I am searching for a complete consist list of the all-coach overnight train “The Pacemaker” (pre-war) of NYCentral but I can hardly find one on the web. A brass manufacturer provided some information of the consist without any picture.
I would like to know the reason of why the ridership of PRR’s Trail Blazer was doing better than the Pacemaker in the first two years (at least):
(i)Number of Passengers handled, (ii) Gross Revenue, (iii) Revenue per Train Mile
1939:
PRR The Trail Blazer (i) 132,000 (ii) $1,800,000 (iii) $2.7
NYC The Pacemaker (i) 114,000 (ii) $1,389,000 (iii) $2.18
1940:
PRR The Trail Blazer (i) 175,000 (ii) $2,260,000 (iii) $3.28
NYC The Pacemaker (i) 167,000 (ii) $1,948,000 (iii) $2.74
According to the website of Coach Yard, before Pacemaker equipped with modernized equipment, there were at least two lounge cars plus one diner-lounge car and a di
Thank you so much for remind me of this important reason! What a smart approach to start the new all-coach passenger train business. I assume the ridership of Pacemaker and TrailBlazer after the World’s Fair was a nip and tuck competition.
I have never seen a single photo of the prewar Pacemaker though, not a single one. I guess it was not hauled by Dreyfuss Hudson or K-5b wasn’t it?
The 1939-1940 Pacemaker was in NYC two-tone gray, with a mix of heavyweight and lightweight cars. Cars assigned to the Pacemaker included
60’ Baggage cars
72’ Horse cars
46 seat coaches (heavyweight)
58 seat coaches (heavyweight)
56 seat coaches (lightweight, from P-S, ACF and Pressed Steel Car)
Club-Lounge (heavyweight, no roof ducts)
Diner (heavyweight with roof ducts)
Coach Observation (open platform, no roof ducts)
The train was initially all heavywight. Some of the lightweights were added in 1940. In 1941 the train was re-introduced in a special green color, with a round end coach-observation (with clerestory, no roof ducts) replacing the open-platform obs. There were different drumheads for the 1939 and 1941 versions, with the 1941 version sporting a steam locomotive profile. Train was pulled by K-class Pacifics and unstreamlined Hudsons from the passenger pool.
The Coach Yard (www.coachyard.com) produced both gray and green versions of the train several years ago. The Pacemaker was the first NYC train re-equipped after WWII, with Budd equipment.
Thank you for your detailed and informative response, rcdrye.[8D] Now I can create a historically accurate consist of the Pacemaker in my train simulator! [8D]
The interior design and furniture in the lounge car of the 1941 version were as simple as the Trail Blazer, neat but not fancy.
I forgot to mention that NYC only had 25 lightweight coaches constructed by Pressed Steel Car Company and they assigned about 6 of them to the Pacemaker (both direction). IIRC PRR only had one coach made by Pressed Steel Car Company and they almost looked identical to P70kr but the skirting was much shorter.
After doing some research, it seems that NYCentral didn’t give up promoting this all-coach train since the 39-40 World’s Fair and even created the “Pacemaker Green” for the train as well as their fleet in 1941.
There are many books about the completion between different railroad’s premier all-Pullman train but I cannot find more articles with data about the completion of Class I railroads all-coach services (except MILW Hiawatha, CN&W 400 and Twin Cities Zephyr of CB&Q). I would be grateful if our forumer can provide the ridership data of NYC Pacemaker and its rival PRR’s Trail Blazer from 1942 to 1949 Thanks a lot!
