1947-1948, New York - Chicago

[daveklepper]

The New York - Washington thread prompted my memory of what travel was like between NY and Chicago.  The three full-fare railroads were the two obvious ones, the New York Central with its flagship Twentieth Century, and the Pennsylvania with the Broadway.  But some people, especially coach passengers who valued comfort, used the Baltimore and Ohio's Capitol Limited, despite a five hour longer trip!  In addition there were three lower-fare routes, all with through coaches as well as sleepers:  The Erie, the Delaware Lackawanna and Western - Nickle Plate, and the Lehigh Valley (starting at Penn Station also!) - Canadian National - Grand Trunk Western.  Finally, as note, one could ride a through Pullman on the C&O, full fare, but not extra, but no through coach on this seventh route.

The B&O marketed its service, and pointed out the value of a stop-over in the Nation's Capitol.  The PRR responded by allowing its NY - Chicago fare to permit a trip to Washington, back-tracking to Baltimore and then going west.   The New York Central allowed one to travel either the direct Cleveland - Toledo route or via Detroit, or even via Cincinnati.   Then the PRR also allowed one to travel via Detroit and use the Wabash from Detroit to Fort Wayne and the PRR into Chicago.   At that time also the New York Central had competition from the Wabash-PRR in Detroit - Chicago business, with two through Wabash-PRR trains.

[Anonymous]

Dave, enjoy your posts of yesteryear.  The many routes from New York City to Chicago would seem to me to be the result of Chicago being the rail center extroadinaire. 

Think of the multiplicity of routes from Chi to St. Louis in the late forties, the Alton, IC, Wabash, CEI, and earlier, the CB&Q.

Also, the many routes to Kansas City, Omaha, Denver, and the many ways you could get to Seattle.

The trouble was, people in between these cities had few choices.  I grew up in Pontiac, Illinois, a city served by the Alton.  But the Abe and the Alton Limited did not stop there; the Annie stopped southbound but ignored us northbound; Dwight had few options.  The Wabash didn't even serve major cities in Illiinois.  About the same thing could be said about routes to the other big cities.

Guess the moral of the story: Live in big cities.

Art 

[daveklepper]

Some small cities and towns did better.   Stanford, Wildwood, Ocala, Deland, Florida; Palmer, Massachusetts, Kingston and Westerly, Rhode Island, Manassa, Virginia, etc...

[J. Edgar]

.  I grew up in Pontiac, Illinois, a city served by the Alton.  Art 

 

 Ever hear of Fairbury?....thats were i was born and raised until being transplanted to MI in the early 70's...i remember the TP&W going thru town once in a while

[Anonymous]

Yes,Fairbury is a familiar name and it was also where the Wabash branch from Forrest, first town east on the TP&W, left TP&W rails and headed for Streator, going through Pontiac and Rowe on  the way.  Rowe was a very small town and the Wabash was sort of their life-line to Pontiac (i.e., the rest of the world). Both my mother and father grew up on farms near Rowe.

I believe the original name of the railroad, before the Wabash bought it, was the Fairbury Pontiac & Northern.  The Wabash wanted their own route to Chicago so they wouldn't have to hand off freight at Springfield to the C&A.  So they bought and connected existing properites finally connecting with the FP&N at Fairbury and crossing the TP&W. But the survey to Chicago branched off at Strawn, heading toward Forrest and Chicago.  In no time at all, the Wabash eliminated the Strawn to Fairbury link and used the TP&W to get their trains over to Forrest.

Art 

[al-in-chgo]

 

Does the "Phoebe Snow" count if we consider Hoboken Terminal part of NYC? 

 

[passengerfan]

 

Does the "Phoebe Snow" count if we consider Hoboken Terminal part of NYC? 

 

In 1947-48 I believe the "Phoebe Snow" was a New York - Buffalo train only but I could be mistaken. 

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

"Phoebe Snow" was strictly a Hoboken-Buffalo train on DL&W until the name was transplanted to the "Erie Limited" a few years after the Erie Lackawanna merger in 1960.

[daveklepper]

I do not know if the Pheobe Snow carried any through Pullmans AND coaches to interchange with the Nickel Plate at Buffalo.   I do know there was the Lackawanna Limited on the same route that did interchange both coaches and sleepers with the Nickel Plate.   I rode that train on the Lackawanna in a Nickel Plate coach between Scranton and Hoboken,  Yes, I deliberately chose to sit in the Nicket Plate coach, one of their ten postwar lightweights.   I included the route in my tabulation of the six through coach and sleeper routes.

[Kevin C. Smith]

Yes,Fairbury is a familiar name and it was also where the Wabash branch from Forrest, first town east on the TP&W, left TP&W rails and headed for Streator, going through Pontiac and Rowe on  the way.  Rowe was a very small town and the Wabash was sort of their life-line to Pontiac (i.e., the rest of the world). Both my mother and father grew up on farms near Rowe.

I believe the original name of the railroad, before the Wabash bought it, was the Fairbury Pontiac & Northern.  The Wabash wanted their own route to Chicago so they wouldn't have to hand off freight at Springfield to the C&A.  So they bought and connected existing properites finally connecting with the FP&N at Fairbury and crossing the TP&W. But the survey to Chicago branched off at Strawn, heading toward Forrest and Chicago.  In no time at all, the Wabash eliminated the Strawn to Fairbury link and used the TP&W to get their trains over to Forrest.

Art 

Small world! My mother grew up in Strawn.