All through May 2023, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the legacy of everyone’s favorite bankrupt railroad: Penn Central.
At Logansport, Ind.’s station on April 20, 1971, there was time for a photo during the crew change on PC No. 66, the remnant of Pennsy’s Buckeye. Only about a quarter of the seats in former NYC coach 2926 were occupied when we left Chicago on-time at 10:25 a.m. Ahead were one of the ubiquitous PRR B60 baggage cars and PC E7 4211, also ex-PRR. J. David Ingles photo
E8 4310 arrives at Dayton Union Station with Pittsburgh-St. Louis train 13 as a freight train heads east on April 24, 1971, one week before Amtrak. David P. Oroszi photo
New “Jersey Arrow” electric commuter cars repose at Trenton, N.J., with Penn Central heralds. Even after Amtrak took over intercity passenger service on April 1, 1971, Penn Central operated significant commuter routes in the Northeast. General Electric photo
A Penn Central-lettered United Aircraft Turbo-Train makes its first revenue run on April 8, 1969, on former New Haven trackage at Cos Cob, Conn. Charles W. Stark photo
Penn Central Metroliner car 859 rounds a bend with a mate. PC inherited the Metroliner project from the Pennsylvania Railroad, which developed the cars jointly with the U.S. Department of Transportation in the 1960s. Their basic design would carry over to new Amfleet I coaches in the 1970s. Classic Trains collection
The venerable Pennsylvania Limited has rounded Horseshoe Curve and is a few minutes away from its Altoona, Pa., station stop on Sept. 13, 1970. Ahead of the two E8s that have brought No. 54 from Chicago are ex-PRR C630 6323 and SD45 6265, taking a break from helping freights over the mountain. David P. Oroszi photo
The Admiral slinks out of Chicago on its final run to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and New York on April 30, 1971. The following day, Amtrak, created largely to relieve Penn Central of the burden of intercity passenger service, would do just that. George W. Hamlin photo
Penn Central train 427, the Boston-Albany remnant of NYC’s all-Pullman New England States to Chicago, trundles west at Riverside, Mass., on April 11, 1970. PC’s bankruptcy two months later prompted the creation of Amtrak the following year. Tom Nelligan photo
The train formerly known as the South Wind departs Chicago Union Station on April 19, 1971, bound for Louisville, Ky. Beyond are bilevel commuter cars of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. John H. Kuehl photo
The last trip for Penn Central train 66 from Chicago to Cincinnati via Richmond, Ind., saw lead E8 painted with a final epitaph: “No. 66 JUST FADES AWAY WITH AMTRK” (sic). Black flags were mounted, matching the mood of the crew and passenger. Herb Pence Jr. photo
The last edition of Penn Central train 51 arrives at Chicago Union Station on May 1, 1971, from Buffalo. As of this day, all intercity passenger trains are operated by Amtrak. Harold Edmonson photo
Please enjoy this photo gallery of Penn Central passenger trains selected from the files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library.
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