General Discussion (Classic Trains)

1.   What was the longest interuruban line between two major cities in the USA, with or without through service, but under one management?.

2.   What was the longest interurban run, not necessarily the above, in the USA.?

3.   Which interuruban lines ran sleeping cars and between which points?

One hint:   Al the interubans involved in the answers also provided freight srvice.

One of the answers to part 3 would it be Illinois Terminal between Peoria and St. Louis.

Al - in - Stockton

  -  "2.   What was the longest interurban run, not necessarily the above, in the USA.?"

Longer than Chicago to South Bend, or Chicago to Milwaukee?  -  a.s.

The Illinois Terminal answer is correct, but is only one of three.   You are allowed to do research to find the other two.

Yes, longer than the North Shore and longer than the CSS&SB.

Wasn't the Empire State Railways line across NY longer...from Rochester to Utica at least.

And then Ohio and Indiana had some very long runs, too.

Gave a map to the Warehous Pt. Trolley Museum back in the 60's that showed all lines in the 20's and you could figure out how to travel by interuban virtually from Portland ME to Chicago with a few gaps but many changes and little sleeping.

Mike, you are sufficiently close to getting all the answers that I have to declair you winner.   You have now listed all the sleepers, Peoria - St. Louis on the Illinois Terminal, Portland to Eugene on the Oregon Electric, and earlier posted Indianapolis to Louisville on the Indiana Railroad, formerly Interstate Corporation.

The longest through run of any interurban schedule was the Cincinnati and Lake Erie's through Detroit - Cincinnati service, but it didn't last and involved a different company moving its car between Toledo and Detroit.   So the longest single through run of one company was San Francisco to Chico California on the Sacremento Northern,   This began only after the Bay Bridge was opened and lasted only a few years until SN cut back interurban operations to Pittsburgh, CA, and then went freight-only.  Its Chico local service lasted until after WWII (the only Birney cars ever run with 3rd rail shoes; to get them to and from the Sacramento shops), and its Sacramento local service ran into WWII but was then merged into Pacific Gas and Elecctric's operation until busses were substituted.  Chico had the last nickle fare in the USA.   Between Sacramento and Pittsburgh, SN trains, both freight and passenger, use a railroad car car ferry, with energized trolley wire on the ferryboat.  Use of this boat, the Ramon, lasted through diesezation in the Post WWII. era.   But in very rough weather, passengers had to use the ferry without movement of the railcars onto the ferry, just a train meeting the boat at the other side.    

The longest point-to-pont travel on a single interurban system was from Fort Wayne to Louisville on the Indiana Railroad, but a change of cars in Indianapolis was always necessary.   And the Insull empire was all connected but required some travel over non-Insull lines, specifically, the Northern Indiana east of South bend connecting to the independent Winona.

It is Mike's turn to ask.

The Illinois Terminal's entrance into St. Louis, which is still in use as a road vehicular bridge, and I think was named for Senator McKinley, and was built by the interurban line, not by the highway department.

Dave, yes.

The Pennsy in general designed its own equpment and built a lot of it in its own shops.  Name as many OTHER railroads, other than PRR subsidiaries, including PRSL, that used distinctive PRR-designed equipment as their own:  Locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars.  This can include terminal railroads and switching operations and second-hand applications.   Even rapid transit and interurban lines if you can think of any.

 Like the Chicago and Eastern Illinois used Erie Stillwell-design commuter coaches.

Looks and sounds like a very complicated question...one in which one's own geography would be helpful and harmful.  H&M (the Tubes) also had Stillwell designed cars, for instance; the LIRR was 99% Pennsy; LV had great PRR influence because of it stock ownershp as did N&W as seen in its position light signals.   How many modeled themselves after the PRR if only because they interchanged soley with them?  The question leads to a lot of wandering.

daveklepper:

Have I stumped everybody? If so, will the regulars please say so?  I will then give the answers that I know and ask another question.

I can speak only for myself, but I am plumb out of guesses.  -  a.s.

Here is what I know:    The B&O bought some round-top ("wagon-top") steel 40-ft boxcars that always seemed identacle to me to the PRR's, and these were the only two railroads that had them.   The B-6 0-6-0 switcher was the standard for Washington Union Station, not lettered PRR but Washington Union Sttation.  The H&M had Stilwell designed cars but not identacle to the Erie's by any imagination, but although financially completely independent from the Pennsy, did buy identacle cars to the 50 that the Pennsy bought for the Newark  -  Hudson Terminal (World Trade Center) joint service.  These were a Gibbs design, not Stillwell.  And the Gibbs-designed cars built by the PRR for the Long Island Railroad were duplicated as the first steel cars for IRT subway which opened with copper-clad composite cars that were later transferred to the 2nd and 3rd Avenu elevated lines.   The IRT cut center doors into them later, which the LIRR never did.

I'll keep this open for a while in case anyone can add even one more and thus be the winner.   I believe one railroad did copy the N-5 caboose.    Somebody know which one?