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108-623: Silverliner is the name given to a series of electric multiple unit (EMU) railcars in commuter rail service in the Philadelphia area since 1958. As of the introduction of the Silverliner V in 2009–2010, there have been 5 generations of Silverliner cars, identified by the Roman numerals I through V placed after the name Silverliner. The Silverliner name came from the classes' shiny stainless steel body shell, which contrasted with

216-535: A married pair configuration, although a minority of cars were outfitted as single units. The delivery of the Silverliner IVs allowed SEPTA to replace most of its remaining round front windowed pre-war PRR MP54s and Reading's MU car fleet save for the 38 rebuilt "Blueliner" cars. Although being fitted with an updated propulsion system from General Electric, the Silverliner IVs were nevertheless still delivered with Ignitron tube rectifiers (necessary to convert

324-470: A 3-person bench seat in the 'F' end of the car to enable the cars use on longer runs to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , or New York City . With the delivery of the second set of "Silverliners" in 1967, the original Budd Silverliners were renamed "Silverliner II" with the Pioneer III cars becoming Silverliner I. Although funding for the service was being provided by the newly formed SEPTA , from 1963 until

432-607: A canal across Pennsylvania and thus the Main Line of Public Works was commissioned in 1826. It soon became evident that a single canal would not be practical and a series of railroads, inclined planes, and canals was proposed. The route consisted of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad , canals up the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers, an inclined plane railroad called the Allegheny Portage Railroad ,

540-523: A classification system for their freight cars. Similar to their locomotives, the Pennsy used a letter system to designate the various types and sub-types of freight and maintenance cars. As noted, Pennsy colors and paint schemes were standardized. Locomotives were painted in a shade of green so dark it seemed almost black. The official name for this color was DGLE (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel), though often referred to as "Brunswick Green." The undercarriage of

648-540: A complex propulsion system that coupled highly sensitive mercury arc ignitron rectifier tubes with an inefficient DC resistance motor controller. Always distinguishable by their older style diamond pantograph , the Pioneer III cars were rechristened the Silverliner Is when the second official order of Silverliners were delivered from Saint Louis Car Company in 1967, the SL-Is would also be renumbered 244 to 248 when

756-608: A continuous railroad line ran between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh over the tracks of several entities including the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1853, the Pennsy was granted trackage rights over the Philadelphia and Columbia, providing a connection between the two cities and connecting with the HPMtJ&;L at Lancaster and Columbia. By 1854, the Pennsy completed its line from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, eliminating

864-681: A government-guaranteed $ 200 million operating loan forced Penn Central to file for bankruptcy protection on June 21, 1970. In May 1971, passenger operations, including equipment, were transferred to a new government-subsidized company called the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, or Amtrak . This was devised to relieve the Penn Central (and other railroads) of money-losing passenger service. Penn Central rail lines, including ex-Pennsy lines, were transferred to Conrail in 1976, and eventually Amtrak received

972-571: A mid-life overhaul. At some point the old mercury arc rectifiers were replaced by the more reliable silicon controlled variety, the HVAC was updated with ozone safe refrigerant , the PCBs were removed in the transformer coolant and the bathrooms were closed in those cars that had them. By the year 2000 SEPTA began to plan for the retirement of the Budd Silverliners, which had not only reached

1080-546: A multi-modal freight transportation subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It owned oil tanker cars and used them to transport refined oil for mostly independent oil refiners during the era of John D. Rockefeller's and Standard Oil's oil refinery mergers of the 1870s. The company also owned grain freight boats on the Great Lakes and oil pipelines in the oil regions of Pennsylvania . When the company attempted to buy and build some oil refineries in 1877, Standard Oil bought

1188-575: A new railroad named Consolidated Rail Corporation , or Conrail for short. Conrail was itself purchased and split up in 1999 between the Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation , with Norfolk Southern getting 58 percent of the system, including nearly all of the remaining former Pennsylvania Railroad trackage. Amtrak received the electrified segment of the Main Line east of Harrisburg. The Penn Central Corporation held several non-rail assets which it continued to manage after

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1296-399: A number of modifications to the class. The propulsion system was initially upgraded from the original mercury arc–based Ignitron rectifiers to more reliable solid state silicon controlled rectifiers and later the main transformers had their coolant replaced with one that did not contain PCBs . As this change was carried out in the early 1990s, all of the 9000 series Reading cars and some of

