I am gonna get a lot of flack for this.

Were they the largest rairoad?

Because it sells!

Don

A very large, powerful RR  for many years.

PRR was a major railroad like Santa-fe and Union Pacific. In it's hay day is was consider one of the top ( I would say it's only rival, seeing it was east coast would of been NYC ( which it merged with and was mismanaged) and B&O) 

For east coast Rail-roads you will find that most are either NYC, PRR, or B&O ( the ones that model 1970 and before I would guess. ) 

I personally do not like Penn central But like NYC and PRR I also Like B&O. 

Of coarse these are just my feeling. 

DMASSO posted:

Were they the largest rairoad?

My guess would be no. But they where up there in size.

Maybe this will help explain...and this is just this forum membership. Pennsylvania has the most forum members. 

At one time, the PRR was the largest transportation company in the US.  They believed the keystone of their logo represented the position they held in the US economy.  At one time that might have actually been true.  They were the third largest builder of steam locomotives behind Baldwin and ALCo.  Their in house designs on the early 20th century were state of the art machines that performed well and way past their time.  They had the most miles under wire and largest electrically powered system in the US.  They valued design in their passenger facilities hiring well known architects at the time.  The engineering behind things like the Horseshoe curve and the Hudson tubes were vast undertakings.  They standardized everything for efficiency. 

Off course the postwar story of the PRR is very different especially by the late 50's.  The once mighty road was worn out, having ignored steam innovations while focusing on the electric activities in the 30's, and failed hugely on largely experimental duplexes that were put into service in the 40's out of desperation.  They were late to dieselize and that cost them significantly by having to buy locomotives from every builder.  They wanted all EMD equipment, but EMD couldn't supply enough in time.  Standardization went out the window, postwar passenger revenue was not great and eventually very costly.  Maintenance was deferred and it was a dirty road by the 60's. 

My reason for enjoying the PRR has to do with where I grew up, a childhood love of the GG1 (born in the PC era), and seeing former PRR equipment run past my house until I was a teen.  I love the Belpaire firebox, the strings of Tuscan cars during an era when everything else was green or TTG.  The position light signals have always been of interest to me although they are disappearing finally now.  

I don't force my interests on anyone, it's just why I like the road.  I have other's I love too, but the PRR was my first interest followed closely by the CNJ.   

PRR was a large railroad centered in a major industrialized State with large cities. It was a leader in creating advanced designs for most of its motive power. It operated the main passenger service between New York City and Washington, DC - first with steam locomotives and later with high speed electric locomotives including the GG-1. Its long distance electrification between New York and Washington set the standard for its time. It also operated passenger service between New York City and Chicago, an important densely-traveled route. I'm not a PRR expert but these are a few of the railroad's contributions that immediately come to mind.

MELGAR

Lionel sold more trains in PA 1930-1960 than almost anywhere else.Then there are converts like me......when I married my wife my father in law gave me the 'Pennsy Power' book and told me how many in his family worked for the PRR. His brother was in charge of the S-1 display at the worlds fair....I was sold!!! 

Hard to beat PRR for dramatic equipment.......

At one time it was the biggest publicly traded company in the world. At one time it had over 7000 locomotives. It was massive  

In line with both Marty and Jonathan’s comments; I think PRR is still popular today because it was such a presence in the lives of many of us who grew up either in PA or elsewhere along the railroad’s 13 state network.

Curt

Another reason I find the company interesting is because they were also a prolific steam locomotive designer and manufacturer.

rtraincollector posted:

DMASSO posted:

Were they the largest rairoad?

My guess would be no. But they where up there in size.

Depends on the measure(s) and timeframe.  Traffic and revenue 1900 - 1950.  Yes.

What, me worry?

What isn't mentioned in all this discussion is how hard on the Pennsy WW II was. It wore everything out and doubled wages the government handed out.  Of course, the Big War was hard on the steel industry too. At its peak there were none better than the PRR but that doesn't mean there weren't other good railroads.

Thanks for all the replys.Hey being in the south and my home town rail road was the SEABOARD AIRLINE RAILROAD.When I came in to this world seaboard merged with the acl.That formed the seaboard coast line the year I was born 1967.Come to think of it I saw a few prr boxcars in mixed freights.This is when I was a kid.I was lucky enough that my first school was right next to the train tracks.Got to see a lot of fast freights go by.Well seaboard might not have as big or famous as prr.But it was big enough to hold its own with the southern and acl.

juniata guy posted:

In line with both Marty and Jonathan’s comments; I think PRR is still popular today because it was such a presence in the lives of many of us who grew up either in PA or elsewhere along the railroad’s 13 state network.

