PRR Documents
Here's a growing collection of PRR booklets, newsletters and other documents reproduced in their entirety. Some are PDF or HTML but many are page by page scans in .jpg or .gif format. Unless otherwise noted the originals are from my collection...
Included so far are:
- History:
- Rolling stock:
- "Modern Cars and Locomotives - 1926" - A promotional booklet put out by the PRR in 1926 showcasing the railroads latest motive power, freight cars and passenger cars.
- "Modern Locomotives and Cars - 1939" - Another promotional booklet put out by the PRR showcasing the railroads latest motive power, freight cars and passenger cars.
- "The Biggest Freight Car Order in History." - A PRR booklet describing the 1959 freight car order.
- No. 146, Classification of Cars. A circular defining the PRR's car classification system and tables of info on each class.
- Version B dated July 15, 1913 Covers lines East of Pittsburgh only.(2.6Mb pdf file, collection of Bob Johnson)
- Version D dated November 27, 1916 (3.1Mb pdf file, collection of Bob Johnson)
- Version E dated November, 1921 Note that this copy was marked up with corrections for the printer. (3.3Mb pdf file, collection of Rob Schoenberg)
- Version F dated May 8, 1931 (4.1Mb pdf file, collection of Denny Walls)
- Version G dated February 1, 1938 (3.8Mb pdf file, collection of Claus Schlund)
- Supplement to version G, dated January 2, 1941 (740Kb pdf file, collection of Bob Johnson)
- Diagrams, Brake Arrangements, Rods and Levers A small book of diagrams created by the PRR's Altoona Car Shops 12th Street Car Shops sketching the primary air brake components for various freight and cabin car classes. (A.C.S. Sketch No. 481) (2Mb pdf file, collection of Rob Schoenberg)
- Freight operations:
- Then Came the Motor Truck A history of trucking on the Pennsy (3.33 MB pdf file)
- Pennsylvania Railroad Plate Fulcrum Master Scale, Installed at Altoona PA. A presentation from the twentieth national Conference on Weights and Measures held at the Bureau of Standards, May 1927, by A. W. Epright, Supervisor Scales and Weighing (1.5 MB pdf file)
- Conway Yard advertising booklet. Joint PRR and Union Switch and Signal booklet showcasing the modernization of Conway Yard.
- Loading Rules, 1917 - Rules For Loading Materials. Detailed instructions for loading just about anything imaginable onto flat or gondola cars or in box and stock cars. (In OCR'd .pdf format.)
- Freight Car Maintenance Instructions - A document describing a new series of freight car maintenance instructions issued by the PRR and the first instructions in the series. Dated 4/15/1952. (530Kb pdf file, collection of Rob Schoenberg)
- General Notices
- #210-E: Location of track, motor truck, wagon and stock scales, and abbreviations to be used when marking light-weights on freight cars - Issued June 16, 1953 (marked up to Dec 19, 1955)(380Kb pdf file, collection of Rob Schoenberg)
- # 213: Restrictions on the transportation of bees, honey, hives or appliances of same into the State of Pennsylvania - Issued March 15, 1922 (103Kb pdf file, collection of Rob Schoenberg)
- # 214-B: Regulations governing the handling of " dead" locomotives and tenders (system and foreign) in freight trains and foreign locomotives moving under their own power - Issued June 1, 1926 (159Kb pdf file, collection of Rob Schoenberg)
- Alphabetical and Geographical List of Bituminous and Anthracite Coal Mines on The Pennsylvania Railroad and Lateral Lines - Dated July 16, 1956. (4.5 MB pdf file)
- Passenger operations:
- Motive power:
- POWER - The Story of the Locomotive - A small booklet by Katherine Woods about PRR locomotives. Published by the PRR in 1928. 1 MB pdf file
- Motive Power Development on the Pennsylvania Railroad - Baldwin Locomotive Works articles on the early motive power history of the PRR. 6.9 MB pdf file
- "Modern Power For Today's Trains" - A promotional booklet put out by the PRR in 1949 showcasing the railroads latest motive power.
- "Presenting a Line of Modern Coal-Burning Steam Locomotives, December 1944" - A promotional booklet put out by the PRR in 1949 showcasing the railroads latest steam locomotives.
