PRR Specials to Army-Navy Football Games (borrowed cars)

[jhdeasy]

http://www.bcoolidge.com/Trains%20PRR%2 ... 20Page.htm

After looking at Bob Coolidge's pictures of PRR special trains to the 1964 Army-Navy football game, as well as his own collection of pictures of Army-Navy fottball game special trains, a friend recently asked a question that I could not answer with certainty:

Why did PRR borrow passenger cars from other railroads, such as LIRR, NH and B&O, for use in special trains to the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend?

Was the need for passenger cars for this event so great that it exceeded even the Pennsy's capacity and car supply?

[JimBoylan]

In some years, PRR was using Pullman Company supplied 1st Class cars from a Pullman operated pool of cars. Some of them were owned by Pullman, but painted and lettered for where they usually ran. Others might be painted for the owning railroad who then rented it to Pullman who might even supply it right back to the owner!
When the midshipmen were able to board trains in Annapolis, it's very likely that B&O cars could be used, as the Baltimore & Annapolis RR was friendlier to the B&O than the PRR. In fact, the B&O might run the train via their own tracks and their trackage rights over PRR to the South Philadelphia yard. The train would either be reversed at the B&O's East Side yard near 34th St. & Gray's Ferry Ave., or detoured over a bit of the Reading's Chester branch to get to the PRR at Gray's Ferry on the other side of the Schuylkill River from the B&O's East Side yard.
I'm surprised that the cadets ride in PRR coaches, since their academy is on the New York Central's New York, West Shore & Buffalo RR. Maybe the PRR was borrowing cars because it had to make up for the NYC's passenger car shortage?

[AlexC]

i wish i had my materials handy and could cite the exact place, but it's true that the Midshipmen used the B&O to get Philly... I have a map (in the PRRTHS High Line issue, probably) that show track diagrams were the B&O parked it's trains.

[JimBoylan]

I've seen some of those maps, too. They were published and revised every year, both for the passengers and for the employees.
The B&O line branches from East Side Yard near 34th St. & Gray's Ferry Ave., runs through some oil refineries, and gets next to the PRR line at 26th St. & Passayunk Ave. I think the property line was at the Broad St. overpass. West of there, B&O owned the Southernmost tracks, probably without wire, PRR owned the Northern tracks. East of Broad St., everything was a PRR owned yard, but B&O had rights into and through it, to get to the Philadelphia Belt Line RR and B&O's own tracks near the Delaware River piers. Today, it's CSX and ConRail, but the property line still exists.

[DelcoRR]

I have often read that the last GG1 used for a Army-Navy game special was the Amtrak 906 in 1975,, (photo)... But I recently came across this photo(link) of the restored(in 1977) GG1 # 4935 being used in 1979... The location seems right,, with I-95 right there. Anyone know when the overhead electric was removed from the Greenwich Yard? ,,, and is i possible that this is from 1979?
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/a ... y-75013887" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;