Curt

Wow!I did not know it was that big.I thought in was just in penn the state.Yea the is pretty darn big!!

From the University of Pennsylvania which holds some of the PRR's corporate records:

"Beginning with the administration of J. Edgar Thomson (1852-1874), the PRR came under the control of its salaried managers, most of whom were trained as civil engineers and passed through a set course of hierarchical advancement. Unlike most other railroads of the period, the PRR was never run by lone entrepreneurs, politicians or bankers. Consequently, its management style was much more systematic (pioneering in the development of the line-and-staff type of structure), and it put greater emphasis on technical development and engineering virtuosity. In 1874, it employed one of the first professionally trained industrial chemists, and later developed its own testing laboratory. The greatest monuments to this approach were the great Pennsylvania Station project of 1907-1910 and the electrification of the main lines east of Harrisburg in 1915-1938. During this period it proclaimed itself the "Standard Railroad of the World."

Hey, how can you not love their switchers? 

Tom

DGJONES posted:

Because it sells!

Don

Many years ago when RoW did the B&O dockside we had many unsold units. They were repainted PRR and they all sold. 

Lou N

NO offense, but wasn't the Seaboard Coast Line just a little redundant?

Tinplate Art posted:

NO offense, but wasn't the Seaboard Coast Line just a little redundant?

Well maybe a little.

PRR also owned the Long Island RR with its millions of commuters. By 1925 it operated over 10,000 miles of track, and employed 250,000 people.

I was born in raised in PA and so of course I have some Pennsy equipment, but since I actually grew up with a Reading address i still like the Reading better

That being said the standardization and innovation was a huge part of their success.  Additionally they paid share holders a divend every year for a record length of time.  The Pennsy museum in Altoona PA showcases research and development and people skills.  The shear size of covering 13 states was impressive as well.  

Also - lionel hit a home run with the traditional size GG1 which is covered in the latest OGR ( I haven't finished that article yet).  I think the success of that model then helped solidify the Pennsy as a flagship RR in toy trains.

They were the standard railroad of the world. Invented many of the railroad devices still used today. Most beautiful locomotives and rolling stock of any railroad.

Tin

MartyE posted:

Maybe this will help explain...and this is just this forum membership. Pennsylvania has the most forum members. 

Marty,

How or better yet, where can I go on the forum to see this map. I live in Missouri and just wondering how many folks are from my state. Thanks in advance.

Joe Hohmann posted:

PRR also owned the Long Island RR with its millions of commuters. By 1925 it operated over 10,000 miles of track, and employed 250,000 people.

 

The PRR owned the LIRR and even modified it's keystone logo for the LIRR. It was sold to NY State in the 60's.

The Long Island Rail Road (reporting mark LIRR), legally known as the Long Island Rail Road Company and often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average weekday ridership of 354,800 passengers in 2016, it is the busiest commuter railroad in North America.^[2][3] It is also one of the world's few commuter systems that runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round.^[4] It is publicly owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which refers to it as MTA Long Island Rail Road.

The LIRR logo combines the circular MTA logo with the text Long Island Rail Road, and appears on the sides of trains. The LIRR is one of two commuter rail systems owned by the MTA, the other being the Metro-North Railroad. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the second-oldest US railroad still operating under its original name and charter.^[5]

There are 124 stations and more than 700 miles (1,100 km) of track^[6] on its two lines to the two forks of the island and eight major branches, with the passenger railroad system totaling 319 miles (513 km) of route.^[7]

^{Lot's more history here}

^Bob

Roger Wasson posted:

MartyE posted:

Maybe this will help explain...and this is just this forum membership. Pennsylvania has the most forum members. 

Marty,

How or better yet, where can I go on the forum to see this map. I live in Missouri and just wondering how many folks are from my state. Thanks in advance.

On the static blue bar at the very top of the page with the various links is a "members" link.  Select it and it will bring up a page with members avatars or the OGR logo depending if they uploaded an avatar or not.  There is a small drop down right next to the "Post" button on the right.  "Sort By Name" is the default.  Drop down and it will give you the map option.  Put your cursor over your state to see the number of OGR members from your state.  

While Pennsylvania enjoys the most OGR members, 920, North Dakota has the least with 6.  South Dakota is a close second with 7.

Thanks, that was surprisingly pretty interesting. 

Tom 

DGJONES posted:

Because it sells!

Don

In answer to the original question posted, this is most likely why you see so much Pennsy being offered in O gauge (and likely other scales, as well).

I lived next to the Reading, went to school next to a Reading Freight yard and was close to the Pennsy.