- M.P. 229, July 1, 1957. - Assignment of Locomotives. Listing of locomotives in service as of 7/1/1957 annotated with features and which regions they are assigned. (pdf format, 150 dpi page scans)
- No. 109-C, Classification and Description of Locomotives. A circular defining the PRR's locomotive classification with tables of specifications for each class of Locomotive active as of March 1, 1904. (859K pdf file, collection of Bob Johnson)
- No. 109-D, Classification and Description of Locomotives. A circular defining the PRR's locomotive classification with tables of specifications for each class of Locomotive active as of March 1, 1908. (1.5Mb pdf file, collection of Bob Johnson)
- No. 109-L, Classification and Description of Locomotives and Tenders. A circular defining the PRR's locomotive classification with tables of specifications for each class of Locomotive active as of September 1, 1956. More revisions coming. (700K OCR'd fully proofread pdf file, collection of Rob Schoenberg)
- No. 109-M, Locomotives, Classification and Description Another revision of the PRR locomotive classification circular from July 1, 1960. (720K OCR'd fully proofread pdf file, collection of Bob Johnson)
- Future Motive Power In Electrified Territory A report by GE on the PRR's options for the future of electrification. Dated October 8, 1959. (1.6 MB pdf file)
- The Pennsylvania Railroad Electrification A booklet put out by GE describing the Pennsy's mainline electification and pointing out GE's contributions to the project. 1934. (6.4 MB pdf file)
- Machinery Examinations for Locomotive Firemen, 1949 - Instructions and test questions for Locomotive Firemen. A good text for seeing just what was involved in being a Locomotive Fireman. (In OCR'd .pdf format.)
- Diesel Electric Road Locomotives - Operating Instructions for Locomotive Enginemen, Firemen, and Helpers. Issued June 2, 1949. Everything you'd ever want to know about operating the Pennsy's first generation road diesels. Covers the PRR's original road diesels. Includes classes EP-3, BP-1, AP-3, BP-3, FP-3, EF-4, FF-3, AF-4, and BF-4. (In OCR'd .pdf format.)
- Management & Operations:
- MOW
- PRR Standard Maintenance of Way Plans A huge collection of standard MOW plans.
- Railroad Engineers Handbook and Pennsylvania Railroad Standard Maintenance of Way Plans A collection of sheets with various railroad engineering guidelines and standard plans to follow. (3.4 MB pdf file)
- Specifications for the Construction and Maintenance of Track - C.E.78 Revision J. Issued 10/1/1957 (Collection of Andy Cich, In OCR'd .pdf format.)
- Specifications for the Construction and Maintenance of Standard Railroad - M.W. 49 Revised September 1, 1909. (Courtesy of Michael O. Brown, In OCR'd .pdf format.)
- Engineering Data circa 1916 - A booklet with many handwritten tables of engineering information circa 1916. Bridge statistics and erection data, list of private sidings, standpipes and supervisors' sections and more!2.6Mb pdf file or gif page scans, collection of Carl Starr)
- Track Profile, Torrance to East Pittsburgh. Scan of a ~40 foot rolled blueprint track profile of the PRR from Torrance to East Pittsburgh. Amazing detail!(3.6Mb pdf file, collection of Rob Schoenberg)
- P.R.R., E.P. Div, C. & C. Div, Junction Plans to Accompany Mileage Reports, 12/14/1907. (5Mb pdf file, Rail Data Exchange Collection)
- No. 65-C Diesel Powered Track Sweeper - Operation and Maintenance Instructions,
SO 65134, Annual Inspection and Overhaul to Track Sweeper 498177 and
Track Sweeper, List of Anti-friction bearings and oil seals -- Three documents covering the operation and maintenance of the PRR's ballast cleaning equipment, including descriptions.