1404-473: A percentage of its capital stock. Several lines were then aided by the Pennsy in hopes to secure additional traffic. By the end of 1854, the Pennsy purchased stock in the Ohio & Pennsylvania, Ohio & Indiana, Marietta & Cincinnati, Maysville & Big Sandy, and Springfield, Mt. Vernon & Pittsburgh railroads, totalling $ 1,450,000 (equivalent to $ 49.2 million in 2023). The Steubenville & Indiana

1512-631: A process completed by June 2012. The final run of a Silverliner III took place on June 29, 2012 with former Airport car #235 running with Silverliner II #9010 on the Cynwyd Line . The 232-car Silverliner IV order was the largest order in the Silverliner series to date. Delivered between 1973 and 1976, the Silverliner IV cars allowed for the retirement of most of the Reading electric multiple units and PRR MP54 cars, which dated from at least

1620-526: A result, state and local government stepped in to purchase new cars that would be in turn used by the private railroads to run the required commuter operations through an entity known as the Passenger Service Improvement Corporation . The new cars would be a production order based on 6 1958 Pioneer III type cars with improvements based on the lessons learned from the earlier design. A total of 38 cars were purchased for

1728-719: A severe rear-end collision in the vicinity of the North Wales station in 1980, which damaged the car beyond repair. On August 29, 2018, car #144 was heavily damaged by an electrical fire at Glenside station . A total of 120 new Silverliner V cars were built by Hyundai Rotem of South Korea , with the first three entering service on October 29, 2010. The cost for all 120 cars was $ 274 million, and they were constructed in Hyundai Rotem facilities located in South Philadelphia and South Korea. The last of these cars

1836-461: A split of two mountain ravines which were cleverly crossed by building a fill and having the tracks ascend a 220-degree curve known as Horseshoe Curve that limited the grade to less than 2 percent. The crest of the mountain would be penetrated by the 3,612 ft (1,101 m) Gallitzin Tunnels , from which the route descended by a more moderate grade to Johnstown . The western end of the line

1944-508: A stake in Madison Square Garden . The company began to acquire a portfolio of insurance companies in 1988. In 1994, the company reorganized as American Premier Underwriters , a subsidiary of American Financial Group , which continues to operate as a property and casualty insurance company as-of January 2024. Thomson (1808–1874) was the entrepreneur who led the Pennsylvania Railroad from 1852 until his death in 1874, making it

2052-594: A tunnel across the Allegheny Mountains , and canals down the Conemaugh and Allegheny rivers to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , on the Ohio River; it was completed in 1834. Because freight and passengers had to change conveyances several times along the route and canals froze in winter, it soon became apparent that the system was cumbersome and a better way was needed. There were two applications made to

2160-551: A year, then the B&;O bill would become effective and the Pennsy's void, thereby allowing the B&O to build into Pennsylvania and on to Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Railroad fulfilled the requirements and Letters Patent were issued by the Pennsylvania governor on February 25, 1847. The governor declared the B&O's rights void the following August. In 1847, the Pennsy's directors chose J. Edgar Thomson , an engineer from

2268-630: The Broadway Limited which became the most famous train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. This train ran from New York City to Chicago, via Philadelphia, with an additional section between Harrisburg and Washington (later operated as a separate Washington–Chicago train, the Liberty Limited ). In 1890, the Pennsylvania Railroad gained control of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (PCC&StL), itself

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2376-696: The AAR / FRA test site in Pueblo , Colorado for use in crash tests, while the remaining 2 Pioneer III/Silverliner I cars, 246 and 247, were donated to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg , but were scrapped in 2014. In 1963 the financial condition of the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads was such that neither was able to upgrade their money losing commuter operations on their own. As

2484-589: The Budd Metroliner . EMUs powered by fuel cells are under development. If successful, this would avoid the need for an overhead line or third rail . An example is Alstom ’s hydrogen -powered Coradia iLint . The term hydrail has been coined for hydrogen-powered rail vehicles. Many battery electric multiple units are in operation around the world, with the take up being strong. Many are bi-modal taking energy from onboard battery banks and line pickups such as overhead wires or third rail. In most cases

2592-592: The Budd Metroliner . T-1 was purchased by a private buyer in 2015 and moved to the South Carolina Railway Museum, to be converted into a lounge car. T-2 exists as an office for the AAFES warehouse in Lee Hall, VA. T-3 and T-4 are presumed scrapped, but T-4 is unaccounted for. Its whereabouts are unknown. In late 1967 SEPTA received an order of 20 additional stainless steel MU railcars from

2700-604: The Congressional Limited s in both directions were the first trains in regular electric operation between New York and Washington, drawn by the first of the GG1 -type locomotives . In 1934, the Pennsylvania received a $ 77 million loan from the New Deal 's Public Works Administration to complete the electrification project begun in 1928. Work was started January 27, 1937, on the main line from Paoli to Harrisburg;

