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  • Second Story Pennsylvania 30th St. Station

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in Pennsylvania

Moderator: bwparker1

 #1012419  by JHZR2
 
Hi,

Today I boarded Amtrak via the Acela Club at 30th St.

Curious if anyone has history of what it was before Acela (Metropolitan lounge like in Chicago?), and especially before Amtrak.

Some pictures I took from there:

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 #1012703  by pdtrains
 
Upper floors were PRR operations and corporate offices.

I remember going upstairs to the offices when I was a kid, and got
my 1st PRR Emp tt (1966) , and a blueprint of zoo interlocking .
 #1012824  by JHZR2
 
pdtrains wrote:Upper floors were PRR operations and corporate offices.

I remember going upstairs to the offices when I was a kid, and got
my 1st PRR Emp tt (1966) , and a blueprint of zoo interlocking .
Im suprised that the Acela club was offices. Doesnt look like it would be conducive to working!
 #1012838  by pdtrains
 
Don't know exactly what was on 2nd floor, but I'm sure it's been changed around since 1968.
There were a number of office floors above station, to the north of the main waiting room.
I remember that there used to be wood benches, the PRR ticket booths, and some other offices at the north side of the station on the ground floor.
 #1012874  by JimBoylan
 
Almost of Club Acela (which used to be a Metropolitan Lounge) is simply the mezzanine hallway to connect the elevators that lift from the Lower Level platforms, to the hallways at the bottoms of the stairs to the Upper Level platforms. Some of those elevators do continue to the higher story office floors. The elevator dial in one of the photos is for a shaft with only 3 stops, Lower Level platform, "S" (main concourse level of the Station), and what is now the Club Acela level. If you go out the emergency exit at the rear or West end of Club Acela, you pass the Track 9-10 elevator and enter the Suburban Concourse, directly under the Upper Level platforms. This way, you wouldn't have to get off an elevator from a Lower Level platform at the Main Concourse level and walk up the ramp or stairs to the Suburban Concourse level.
 #1012931  by JHZR2
 
JimBoylan wrote:Almost of Club Acela (which used to be a Metropolitan Lounge) is simply the mezzanine hallway to connect the elevators that lift from the Lower Level platforms, to the hallways at the bottoms of the stairs to the Upper Level platforms. Some of those elevators do continue to the higher story office floors. The elevator dial in one of the photos is for a shaft with only 3 stops, Lower Level platform, "S" (main concourse level of the Station), and what is now the Club Acela level. If you go out the emergency exit at the rear or West end of Club Acela, you pass the Track 9-10 elevator and enter the Suburban Concourse, directly under the Upper Level platforms. This way, you wouldn't have to get off an elevator from a Lower Level platform at the Main Concourse level and walk up the ramp or stairs to the Suburban Concourse level.
When you say upper level platforms, I assume you mean what is now the SEPTA area, not under the main part of the station but rather west towards the Cira Centre?

Were those platforms somehow connected to the raised paltforms at Reading Terminal? As I understand it, PRR didnt run many of the commuter lines, but Reading did.

Which brings me to another question worthy of its own thread, about the Reading Seashore line, its old alignment and its current one.
 #1013106  by JimBoylan
 
Until the Center City Commuter Tunnel was built, which bypassed Reading Terminal, there was no through rail connection between the Pennsylvania and Reading RR's center city stations.
Reading Seashore Line was a publicity name for the Reading RR's Atlantic City RR, which ran slightly South of the Pennsylvania's Camden & Atlantic RR between Camden and Atlantic City. Some of it was abandoned when the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was formed in 1934.
 #1013323  by ExCon90
 
I don't have the numbers, but I believe the PRR handled more commuters than the Reading; the Main Line (to Paoli) alone accounted for a great many. All their (suburban) trains used Suburban Station and 30th St. Upper Level after they were opened in 1930.