Want history on the Penn-Tex and Sunshine Special trains

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Griffin T. Murphey DDS

Train Attendant
Joined
Jun 11, 2019
Messages
15
This is a historical question - I am very interested in the cooperative train that ran from Philly to either Fort Worth, Texas, or maybe to the end of the T&P at El Paso. Were these the same trains? At least as late as 1980 the Sunshine Special sign was still up at the Texas and Pacific station in Fort Worth. Anything you can tell me about it will be greatly appreciated. Full disclosure - Lionel is making the Sunshine Special cars in O gauge.
 
I don’t believe the Sunshine Special carries cars off of the Penn Texas at least after 52. However the Texas Eagle operates in two sections back the. With one section going to Fort Worth with a few cars going to El Paso. While the other section went to Houston and San Antonio.

For you to look up consists I recommend timetableworld.com. They have the official guide from 52 and you can look up thru cars.
 
Don't see it on the above TT, but I certainly recall seeing NdeM thru sleeper's on that train, at Pennsylvania Station, New York. They ran all the way from New York to Mexico City, via Laredo, I believe...
 
There were indeed through sleepers to Mexico City from New York City on that train, at least for a couple of years...my research shows post WWII up until the debut of the new Texas Eagle in May 1948. Apparently NdeM balked at the cost of the modern lightweight equipment which PRR and MoPac wanted for their new streamliner (it was called the Texas Eagle from NYC to St. Louis in the early days, as well, even as the earlier heavyweight train was known as the Sunshine Special end to end; the Penn Texas moniker came a few months later). I can't help but think that it was very lightly patronized, as well; even on a luxurious air-conditioned Pullman train you're going to have a tough time finding people willing to spend three full days and four nights on board when American Airlines was offering overnight service between the two cities for $123.05, albeit with a connection in the wee hours in Dallas.

I've been working on a timetable for this train off and on for a couple of years now, but it's literally been The Creature That Ate Sheboygan...I haven't yet finished finding all of the ancillary timetables which made up the mix of through cars, let alone compute their mileages and such. Maybe I'll get off my keister and take it up again.
 
View attachment 15060 Here is a snip from the PRR 1954 timetable:
My mother, grandmother and brother rode this train in 1957 from Newark, Ohio to San Antonio, TX. I was five years old and in school so I had to stay behind. I believe they rode coach the entire distance as we had little money to have a sleeper. I guess my 4 year old brother was inspired by that trip since he became a freight engineer for 35 years.
 
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