2808-663: The Cynwyd Line . As part of the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 the United States Department of Transportation placed an order for 4 additional Silverliners for use as test vehicles to explore the feasibility of a high-speed rail line in the United States. Numbered T-1 through T-4, the cars were modified for operation up to speeds of 150 mph and were outfitted with various instrumentation to document

2916-690: The Georgia Railroad , to survey and construct the line. He chose a route that followed the west bank of the Susquehanna River northward to the confluence with the Juniata River, following its banks until the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains were reached at a point that would become Altoona, Pennsylvania . To traverse the mountains, the line would climb a moderate grade for 10 miles (16 km) until it reached

3024-560: The Hudson River tunnels . The next area to be electrified was the Philadelphia terminal area, where Pennsy officials decided to use overhead lines to supply power to the suburban trains running out of Broad Street Station . Unlike the New York terminal system, overhead wires would carry 11,000-volt 25-Hertz alternating current (AC) power, which became the standard for future installations. On September 12, 1915, electrification of

3132-690: The Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor lines. After Conrail was divided between the Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation , most of the former Pennsy's remaining trackage went to Norfolk Southern. The few parts of the Pennsylvania Railroad that went to CSX after the Conrail split were: After 1976, the Penn Central Corporation held diversified non-rail assets including the Buckeye Pipeline and

3240-686: The Senator from Boston to Washington. On July 1, 1869, the Pennsylvania Railroad leased the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway (PFtW&C) in which it had previously been an investor. The lease gave the Pennsy complete control of that line's direct route through northern Ohio and Indiana as well as entry into the emerging rail hub city of Chicago, Illinois . Acquisitions along the PFtW&;C: Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad , Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad, Toledo, Columbus and Ohio River Railroad, and Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Ashtabula Railway gave

3348-622: The South Side Elevated Railroad (now part of the Chicago 'L' ) in 1897. In 1895, derived from his company's invention and production of direct current elevator control systems, Frank Sprague invented a multiple unit controller for electric train operation. This accelerated the construction of electric traction railways and trolley systems worldwide. Each car of the train has its own traction motors: by means of motor control relays in each car energized by train-line wires from

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3456-589: The St. Louis Car Company for use on its Pennsylvania Railroad operated suburban lines, soon to be a part of the merged Penn Central railroad. The cars were built on a similar propulsion platform and with many of the same specifications as the Silverliner IIs including a nearly identical interior and the ability to run in multiple with the IIs. One major difference was the placement of the engineer's control station on

3564-581: The glass-reinforced plastic placards denoting the train route, the train route and destination are displayed on new colored LED panels on both the front and sides of the train, and improved PA systems allows the automated system to announce station names. The new trains feature enhanced security, with CCTV cameras that are able to broadcast over a proprietary wireless network to the Command Center at SEPTA's headquarters. There are three basic Silverliner V car types: 38 single cars, numbered 701–738, and

3672-565: The 17 Reading cars were numbered 9001-9017 and given Reading classification REB-13. There were also minor differences between the two sets of vehicles with the PRR units being fitted with only one overhead luggage rack, a bar pilot , a metal framed engineer's window and cab signals , with the Reading cars being fitted with a cowcatcher and twin overhead luggage racks. The first set of PRR cars, #201-216, were also equipped with bathrooms in place of

3780-554: The 1930s. Three times as numerous as the previous Silverliner trains put together, the Silverliner IV has been SEPTA's most common passenger railcar since 1976. Like the Silverliner II and III cars, the IV cars were owned by SEPTA and provided to the private railroads for use in their state-supported commuter rail operations until SEPTA assumed direct operation in 1983. The cars were ordered from General Electric and Avco. Aside from

3888-468: The 20th century, the Pennsy tried electric power for its trains. Its first effort was in the New York terminal area, where tunnels and a city law restricting the burning of coal precluded steam locomotives. In 1910, the railroad began operating a direct current (DC) 650-volt system whose third-rail powered Pennsy locomotives (and LIRR passenger cars) used to enter Penn Station in New York City via

3996-483: The 82 single-cab "A" and "B" cars which make up the 41 two-car married pairs, numbered 801–882. All of SEPTA's Silverliner V cars were taken out of service due to fatigue cracks in the trucks on July 1–2, 2016. This caused widespread disruption of SEPTA's Regional Rail Lines. As of October 5, 2016, the Silverliner V's have returned to normal service and SEPTA continued to reinstate every Silverline V car by November. In 2017, SEPTA announced that, along with procurement of

