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  • First person accounts of riding PRR line between NYC and PA?

  • Discussion relating to the PRR, up to 1968. Visit the PRR Technical & Historical Society for more information.
Discussion relating to the PRR, up to 1968. Visit the PRR Technical & Historical Society for more information.
 #952514  by Takoma1
 
Hi all,

I am new to this forum, but it seems like there are several knowledgeable posters who might be able to help me out.

I am writing a story set in the 1946-1947. In a very small, but integral part, my characters take a train ride from New York's Penn Station to southern Pennsylvania. I'd like my writing to accurately reflect that experience, and I'm having some difficulty locating certain specifics. It seems that when it comes to trains, my Google-fu is weak indeed.

If anyone has ideas or information related to the following questions, it would be much appreciated.

1) Does anyone know of any first-person accounts of riding the PRR line from New York to Pennsylvania? My story is from the perspective of a child, but it could be any account.

2) I've been using THIS MAP to help me get a sense of the rail lines. It seems to me that the stop that is closest to what I'm looking for geographically is the Mercersburg stop. Does anyone have any information about the route that one would take to get there OR any information/pictures about the Mercersburg stop?

3) Does anyone have any information (and it can be general), about how long such a train ride would have taken? I don't need pinpoint accuracy, but I'm trying to avoid saying anything glaringly bad.

Many thanks in advance for anyone who can help or who can point me in the direction of other resources!
 #952725  by timz
 
If there was a passenger train to Mercersburg in 1947 we can probably find its schedule easy enough, but quite likely there wasn't-- I'll check the schedule book tonight. There would have been some sort of train from Harrisburg to Hagerstown, but dunno offhand if you can do better than that. Where is your character actually trying to get to?
 #952764  by Takoma1
 
Whoa, thanks for the quick reply.

This is where I'm mired in several layers of historical research. In theory they are headed for the mountains north of current-day Warfordsburg, PA (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=warfordsb ... 2&t=h&z=14), which would have been a reasonable driving distance from Mercersburg or Hagerstown. In fact, Hagerstown would be a very reasonable destination, if necessary.
 #952905  by timz
 
I looked at several timetables between 1935 and 1951-- they all said the same thing: passenger service to Mercersburg only "in connection with the opening and closing of Mercersburg Academy". If you wanted a schedule you had to get it from the Headmaster.

So how about train to Greencastle and bus to Mercersburg?
 #953031  by Allen Hazen
 
From a child's point of view?
One anecdote.
We lived in New York City in the early 1950s, and once took a PRR (suburban?) train to visit somebody in New Jersey. My grandmother had a few shares of PRR stock; oft-repeated family lore is that after the trip I told my grandmother that "she should sell her Pennsylvania Railroad stock, because they had dirty restrooms on their trains." (At a guess, I would have been pre-school or just starting school, so time around the end of the Korean War.)
 #953042  by Takoma1
 
timz wrote:If Hagerstown is good enough, how about Hancock?
Whoa--Hancock is perfect! (It's like a modern-day 10 minute drive from where I'm setting my story). On the map I was using as a reference there didn't seem to be a Hancock stop, but, yeah--that would be awesome!
Allen Hazen wrote:From a child's point of view?
One anecdote.
We lived in New York City in the early 1950s, and once took a PRR (suburban?) train to visit somebody in New Jersey. My grandmother had a few shares of PRR stock; oft-repeated family lore is that after the trip I told my grandmother that "she should sell her Pennsylvania Railroad stock, because they had dirty restrooms on their trains." (At a guess, I would have been pre-school or just starting school, so time around the end of the Korean War.)
Ha! I'm not sure if I can work dirty bathrooms into my narrative, but it's funny to think of a pre-schooler with both strong opinions and discerning taste in bathroom hygiene (I'm used to the former, but not the latter).
 #953142  by timz
 
Maybe you can see how there was a railroad running on each bank of the Potomac "thru" Hancock-- the B&O was on the West Virginia side. In 1947 you could leave NY around 0830 and get to Washington around 1230, change trains, leave there 1300 and get to the B&O station across the river from Hancock around 1530. Or you could leave NY in the middle of the night and get to Hancock in the morning. Let me know if you want details.

(A local train ran on the Western Maryland, on the Maryland side of the river; I didn't check its schedule but I can if you want it. That would be a train change in Baltimore instead of Washington.)
 #953179  by Takoma1
 
timz wrote:Maybe you can see how there was a railroad running on each bank of the Potomac "thru" Hancock-- the B&O was on the West Virginia side. In 1947 you could leave NY around 0830 and get to Washington around 1230, change trains, leave there 1300 and get to the B&O station across the river from Hancock around 1530. Or you could leave NY in the middle of the night and get to Hancock in the morning. Let me know if you want details.

(A local train ran on the Western Maryland, on the Maryland side of the river; I didn't check its schedule but I can if you want it. That would be a train change in Baltimore instead of Washington.)
Whoa, this is fantastically helpful, Timz, thank you.

I think that your schedule information is just what I needed. Thank you again for your help with this.
 #953500  by timz
 
Turns out the B&O stopped across the river from Hancock at 1515 in July 1947. By the way, that's 1515 EST; they would have Daylight Saving in NY in summer 1946-47 (so you would leave there around 0930 EDT) but Hancock was probably Standard Time year round.
 #962472  by clehman
 
I am reading, for the second time, a book titled, "Set Up Running" by John W. Orr. John fills this book with accounts his Father related to him almost every day that he came home from working as a fireman and engineer on the Pennsylvania Railroad during its steam years. His Father worked for the Pennsy from 1904-1949 and had experience working on almost all of Pennsy's steam locomotives. John became ill in the early 1940s and he and his Father, and he and his Mother at different times, travelled several times from their home in Ralston to Philadelphia for examinations and treatment. His first-hand observations of riding the passenger trains should be just about what you are looking for. His Father, Oscar P. Orr, was referred to as "O.P." by his friends and fellow railroaders. I have MANY railroad books in my collection, but this one is by far the very best at telling the story of evryday life as a railroader in the USA from approximately 1910 - 1950. A truely good book I would highly recommend to any railroad fan or historian, especially of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was published by Penn State Press in 2001; however, my copy is of the first paperback printing in 2005. Not to show a preference of one book seller over another, but it should be available from Amazon.com for around $20. Carl