by gengwall
I am researching turn of the century NYC travel and am in need of fare tables. Do they exist? I have the schedules I need but I have not been able to find any info on fares. Any help would be appreciated.
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gengwall wrote:I am researching turn of the century NYC travel and am in need of fare tables. Do they exist? I have the schedules I need but I have not been able to find any info on fares. Any help would be appreciated.What year, specifically? You may find fare information in old timetables or old issues of The Official Guide.
erie2521 wrote:One of the reasons RR Timetables didn't include a lot of fare information was that they charged a set fare per mile. For most railroads in the years prior to World War II, this was two cents a mile for coach and three cents a mile( plus seat or berth charge which usually was in the timetable) for first class, either parlor cars or sleepers. (The one exception I can remember is the B&O which charged one and a half cents for coach.) Anyhow, with that knowledge and the distance between the two points in question are all you would need to know. Look in the front of the timetables or anywhere there is general information for the per mile charge. It ought to be there someplace. TedDon't forget that the cents per mile was general in application. Specific local fares over relatively short distances would probably reflect that, but fares between competitive points would reflect the distance via the shortest physically possible route. However, if a ballpark figure is acceptable, a cents-per-mile calculation would probably be close enough. The upside is that if you can find a timetable for the right period but the wrong railroad, e.g. New York-Buffalo on the DL&W or the Lehigh Valley, the fare would probably be the same as the New York Central's to the penny.