Every year we took my Grandfathers' brother to North Philadelphia Station to the the GG1s to Chicago. Very impressive and distinctive engines.

I'm not giving you flack, just explaining that the Pennsy did things on a massive scale and in a spectacular fashion.  Take a look at the photo below.

This is the PRR double track bridge across the Ohio River between Steubenville and Weirton.  The third (and current) bridge is being built around the existing 2nd bridge.  Traffic will only be interrupted for 8 hours during the cut-over.  And this isn't an isolated example.  The Pennsy did this all the time. 

Those are crawler cranes moving along the top of the bridge.

This is the completed bridge 80+ years later.  

And then there are the other examples of engineering on a massive scale:

• World War II traffic volumes
• Horseshoe Curve
• The eastern and western slopes of the Alleghenies (Lilly, Portage)

It's just an extremely impressive railroad.

George

To admire the Pennsy isn't to  denigrate other railroads. Almost every rod had its own distinctive personality especially for the local folks.Having lived in western Pa. and  explored the Pennsy ROW  and the west slope while videoing I have been amazed at the PRR infrastructure still in use.

Horseshoe Curve was targeted by the Germans during WWII with the thought of crippling the Pennsy thus crippling the US war effort and shipments to east coast ports thus England. The worlds longest stone arch bridge ever built across the Susquehanna River is still standing and used daily by the NS in Rockville just north of Harrisburg built by the Pennsy. 

seaboardm2 posted:

I have been in this hobby for a while now.And have seen lionel and mth and others.Put out rolling stock for the pennsylvania railroad.I just do not get why the pennsylvania is so famous.This has been on my mind for years.

yes you are! 

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seaboardm2 posted:

Thanks for all the replys.Hey being in the south and my home town rail road was the SEABOARD AIRLINE RAILROAD.When I came in to this world seaboard merged with the acl.That formed the seaboard coast line the year I was born 1967.Come to think of it I saw a few prr boxcars in mixed freights.This is when I was a kid.I was lucky enough that my first school was right next to the train tracks.Got to see a lot of fast freights go by.Well seaboard might not have as big or famous as prr.But it was big enough to hold its own with the southern and acl.

The SAL was a great road.  Love the Silver service trains and sea foam green e units of many flavors. 

I was born in Rochester, New York, so I always loved the Central and despised the Pennsy.

As I get older I've come to appreciate the PRR for what it was, and now it's something I study. I still prefer the Central, but there are many things I admire about the PRR.

Jeff C

I was born in 1944 and raised in Baltimore.  Two times a day I would see this train from my backyard.  Maybe that's why the PRR became one of my favorite roads right along with the Western Maryland and B&O.

You guys are gonna love this.I just recalled a t.v. ad that had a newsreel.That had a gg1 and a k4 running side by side.I might go over to you tube and see if I can find it.

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

seaboardm2 posted:

I have been in this hobby for a while now.And have seen lionel and mth and others.Put out rolling stock for the pennsylvania railroad.I just do not get why the pennsylvania is so famous.This has been on my mind for years.

yes you are! 

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Ha Ha!Good to see some one caught that ww2 saying.

I am from Dayton Ohio and the PRR was the railroad everyone talked about. The NYC, B&O, C&O all ran in the area. But my grandpa only ever told me stories about the Pennsy 

banjoflyer posted:

And to piggy-back on Marty's reasoning here's a map of USA population density. The darker the red color the more people there are in that area. If I were selling model trains I too would cater more to those RR lines that were in the highest population densities[.]

The Santa Fe F series warbonnet is the top-selling locomotive of all time.  Sometimes style wins out over substance (or population density).

What, me worry?

One of the other contributions of the PRR that lives on was being a major partner in the the creation of TTX on November 9, 1955.  While after PRR, the innovation of pooling cars by TTX lead to the creation of subsidiary Railbox in 1974.

Hmm...l have never thought Pennsylvania locos attractive...quite the reverse.  But my grandfather built L&N cabooses and my dad fired Southern steam, so l guess it is what you know.  With the population center in Pennsylvania territory, those of us who prefer other roads scratchbuild, kitbash, or do without.

Given that MARX, Lionel, and American Flyer factories were all within the service areas of Pennsylvania Railroad as back in the first half of the 20th century was the bulk of America's population so I rather think that this rubbed off on the train model train makers of the era as this is what most people saw day to day along with NYC and has just coasted along into the 21st century. Other railroads got pretty good coverage as Santa Fe did as it not only was familiar to those of us in California but to kids living in the east as the adventure of the cowboy west. So those three names appear to be the most popular of that era. May have also had a lot to do with the placement of dollars to the model train makers as an advertising investment.

Bogie