Why No "READING COMPANY" Silverliner II???

With Silverliner II 269 still having "PENNSYLVANIA" above the windows, why didn't SEPTA also keep "READING COMPANY" on one of the Reading Silverliner II's???

Septa didn't keep the Pennsylvania name on 269, that was reapplied some years ago at the request of the Pennsylvania Railroad Historical Society. Part of a Philadelphia convention they ran in which they had a ceremony, at 30th Street I think, honoring the car. There were members of the group who were former PRR people and they had the stencils and etc. I believe. Also contacts within Septa to help convince the agency to do it.

There was a discussion of this on the Pennsy group's message board some years ago -- in which I took part -- and I posted some of what I learned here.

I've wondered the same thing though about the Reading. Perhaps the Reading Historical Society could approach Septa. It would be a nice touch.

There are (or at least were) some 9000 series MUs that still had the Reading class designation applied.

This was my original post from December 2006. One correction needed, I believe someone who worked for Septa and knew the official who made it happen, Habersett, said he was actually a former Conrail man, not PRR-

Tommy Meehan wrote:Whenever I'm in Philadelphia I always keep an eye out for Septa Silverliner II 269, the one with the "Pennsylvania" letterboard above the windows. This car was delivered to the Pennsylvania Railroad for Philadelphia suburban service w-a-y back in 1963. It was paid for by a city agency called PSIC. (Philadelphia Service Improvement Corp., which bought MU cars for Pennsy - MU cars and RDCs for Reading- and subsidized additional service plus fare reductions on the Chestnut Hill Branchs, to Manayunk on PRR's Norristown Branch and several other lines as well.) Septa nee-PRR 269 has been doing the job it was built for ever since.

A couple years ago on a PRRTHS-related website I learned the following-

Septa MU 269 was chosen to be the MU displayed at 30th Street's lower level back in 1996. The occasion was the 25th Anniversary of the PRR Tech & Hist Socy AND the NRHS' 50th Anniversary. Fans asked if 269 could be restored to PRR livery and a Septa official by the name of Habersett (a former Pennsy guy) made it happen. He not only got one of the shops to repaint the name "Pennsylvania" on the letterboards, he had them apply a set of Keystone logos on the car ends. After the convention ended the decision was made to keep 269 running in the PRR livery and it has been doing so ever since. The name has even been touched up a time or two but the Keystone logos are long gone -they were stolen the very first night the car was laid up at the Paoli yard.

What was the reason SEPTA removed "PENNSYLVANIA" and "READING COMPANY" from the Silverliner II's anyway, other than the fact that the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads no longer exist???

Tim I think you answered your own question.

SubwayTim wrote:....the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads no longer exist....

The cynic in me also thinks that some people at SEPTA want to erase every vestige of what preceded them. Too many good memories?

OTOH it really could become confusing for non-residents if there were too many unexplained references to predecessor lines, and there is the question of "branding". For ex. Acme Markets doesn't have any signage or other indication that they were once American Stores, and Nissan doesn't produce cars still badged as Datsuns.

When I was a kid I remember my best friend's father saying he was going to 'The American Store' and I had no idea that he meant Acme. Of course I also wondered why I couldn't find any of the Acme products Wilie Coyote bought at Acme Food Markets.

There may be a legal reason too. That a vehicle that carries members of the public must be clearly identified as to who the operator/owner is.

I know from former Philly residents that when Septa tookover PTC back in the mid-60s the buses got quickie Septa logos literally within hours in some cases.

Sounds like there could be a legal or insurance regulation involved.

When I hired in 1985 I always refered to the Budds as Pennsy or Reading cars and was quickly instructed that they were to be refered to as Wayne or Paoli cars. Some one REALLY wanted to erase the past. Well I still call them Pennsy or Reading Budds since now I'm old timer and those that preceded me are long gone.
Not all of the PRR cars had the lettering removed, most were covered over with sheet metal, some with aluminized plastic (whch is peeling off). The Reading cars had the 'Reading Company' buffed off, as can be seen on some cars today.

gardendance wrote:When I was a kid I remember my best friend's father saying he was going to 'The American Store' and I had no idea that he meant Acme. ...

I remember my grandmother saying the same thing back in the '60s and '70s.

I do the same thing now, always referring to ATM machines as "MAC machines". My kids probably think "What's he talking about?".

ex Budd man wrote: Not all of the PRR cars had the lettering removed, most were covered over with sheet metal, some with aluminized plastic (whch is peeling off). The Reading cars had the 'Reading Company' buffed off, as can be seen on some cars today.

Here is a picture of the aluminized plastic on 262

KAWASAKI-FAN100 wrote: Here is a picture of the aluminized plastic on 262

Thanks for sharing that photo. The material in question really looks like hell once it decays that far. How I wish that none of the letterboards were ever covered-up or ground-down. Heritage can be a very powerful force; one which makes bureaucrats uneasy. You can erase the visible reminders of the past, but you cannot erase the past itself!

As for SEPTA rabidly insisting (as soon as they took over the railroad) that the MUs were nothing more than "Wayne" and "Paoli" cars...ha ha ha! Lovely story, ex Budd man. It explains a lot of the mindset behind the scenes. Of course I happen to agree with you; "Reading" and "Pennsy" cars is what they were and it's what they'll always be. I can only imagine what other artifacts from the pre-SEPTA past would have done to upset their fragile minds.

The gem shown below would have had them shaking and shouting: "One of the AEM-7s at West Trenton went dead again. This example of motive power is nothing more than....errrr.....the Jenkintown protect engine!!!"

Won't go thru city center tunnel. Trains that cannot go thru the tunnel do not exist. There is nothing to look at here.

Does anybody know the deal with 218? Why is part of PENNSYLVANIA visible? It doesn't look like the plastic coming off like on the picture of 262.

dcipjr wrote:Does anybody know the deal with 218? Why is part of PENNSYLVANIA visible? It doesn't look like the plastic coming off like on the picture of 262.

The sheet metal covering came off - the car still has the holes where it was attached.