Nostalgia & History > Last Pennsy psgr train to Erie, PA

It's March 27, 1965, and the 5703 is leading the last PRR
​passenger train into Erie, train 581.  Later that day. 580 would
​depart, adding this trackage to the "freight only" category in the
Official Guide.  Location shown here is at the Wintergreen Gorge
curve, approaching Erie, about 5 miles from town.

​In it's heyday, the "Northern Express" carried thru sleeping
​cars from New York via Washington and Harrisburg.  It was
combined with the Buffalo Express, with the trains splitting
​at Emporium, PA.  M1's were the usual power in steam days
​(before my time, however), but I recall lengthy trains behind
Baldwin Sharks before the E's took over. 

​In its last days, a baggage car and two coaches were all that
eas needed.

​The line was taken out of service by Conrail, and after about
​three years, returned to service by the Allegheny Railroad. 
Currently it is part of the G&W system, operated by the B&P.

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Very cool. Wonder if that RPO was in service?

No Broadway there. Miles of windy tracks through mountains. Wonder what kind of coaches they used in addition to the clerestory roofed RPO? Don't look like P70s from the photo angle. Very nice photo.

Must have been a scenic but loooong ride from Emporium to Erie!

Looking at Google Earth, the first part of the branc to Erie at Emporium is now a recreational trail for several miles.  The tracks are live a few hundred yards west of the little town of St. Marys, about 25 miles west of Emporium.

Thanks for posting!

Yes, when the Allegheny RR became a part of the B&P,
​the connection was moved from Emporium to Johnsonburg,
and the segment between St Mary's and Emporium taken out of
service and shortly thereafter torn up.

Came on this thread and I'll kick it for life.

I rode on this train as a kid, must have been spring 1964 on a school trip from Warren to Union City.

Typical consist on this train was an E-unit, Baggage-RPO, coach and a pullman, that's it.   On the last days of operation in 1965 they added another coach and pullman and there are some last run shots with two E-units on it instead of 1.

There were 12 of us on the school trip, I remember the conductor commenting that 'this was the most people to board in Warren in a long time'.    There were two other people in the coach, passing a paper bag and bottle, and our teacher was trying to keep us contained to the other end of the coach.   Kids remember stuff and the car smelled bad inside.

While passenger service was still active, track speeds were higher than'd you would think, I think that on areas that didn't have speed restrictions for curves they ran 60mph.   I do remember moving right along.     

The last truly great passenger move on the line before they cut St. Marys to Emporium (now a trail) was the run of Bennett Levin's E's behind an Amtrak charter of equipment accross Pennsylvania, up to Erie, and then south, in August of 2001, right before 9/11.   I have a wall picture of the move passing through Spring Creek, pair of PRR E's and a LONG passenger train featuring possibly the only Budd dome every to be on the line, ever.

My father regularly rode the Erie-Harrisburg train from Warren to NYC on business and always called it the "Rattler" because of the noise, and the rattlesnake territory it crossed.  He was enough of a railfan that he'd drive to Youngsville to park at a crossing just to see the train pass and wanted me to see it, apparently it worked, he certainly got what he wanted.   But he did have an unabiding disgust with PRR, he loved ATSF and NP and considered very little east of Chicago worth riding.

Note that this train had a sleeper but no diner.   I've read that you could get sandwiches at Renovo (or maybe it was Emporium) or go hungry, your choice.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/19 09:12 by randgust.