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The Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad. "The Standard Railroad of the World" . The Pennsylvania Railroad. Reporting mark – PRR American Class I railroad F ounded in 1846 Commonly referred to as the " Pennsy “ PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia

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The Pennsylvania Railroad

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  1. The Pennsylvania Railroad "The Standard Railroad of the World"

  2. The Pennsylvania Railroad • Reporting mark – PRR • American Class I railroad • Founded in 1846 • Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy“ • PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia • PRR was the largest railroad by traffic & revenue in the U.S. for the first half of the 20th century

  3. PRR Map

  4. The Pennsylvania Railroad • PRR was at one time the largest publicly traded corporation in the world • At its peak it controlled about 12,000 miles of road and 30,000 miles of track, its lines traversing the District of Columbia and thirteen States—New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri

  5. The Pennsylvania Railroad • In the 1920s, the PRR carried about 3x the traffic (measured by ton-miles of freight) as other railroads of comparable length • Such as • Union Pacific • Santa Fe • The only rival was New York Central • which carried around 3/4 of PRR's ton-miles.

  6. The Pennsylvania Railroad • During its history the PRR merged with or had an interest in at least 800 other rail lines and companies • The corporation still holds the record for the longest continuous dividend history - it paid out annual dividends to shareholders for more than 100 years in a row • At one point the budget for the PRR was larger than that of the U.S. government

  7. The Pennsylvania Railroad • At its peak it employed about 250,000 workers • In 1968 the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with its rival, the New York Central Railroad, to form the Penn Central Transportation Company • A series of events including inflation, poor management, abnormally harsh weather and the withdrawal of a government-guaranteed $200-million operating loan forced the Penn Central to file for bankruptcy protection on June 21, 1970

  8. The Pennsylvania Railroad • The viable parts of the Penn Central system were transferred in 1976 to Conrail • Began earning a profit in 1981 • Norfolk Souther Railway & CSX Transportation acquired Conrail in approximately equal portions in 1999 • Norfolk Southern now owns most of the former PRR, including the old Pennsy Main Line across Pennsylvania

  9. PRR History • The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as part of the Main Line of Public Works • Chartered the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1846 to build a rail line that would connect Harrisburg to Pittsburgh • This western line from Harrisburg would complete the main line, which was to be a railroad and canal corridor across the state

  10. PRR History • With capital provided in part by the municipal government of Philadelphia • work on the western part of the main line was completed in 1854 • Rail service from Philadelphia across the state to Pittsburgh was available • In 1857, the PRR purchased the main line from the State of Pa

  11. John Edgar Thomson • 1808 – 1874 • Entrepreneur who led the PRR from 1852 to his death in 1874 • Made PRR the largest business enterprise in the world • A world-class model for technological • Managerial innovation

  12. John Edgar Thomson • Served as PRR's first Chief Engineer & 3rd President • Thomson's sober, technical, methodical, & non-ideological personality had an important influence on the PRR • In the mid-19th century was on the technical cutting edge of rail development • While nonetheless reflecting Thomson's personality in its conservatism & its steady growth while avoiding financial risks

  13. John Edgar Thomson • His Pennsylvania Railroad was in his day the largest railroad in the world • 6000 miles of track • Famous for steady financial dividends • Famous for high quality construction • Constantly improving equipment • Technological advances - replacing wood with coal • Innovation in management techniques for a large complex organization

  14. Standard Railroad of the World • In 1916 the PRR began using the slogan “Standard Railroad of the World” • Meant that it was perceived as the standard to which all other railroads aspired • For a long time this was true • 1st railroad to completely replace wooden-bodied passenger cars with steel-bodied cars • 1st to introduce the vestibuled train • Over its history it led the way in many safety & efficiency improvements • In later years PRR abandoned use of the slogan

  15. Standard Railroad of the World • PRR "standard" in another way • It was an early proponent of standardization • While other railroads used whatever was available, the PRR tested & experimented with equipment designs • When they found the right design, it became standard across the whole company • Gave the railroad a feel of uniformity • It also reduced costs • Unlike other railroads who purchased locomotives & railroad cars in small lots, taking whatever was available from manufacturers at the time • PRR was also an early adopter of standard color schemes for their equipment

  16. Railroad Shops • 1849-PRR officials developed plans to construct a repair facility at Altoona • Construction was started in 1850 • soon a long building was completed that housed a machine shop, woodworking shop, blacksmith shop, locomotive repair shop & foundry • This facility was later torn down to make room for continuing expansion

  17. Railroad Shops • In time additional PRR repair facilities were located in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, & Mifflin • The Altoona Works expanded in adjacent Juniata, PA • 1875-inventor Alexander Graham Bell sent 2 assistants to the Altoona shops to study the feasibility of installing telephone lines • May 1877-telephone lines were installed for various departments to communicate with one another

  18. Railroad Shops • In 1875-Altoona Works started a testing department for PRR equipment • In following years, the Pennsylvania Railroad led the nation in the development of research & testing procedures of practical value for the railroad industry • Use of the testing facilities was discontinued in 1968 and many of the structures were demolished.

  19. Railroad Shops • Fort Wayne, In-held a key position for the railroad • By the turn of the 20th century, its repair shops & locomotive manufacturing facilities became known as the "Altoona of the West“ • By 1945-Altoona Works had grown to be one of the largest repair & construction facilities for locomotives & train cars in the world

  20. Railroad Shops • During World War II • PRR facilities (including the Altoona Shops) were on target lists of German saboteurs • They were caught before they could complete their missions

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