By 1951, New York Central had its post-war fleet of trains going at full strength, and due to declining ridership it probably did not place many orders for new passenger cars other than the ultra-lightweights of 1956. Instead of new … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Timetable
The full-page ad on the front cover of this timetable (the back cover is shown below) announces “28 new streamliners for 1948.” This translated to fourteen pairs of trains, ranging from new all-Pullman 20th Century Limiteds and Commodore Vanderbilts to … Continue reading
During his proxy battle to take over the New York Central, Robert Young famously said, “A hog can cross the country without changing trains–but you can’t.” But that wasn’t quite true. As shown on page 2 of this timetable, New … Continue reading
The Harlem division was the first track of what became the New York Central. Starting in downtown Manhattan, it began as the world’s first streetcar line (powered by horses) in 1831 and reached Chatham, New York, by 1852. Although a … Continue reading
Like yesterday’s timetable, this one is for “lines west of New London and Willimantec. It has shrunk to 28 pages, but I’ll leave it to someone else to take the time to figure out which trains are missing. Click image … Continue reading
This 32-page timetable is packed with tiny print providing schedules on countless branch lines, yet it only covers “lines west of New London and Willimantic,” Connecticut. Another 32 pages were probably needed to cover the New Haven’s dense network of … Continue reading
Issued just six months after yesterday’s timetable, at first glance this one looks just the same. However, one train is missing: the New York-Memphis Tenneseean. This train was operated by the Southern from Washington to Lynchburg, the Norfolk & Western … Continue reading
The boring cover and minimal use of interior advertising suggests that the Norfolk & Western was not really interested in the passenger business in 1966. But the coal-rich railroad had taken over the Wabash and several other railroads in 1964, … Continue reading
We’ve seen this cover on Frisco timetables from 1959, 1964, and 1965. At least a couple of trains have disappeared since 1959, including the Kansas City-Tulsa Firefly and a train from St. Louis to Wichita. Click image to download a … Continue reading
The Southern Railway refused to join Amtrak in 1971, as Southern President Graham Claytor decided that, “We could afford to keep our primary train and make it the finest in the country.” The Crescent ran daily overnight from Washington to … Continue reading