PENN CENTRAL LIVES!

[ironhorseman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by bnsfkline

Ironhorse man, That long trestle that you are refering to is the old Illinois Terman Approach. Its been out of service for more than 25 years. Get your phoats know as its it to be demolished this summer

I've got 2 pictures of it, somewhere around here. Not very good pictures, it shows up small but I wanted to get most of it in one shot. And it was cloudy that day, too. Ugh, [xx(] I hate St. Louis in July.

[Modelcar]

....Interesting observation of features at PRR station in J-town....Kev. Yes, I have traveled out of the station too some dating back many years ago. There use to be another set of stairs up to another platform to reach another set of tracks from the tunnel under the tracks from the station. That 2nd platform was removed many years ago. When up on the current platform look over towards the station and you can still see the cement cover in place where the stairs came up to that platform....I would imagine the stairs are still there just bricked up and sealed.

In years past that station hosted many passenger trains each day...

Have been on the Incline Plane platform just last Summer...and it is a great location to view the complete Johnstown valley...Mills and railroad items too.

My home is just 20 miles from that location. Stoystown.

[kevdoggupj]

Model Car: I have been to the old PRR station several times to take Amtrak to Pittsburgh.

An interesting fact about the PRR station in Johnstown is that it was built with similar architectural characteristics to Ellis Island. The ceilings in particular. The ceiling of Ellis island was designed w/ plain white tile in a semi mez-merizing fashion. It was done so that if immigrants coming up the stairs to be examined physically stared at it too long, they could possibly be deemed mentally retarded and sent back to the old country. I

The PRR station in J-town was built in a similar manner to Ellis Island out of some sense of uniformity because of the great number of immigrants that came to Johnstown via the PRR in the 1800s.

There are I believe at least 2 underpasses that have PRR letter on them as well, one at the old Stone Bridge, and one in Morrellville.

On a another side note. Good "railfan" spots in Johnstown include "The Point" where the Stoney Creek and Little Conemaugh rivers meet behidn The Point Stadium, and from the observation deck at the Inclined Plane. Altough really how exciting is watching the NS's truck trains ?

[Modelcar]

...Kev: While in J-town if you have time drive by the old Pennsvania Passenger Station and take a peek up at the building and see if the word "PENNSYLVANIA" is still there in gold letters...Believe it was on 2 sides of the station. It was a couple of years ago I checked it out. I will do so too again when I'm there this coming Spring around Memorial Day time....

Side Item: Many years ago I was totally surprised to see a few Berwin Coal cars going through Muncie here on a train.

[Anonymous]

When NYC and Pennsy merged who was the real winner? I define winner as which company had the upper hand in mgmt, track, customers, etc.

Side note: Here in Delaware all the CSX bridges have the B&O shield still showing. I'll try to get a photo.

[bnsfkline]

Ironhorse man, That long trestle that you are refering to is the old Illinois Terman Approach. Its been out of service for more than 25 years. Get your phoats know as its it to be demolished this summer

[kevdoggupj]

While in college in Johnstown, PA (Spring, 2003) I went for a drive down the road to the old Berwin-White coal company town, Windber. On an abandoned section of track, not connected to any other track, in what is essentially now peoples back yards, I spotted 2 Penn Central boxcars. They didn't look too bad for their apparent age. I believe they were 40 ft cars. Parked on the same track as them was what I believe to be an old EMD switcher, maybe a sw800...I really don't know. It didn't have any markings on it other than its back and orange paint. I'm guessing it belonged to a mining company or some such shortline. I'm going back to J-town this weekend. If I have time and can remember my camera I'm going to check it out again.

[JoeKoh]

Around Fostoria on the Viaducts there are still signs of the NKP C&O and B&O too
stay safe
Joe

[Anonymous]

I don't know if its still there but in Akron Ohio there was a bridge with the old ERIE on it. Nora I also have seen the trailer in Cranberry with the PC label. In Freeport Pa( prior to the Butler branch being removed) I observed quite a few Pennsylvania boxcars and this is less than 10 years ago

[Nora]

Got a couple more pictures today...these are of the bridge in Beaver Falls, PA that csxengineer98 was talking about.



And a little closeup of the logo on the bridge:



--Nora

[Anonymous]

When I was doing a job for Pennsylvania Resource Systems in Pittsburgh, I happened to be there when the last passenger train left the Penn Central station. It was pretty sad but the Pittsburgh TV stations gave it a nice coverage.

[rf16a]

In Lewistown, PA there is (or was, I dont know if its still there) a Penn Central covered hopper, 74202, in PC green, a small worm logo, PC initials, and a yellow company service S that appears to be serving as a sand storage car for a sanding tower for an area shortline. (I cant remember the name of the shortline, I think its Juniata Valley).
Near the PC covered hopper is a turntable. On the pit wall there is a PRR keystone with the year 1928.
Once, about 3 years ago while railfanning in Cresson, PA, in a passing train was a short PC covered hopper. You could see a faded PRR keystone in the fading PC paint!
There is/was a very large, about 70 or 80' PC boxcar sitting with other old freight cars in Altoona, along with a PC gon, and some kind of very short flat car, all in PC green. There was probably more PC stuff there that we couldn't see.

