009
The present tracks to Suburban Station are under construction on the north side of the Broad St Station approach, along with the present bridge across the river, which replaced those three rail bridges just south of it.
Three? north-south streets passed under the elevated tracks-- I’ll check which ones.
Also John F Kennedy Blvd, which didn’t exist pre-1952.
30th Street station has two levels of trackage. One below Market street level on the riverbank level and one above street level at a 90 degree angle to the lower level. Those are the tracks that went to Braod Street station and are currently used by trains to and from Suburban station. Septa connected these tracks to the leads to Reading terminal at about 8th and Market so trains run on two different routes to complete their cycle. The tracks to New york joined the mainline at about Zoo junction running behind the high line. A Google earth view will show it nicely. Broad Street station occuppied the site of the nondescirpt highrise building the PRR built for its corporate office. It also had one of the largest canopies ever built which burned in a massive fire in the late 1920s and was replaced with a much smaller one. All of the trackage was above grade and the stonework built to contain the fill was known as the “Chinese Wall”. It had very low arched passages for vehicles and was probably non conforming when built. Todays SUVs and full sized vans would probably not have succificient clearance. Trains did a whole issue on the station including a track diagram many years ago like about 19760 if you can find a copy.
Supposedly the mantra for their schedule was “90 miles in 90 minutes”, although I’m having a hard time finding any reference or support for that at the moment. I know John Kneiling devoted an entire column to that once - including how Amtrak couldn’t keep up to the same schedule. John was careful to point out that technically not all of the Clockers were actually scheduled to or did meet that goal - but his point was, that was the advertising claim and the image that was burned into the travelling public’s mind, so that’s what they expected - and by not meeting it, Amtrak made all railroad passenger service look bad. At least, that’s what he wrote.
The 90 miles in 90 minutes was typical after electrification but was only from Penn NY to North Philadelphia, not to 30th or Broad St. Kennedy Boulevard actually occupies nearly all the area that was occupied by the Chinese Wall.
Some of Amtraks NY-Wasington trains did as well and the Metroliners were even faster, most of the time.
By the way, after the demise of Broad Street Station the clockers ran all the way to DC from my understanding.
The shame today is that there is no such service. NJT received the Clocker service from Amtrak but only run from Trenton. If SEPTA and NJT could cooperate with a 90 minute schedule, market it it and maintain it, it would be great for moving people in the area. Next step would be a 60 minute MNRR clocker to New Haven…an extention of the Philadelphia Clockers perhaps! 30 St., No.Phila, Trenton, Pctn Jct, New Brusnwick, Newark Airport, Newark, Sec Jct.(?), NYP, Stamford, Bridgeport, New Haven.
Not so. When Broad Street was closed, there already was every hour ON THE HALF HOUR service from NY to Washington, which gave in effect every half hour service as far as 30th St. Philly. This was continued for a while. And continued during rush hours up through Penn Central and Conrail to Amtrak.
| The grandest railway terminal in America Trains, December 1983 page 40 Broad Street Station ( “PENNYPACKER, BERT”, PHILADELPHIA, PRR, STATION, TRN ) |
|---|
Elegy in a railroad station Trains, December 1983 page 47 Broad Street Station ( “MORLEY, CHRISTOPHER”, POETRY, PRR, TRN ) |
I have to correct myself. Even though the clockers were called clockers, I think my memory says the Washington trains actually left on the hour and the Philly trains, the clockers, on the half hour. Someone with the schedules can check on this. These are the departures from NY during the Pennsy all electric service days. Also my “NO” may require modification. It is possible that the former Philly trains a half hour before and a half hour after the Afternoon Congressional may have been extended to Washington DC to replace the extra sections of the Congressional that occured frequently, following the closing of Broad Street. In fact, I rhink the one a half hour before the Afternoon Congressional may have been called The Advance Congrssional and ran non-stop Newark - North Philadelphia.
Dave, the only Guide I have handy is the February, 1950, issue. It shows the Clockers leaving both Broad Street and Penn Station on the hour, and the NY-Washington trains leaving New York on the half-hour. You were right the first time.
I do recall an Advance Congressional, but I would have to search to find its schedule.
Johnny
Johnny -
Does your 1950 Guide have any schedules for the Clockers ? Was the ‘typical’ timing for the Clockers something like the 90 minutes from NYC to either North Broad St. Station or 30th St. Station in Phila., as I recalled ?
Thanks ! [tup]
90 minutes to North Philadelphia could well be. The only train that got to 30th St in 90 minutes was the Congressional, which ran nonstop Newark to … N Phila I think.
(NY Penn to 30th St is about 90.4 miles.)
That “Advance Congressional” that supposedly ran nonstop Washington to Newark only existed during WWII-- or at least it only appeared in timetables then. (If it ever appeared-- I’ll check.) Seems to me Allen’s book cites an E. L. Thompson ride on that train.