Those secondary lines offered lower fares and access to intermediate points that were on neither of the big two lines.
Of course, I left out the Boston sections. Of the Central, the most famous Chicago<>Boston service was the solid New England States, supplemented by through cars on others of the NYC trains. On the Pennsy there was a Pittsburgh<>Boston overnight train.
I don't believe that that is correct. I seem to recall that coaches were added to the Broadway at least several months or a year before the merger. However I am only going from my memory here so corrections would certainly be welcome.
I also quoted from memory, but just looked it up in Wiki...says the Broadway Limited ended its all Pullman status, the last overnight train in the US to do so, on December 13, 1967, and the merger was effective on Feb 1, 1968....so apparently your recollection is better...
It's actually amazing that it lasted as an all-room train till then. About 10 days earlier, the Century had been withdrawn altogether, replaced on a much slower schedule with an unnamed amalgam of the remnants of the New England States and Wolverine. By late '67, it seems everything in the Northeast was kind of a wreck.I also quoted from memory, but just looked it up in Wiki...says the Broadway Limited ended its all Pullman status, the last overnight train in the US to do so, on December 13, 1967, and the merger was effective on Feb 1, 1968....so apparently your recollection is better...
True, but The Broadway still was "given the railroad", by the new Penn Central, and it was kept at a higher standard of equipment, traiin handling, and service, above all other trains, until the Metroliner's arrived a year later. Even in its early Amtrak years, it was given one of the first set of refurbed cars.
The B&O definitely had the reputation for excellent service. It was well before my time, but when my father-in-law was traveling back and forth between New York and Washington in the late '30s, he said he took the B&O whenever he could, even though it was slower and required going from the CNJ terminal in Jersey City, because the B&O's trains and service were wonderful when compared with the PRR's, which were, as you say, efficient but crowded and hectic.
I can't either. Looking at both of their westward timetables, they had morning trains from New York to Buffalo or Pittsburgh, but neither could get you into Chicago in the late evening from there. Both had a long gap between early evening, and the next morning arriving into Chicago...
I think the only try at something of that sort was the B&O speed-record set between Chicago and Washington with RDC's. They certainly had the ability to run a daylight.
Don't know if I would call it "weak" but the load was significantly heavier north of Memphis. Since my first couple college years were spent at UT Martin, in Martin TN, I was a fairly regular rider on Sunday afternoons Memphis to Fulton KY, 1962-1964. (I then hitchhiked the 10 miles south on US 45 to get to Martin,) Thus I saw the regular Memphis moves about once a month for two years. In a nominal 10 minute stop, an extra diesel, an RPO and two or more coaches were normally added at Memphis. A usual Sunday had a hundred plus people boarding at Memphis. How many deboarded, I do not know, as they had a single track between platforms, deboarding out one side and then letting us on on the other. On one occasion, I think it was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but I am not certain, now 60 years later, they added four coaches. They also had people boarding these coaches until they were full before the train pulled in. Usually my class schedule was such I could not make the southbound equivalent on Fridays. However a couple times I did. There was one student from New Orleans who did the CNO both ways when he went home. He did say the load was light south of Jackson, and also that if at all late the train simply flew down the track. (At that time Jackson MS to Hammond LA was double track.) The usual train north of Memphis was about 16 cars and either 3 or 4 E-units on the front. These would be RPO, baggage, diner, round end observation and 12 coaches. I think on that long one we had 18 coaches. Another random thing: At Carbondale IL a few coaches were split off to make a St. Louis train.
Like the CNO was very lightly loaded south of Jackson MS. This sort of thing is typical of many trains. Prime example, most commuter trains when you divide passenger miles by train miles you will probably fine a load factor of around 50%, This, even though the train may arrive/leave the big city end of its run with people standing, because most people are not riding the full distance. Also, for south of NYC on the north east corridor the train may show sold out leaving Newark, but south of Philadelphia, no problem. Had that one play out quite a few years ago: Leaving Newark on a Friday for DC, nothing available. Took the NJT-SEPTA from Newark to Philly, then no problem getting on an Amtrak train. In fact, the train appeared to be no more than about 2/3 full. Yes, much slower to Philly, but also cheaper, but it still got me to DC faster than I could have made it if I waited for an Amtrak train I could board at Newark.
According to the Wiki article, those 4 engines were also designed by Loewy...
K4s without the streamlined cladding were the everyday workhorse on the PRR service to the Jersey Shore, now known as the NJT North Jersey Coast Line to Long Branch and Bay Head.