- Signaling & Communications
- Engineering Journal articles about the Pennsy (note, they're pdf files scanned at 72 dpi so the quality isn't perfect but they're readable...:
- "Snow and Ice on the Pennsylvania" From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 92, No. 2, March 1918, pp 143-145. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (401k pdf file)
- "A Turntable of Unique Design P.R.R. Develops Adjustable Center, Supports Table at Three Points and Pus Tractor at Each End" From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 93, No. 6, June, 1919, pp 329-332. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (488k pdf file)
- "Pennsylvania 85-Ton Hopper Cars, An All-Steel Coal Car Having a Light Weight of 60,000 Lb. and 3,228 Cu. Ft. Gross Cubical Capacity." (Class H24) From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 91, No 4, April 1917, pp 191-193. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (354k pdf file)
- "Car Department: Pennsylvania Railroad Refrigerator Cars" (Classes R50 and R50a) From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 91, No 3, July 1917, pp 133-135. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (379k pdf file)
- "PRR Combination Car" (Class PB-70) From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 97, No 9, September 1923, pg 631. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (171k pdf file)
- "Pennsylvania System Dinning Cars Built at Altoona" (Class D78) From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 99, No 12, December 1922, pp 699-701. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (448k pdf file)
- "Pennsylvania Electric Locomotive Experimental Design for Heavy Trunk Line Service to Operate Over 24 Miles of One Per Cent Grade." (Class FF1) From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 91, No 7, July 1917, pp 389-390. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu).(271k pdf file)
- "Pennsylvania Electric Locomotive A Description of Interesting Details in the Running Gear Construction and in the Electrical Equipment" (Class FF1, follow up) From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 92, No 2, February 1918, pp 87-90. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (497k pdf file)
- "P.R.R. Decapod Type Locomotive" (Class I1) From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 91, No 7, July 1917, pp 370-373. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (385k pdf file)
- "Pennsylvania Ten-Wheel Passenger Locomotive Class G5s, a New Design for Local Passenger Service with 68-in. Drivers, Develops 41,328-lb. Tractive Force" From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 98, No. 1, January 1924, pp 16-18. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (360k pdf file)
- "Two More Standard USRA Locomotives Heavy 4-8-2 and Light 2-10-2 Types Are Well Proporationed and Have Essentially the Same Boiler" NON PRR LOCOS From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 93, No. 1, July 1919, pp 25-30. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (648k pdf file)
- "Standard USRA 2-6-6-2 type locomotive" NON PRR LOCOS! From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 93, No. 2, February 1919, pp 74-77. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (405k pdf file)
- "Standard USRA Equipment Specialties The Distribution, by Classes of the Special Equipment Used on Government Cars and Locomotives" Indirectly PRR related. From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 93, No. 3, March 1919, pp 137-138. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (170k pdf file)
- "Standard USRA 2-8-8-2 type locomotive First of Government Order for Over 100 of These Engines Delivered to the Norfolk & Western" NON PRR LOCOS! From Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 93, No. 4, April 1919, pp 187-190. Submitted by Dennis Short (drshort@purdue.edu). (428k pdf file)
- Train Talks - "Informal discussions by the Pennsylvania railroad with its patrons on matters of mutual interest and concern."
This was a small newsletter published by the Pennsy. The issues listed below are the only ones I've heard of. I'm looking for info on other issues as well as additional issues to scan. Issues are either .jpg page scans or OCR'd .pdf files.
- March 1935 - "Electric Operation Opens Between Great American Cities-Capital and Metropolis Linked"
- August 1935 - "Grade Crossings... Their Elimination is a Publis Responsibility"
- September 1936 - "How Research Guides Railroad Progress, Important Test and Experimentation Projects Initiated by the Pennsylvania in Many Fields."
- December 1936 - "Art of Railroading Makes Another Great Advence - Door-to-Door Service Now Perfects Merchandise Freight Handling."
- April 1937 - "Train Speeds... A Railroad Contribution to American Progress"
- January 1938 - "Mile-a-Minute Meals, Behind the Scenes in the Dining Car Service of a Great Railroad"
- February 1939 - "'Giant Strides' by Rail - Half the Continental Expanse Linked by P.R.R. Through Passenger Service"
- December 1939 - "Industry's Swift Rise Finds Railroads Prepared" - the railroads spending and development help them meet the needs of industry. (in .pdf format)
- April 1945 - "New Locomotives for War and Peace"
- September 1948 - "$216 Millions to Give Your better Passenger and Freight Equipment" - the PRR's purchase of new passenger and freight equipment.
- Febuary 1950 - "New P.R.R. Sleeping Cars Provide More Rooms than Biggest Hotel" - the PRR's new passenger equipment. With many interior views of passenger cars.
- August 1950 - "Better Meals and Service For You on P.R.R. Dining Cars" - the PRR's new dining cars and equipment.
- Dining Car Digest
Just one issue so far. E-mail if you have more to scan!
- Information for Employes and the Public
Various issues of Information for Employes and the Public. This was a newsletter published by the Pennsy from 1913 until 1930. Each issue contains generally focuses on and discusses one facet of the railroad and its operations. Each issues is provided either in jpg form or as a searchable pdf file (most with a scan of the original with the searchable text hidden beneath). Eventually the rest of the issues will be converted to pdf. I have bound volumes 1 (1913) through 5 (1917) online and scattered volumes from 1918 - 1930. Thanks to John Marshall for loaning me volumes 2-4 to scan!
I'm looking for issues that aren't listed below. If you have an issue that's not listed, can I borrow it to scan?! These have been moved to their own page.