[ironhorseman]

bnsfkline: It seems like St. Louis has a lot of neat railroad junk. I guess you were reffering to something on the Missouri side? I then suppose you know about all the stuff over on the Illinois side? Once when I was out there a friend of mine showed me this yard will all these old streamliners were parked. I don't remember the exact location, we stayed on the highway the whole time, and I get confused about where I am everytime I go through there, but I would say it's somewhere in the area of Gateway International Speedway, the Cahokia Mounds, but south of Granite City. Also near Gateway there was a delapidated railroad trestle, very, very long, sagging in some areas, some of the trestle supports have dropped out letting the rails sag.

Someone has done a good job in reproducing a Penn Central boxcar for Microsoft Train Simulator. I wonder if that boxcar you saw had any influence?

http://www.railwaystation.com/trainsim/free.html

[Modelcar]

...A little more along the same theme: In Johnstown, Pa., at the former Pennsylvania Passenger station [Now privately owned and serving amtrak and I believe busses], located on the building up near the top are Gold leaf looking letters of pretty good size...and spelling out "Pennsylvania".....I have pic's of such but not the knowledge of getting them on here. These very nice and explicit letterings were still intact just a few years ago and I have no reason to believe they're not still in place. The station was a typical stone and brick stucture of the early 20th century design...Tunnels under the tracks to get to proper platform, etc....[8D]

[Anonymous]

Nora,

Great shots!! There are a few buildings in Wilmington De with the old keystone on there. I can not get a photo due to high security. They ll have been converted to office buildings.

[Nora]

Here are a couple of pictures I've taken this weekend. The first is the bridge about two miles from here, which I referred to in my post above. The second is an old truck trailer I spotted in Cranberry, PA.

--Nora

[rixflix]

PENNSYLVANIA is still visible on a girder bridge over Bladensburg Road here in DC.
My youngest brother kept a READING logo freshened up on a relay shed at Wyomissing
Junction. Conrail would periodically put silver paint over it but old Tim would return to pick it out again. CR finally gave up and NS hasn't tried yet, because his last effort (dated 1995) is still there in 2004!!! He tells me that he would point to it as the trains rolled by and ex-Reading crews would often give a horn salute.
Possibly the wittiest graffiti ever are these:
On the Washington Beltway, as you come around a curve and approach a csx underpass, the Mormon Temple simultaneously comes into view behind it. "Yes, Dorothy there really is an Oz" was on that bridge for years. It was very dramatic at night.
Out on Philadelphia's Mainline (I think it was Ardmore or Narberth) where Paoli locals whizzed by on an overpass, someone had painted in huge (i.e. to scale) block letters:
L I O N E L


Outta Here!!!
Captain Video aka Rixflix
Blessed be Jean Shepard in all His works

[Anonymous]

I've seen a few Northern Pacific cars in the LA area. I don't think they've been sitting there all that time, but they obviously predate 1970.

[Nora]

QUOTE: Originally posted by csxengineer98

i know where their is still a PRR stencile on a rail road bridge.....it is located in Beaverfalls PA the old PRR main crosses the old P&LE main..now csx....on the bridge over the P&LE tracks..the PRR keyston is still visable..and very readable...

I've been there a bunch of times! That's about six or seven miles from here. I have a few pictures of the bridge & the PRR logo you are talking about, but I can't find them right now.

Edited to add: Even closer to where we live, there is a small stone railroad bridge with "PENNSYLVANIA" carved into it in large block letters. It's over PA 551 right near Rt. 18, if you know where that is. Of course, that isn't ever going to wash away. [:D] I should try and get a picture of that bridge one of these days.

--Nora

[Anonymous]

pics would be cool of both the boxcar and the passenger cars, if possible.

[csxengineer98]

i have seen some PC covered hoppers show up in the PC green once in a while at the ET works in braddock PA
i know where their is still a PRR stencile on a rail road bridge.....it is located in Beaverfalls PA the old PRR main crosses the old P&LE main..now csx....on the bridge over the P&LE tracks..the PRR keyston is still visable..and very readable...
csx engineer

[Anonymous]

Between Wilmington DE and Philly on the NEC you can find several old PC passenger cars on an old siding. The siding goes behind a fence. The cars are still green and in bad shape. PENN CENTRAL STILL LIVES.

[JoeKoh]

wow
stay safe around those wharehouse areas.any pics?
Joe

[Anonymous]

COOL THANK YOU FOR THE FYI

[mudchicken]

oops! and the taggers didn't get to it?

[bnsfkline]

On an Abandoned railroad spur in North St. Louis....
...between two wharehouses....
...just north of the Nigh Line along the water front stands...


...A completely unaltered PENN CENTRAL boxcar, complete with PC reporting marks, PC Number, PC Logo and friction trucks, and painted in PC green. Heh...this boxcar has outlived conrail! Looks like this car has not been moved for 31 years...the car was last moved on Nov. 12. 1973. The car is an OS-2 type 50 ft boxcar. anyone have any information on this car? this car cought me by surprise