From humble beginnings in the 1800s, the Pennsylvania Railroad grew to be one of the most powerful, influential railroads in American history--a railroad that Fortune Magazine called “a nation unto itself.” It owned its own shops, coal mines, hotels, communications system, and power plants, not to mention hundreds of depots (including the famous Penn Station in Manhattan), thousands of passenger cars, tens of thousands of freight cars, and a vast fleet of steam, electric, and diesel locomotives. The Pennsy’s 10,000 route-miles served thirteen of the most populous and most industrialized states in the United States.   Pennsylvania Railroad examines the mighty railroad’s evolution from a disparate group of early horse car lines into a twentieth-century transportation giant. Color and black-and-white photographs and period ads illustrate the railroad’s many facets, including both its passenger and freight operations, as well its motive power through the decades. Though the Pennsy was merged out of existence in 1968, an epilogue details the PRR legacies that survive on today’s modern railroad scene.

From humble beginnings in the 1800s, the Pennsylvania Railroad grew to be one of the most powerful, influential railroads in American history--a railroad that Fortune Magazine called “a nation unto itself.” It owned its own shops, coal mines, hotels, communications system, and power plants, not to mention hundreds of depots (including the famous Penn Station in Manhattan), thousands of passenger cars, tens of thousands of freight cars, and a vast fleet of steam, electric, and diesel locomotives. The Pennsy’s 10,000 route-miles served thirteen of the most populous and most industrialized states in the United States.   Pennsylvania Railroad examines the mighty railroad’s evolution from a disparate group of early horse car lines into a twentieth-century transportation giant. Color and black-and-white photographs and period ads illustrate the railroad’s many facets, including both its passenger and freight operations, as well its motive power through the decades. Though the Pennsy was merged out of existence in 1968, an epilogue details the PRR legacies that survive on today’s modern railroad scene.