- The Pennsylvania News
A few issues of The Pennsylvania News This was the PRR's employee newspaper starting in the 1920's. It was published in 4 editions by region. (Central Region/Altoona Works, Eastern Region, Northwestern Region/Southwestern Region and Western Region) So far I only have a few issues of the Eastern Region edition from 1931.
- The Pennsylvania News, Eastern Region, New York Zone, Vol. 12, No. 11, September 1, 1931
- The Pennsylvania News, Eastern Region, New York Zone, Vol. 12, No. 12, September 15, 1931
- The Pennsylvania News, Eastern Region, New York Zone, Vol. 9, No. 16, October 1, 1931
- The Pennsylvania News, Eastern Region, New York Zone, Vol. 9, No. 17, October 15, 1931
- The Pennsylvania News, Eastern Region, New York Zone, Vol. 9, No. 19, November 15, 1931
- The Pennsylvania News, Eastern Region, New York Zone, Vol. 9, No. 20, December 1, 1931
- The Pennsylvania News, Eastern Region, New York Zone, Vol. 9, No. 21, December 15, 1931
- The Pennsy
Various issues of The Pennsy. This was the PRR's employe newsletter from June 1952 until February 1968 and the Penn Central merger. A total of 162 issues were published. Publication frequency and issue size changed several times. An index of the online issues is here
- The Pennsy, September-October, 1957 4.8 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, March-April 1964 3.6 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, July-August 1964 .jpg page scans
- The Pennsy, September-October 1964 4.3 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, November 30, 1964 - First issue of the new "newspaper" style twice a month version. .jpg page scans
- The Pennsy, December 21, 1964 2.0 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, January 15, 1965 1.9 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, February 15, 1965 COMING SOON!
- The Pennsy, March 15, 1965 COMING SOON!
- The Pennsy, April 1, 1965 COMING SOON!
- The Pennsy, April 15, 1965 NEEDED FOR SCANNING!
- The Pennsy, May 1, 1965 COMING SOON!
- The Pennsy, May 15, 1965 COMING SOON!
- The Pennsy, June 1, 1965 2.1 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, June 15, 1965 COMING SOON!
- The Pennsy, July 1, 1965 2.4 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, August 1, 1965 COMING SOON!
- The Pennsy, September 1, 1965 2.4 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, September 15, 1965 NEEDED FOR SCANNING!
- The Pennsy, October 1, 1965 2.0 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, October 15, 1965 2.2 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, November 1, 1965 COMING SOON!
- The Pennsy, November 15, 1965 COMING SOON!
- The Pennsy, December 1, 1965 COMING SOON!
- The Pennsy, January 1, 1966 .jpg page scans
- The Pennsy, January 15, 1966 2.4 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, February 1, 1966 2.6 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, February 15, 1966 2.4 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, March 1, 1966 2.7 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, April 1, 1966 NEEDED FOR SCANNING!
- The Pennsy, April 15, 1966 2.9 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, May 1, 1966 3.2 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, May 15, 1966 2.5 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, June 1, 1966 NEEDED FOR SCANNING!
- The Pennsy, June 15, 1966 2.8 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, July 1, 1966 2.8 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, August 1, 1966 3.0 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, September 1, 1966 3.0 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, September 15, 1966 2.9 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, October 1, 1966 3.1 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, November 1, 1966 3.0 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, November 15, 1966 3.0 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, December 1, 1966 1.8 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, January 1, 1967 2.0 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, February 1, 1967 2.2 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, March 1, 1967 2.1 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, April 1, 1967 2.0 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, May 1, 1967 2.2 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, May 15, 1967 2.2 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, June 1, 1967 3.9 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, June 15, 1967 2.3 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, July 1967 2.4 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, August 1967 3.0 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, September 1, 1967 2.3 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, September 15, 1967 2.2 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, October 1, 1967 2.0 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, October 15, 1967 2.2 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, November 1, 1967 2.6 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, November 15, 1967 NEEDED FOR SCANNING!
- The Pennsy, December 1, 1967 2.1 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, January 1, 1968 2.2 Mb pdf file
- The Pennsy, February 1, 1968 2.0 Mb pdf file
more to come...
- PRR documents that can be found on other sites:
Still to come: More issues of "The Pennsy", the PRR's employee magazine and lots of other cool stuff...
I'm always looking for Pennsylvania documents to add to this archive! If you have anything that you think might be of interest to fellow PRR enthusiasts, let me know about it and we can arrange to get it scanned and added to the site!
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