4104-645: The Delaware River from Philadelphia) to South Amboy, New Jersey (across Raritan Bay from New York City), as well as a newer line from Philadelphia to Jersey City, New Jersey, much closer to New York, via Trenton, New Jersey. Track connection in Philadelphia was made via the Pennsy's Connecting Railway and the jointly owned Junction Railroad . The Pennsy's Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road opened on July 2, 1872, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. This route required transfer via horse car in Baltimore to

4212-556: The IIIs either as solid sets or in conjunction with the IIs, the latter being more common due to that classes' larger size. By the late 2000s the Silverliner IIIs began to find themselves in the same position as the Silverliner IIs with increasingly unreliable components and leaking roofs. Starting in 2011 with the first deliveries of the new Silverliner Vs, those IIIs not already sidelined by mechanical issues began to be retired,

4320-551: The New York Central Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad absorbed the New York Central and eventually went by the name of Penn Central Transportation Company . The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) required that the ailing New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (NH) be added in 1969. A series of events including inflation, poor management, abnormally harsh weather, and the withdrawal of

4428-571: The PRR began passenger train service from New York City via Philadelphia to Washington with limited stops along the route. This service became known as the "Congressional Limited Express." The service expanded, and by the 1920s, the Pennsy was operating hourly passenger train service between New York, Philadelphia and Washington. In 1952, 18-car stainless steel streamliners were introduced on the Morning Congressional and Afternoon Congressional between New York and Washington, as well as

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4536-502: The PRR felt increasing pressure to update its fleet. In 1958 the PRR placed an order with the Philadelphia-based Budd Company for 6 Pioneer III MU cars in two subclasses to test out various options. Numbered 150 to 155 the even-numbered cars had fabricated truck frames and disc brakes , while the odd-numbered cars had cast steel truck frames and tread brakes. The PRR initially had hopes to MU cars such as

4644-479: The PRR with the remaining 17 going to the Reading. While some referred to the new vehicles as "PSIC Cars", the modern stainless steel body shells quickly defined the fleet and the name "Silverliner" was soon adopted. Differences from the earlier Pioneer IIIs included a single arm Faiveley pantograph, a state of the art propulsion system that made use of solid state phase angle controllers coupled to mercury arc ignitron rectifiers and higher powered motors. Like

4752-494: The Penn Central cars were renumbered into the series 400 through 460 to help keep track of which units had undergone the modification. When the Center City Commuter Connection opened in 1984, the Reading cars were converted to full train automatic door operation to take advantage of the high level platforms at the new Market East Station (now Jefferson Station) and others on the former PRR "side" of

4860-556: The Pennsy access to the iron ore traffic on Lake Erie. On June 15, 1887, the Pennsylvania Limited began running between New York and Chicago. This was also the introduction of the vestibule, an enclosed platform at the end of each passenger car, allowing protected access to the entire train. In 1902 the Pennsylvania Limited was replaced by the Pennsylvania Special which in turn was replaced in 1912 by

4968-443: The Pennsy owned 439 freight cars. By 1857, it had 1,861 cars, and in 1866, 9,379 cars. Freight equipment was either acquired new from builders or built by the railroad itself. The Pennsy acquired more cars from the railroads it absorbed. In some instances, privately owned cars were either purchased from a builder or railroad acquisition. One such example was the 1877 purchase of Empire Transportation merchandise and oil cars. By

5076-566: The Pennsylvania Railroad gained control of the Northern Central Railway , giving it access to Baltimore, Maryland , and points along the Susquehanna River via connections at Columbia, Pennsylvania, or Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. On December 1, 1871, the Pennsy leased the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company , which included the original Camden and Amboy Railroad from Camden, New Jersey (across

5184-453: The Pennsylvania Railroad merged with New York Central and the railroad eventually went by the name of Penn Central Transportation Company , or "Penn Central" for short. The former competitors' networks integrated poorly with each other, and the railroad filed for bankruptcy within two years. Bankruptcy continued and on April 1, 1976, the railroad gave up its rail assets, along with the assets of several other failing northeastern railroads, to

5292-508: The Pennsylvania legislature in 1846. The first was for a new railroad called The Pennsylvania Railroad Company to build a line between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The second was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), which wanted to build to Pittsburgh from Cumberland, Maryland. Both applications were granted with conditions. If the Pennsylvania Railroad did not raise enough capital and contract to build enough railroad within

5400-646: The Pioneer IIIs before them, the Silverliners offered their riders air cushion suspension , air conditioning, electric train heat and a nearly silent ride. With 150 hp more than the Pioneer III cars (550 hp total) the Silverliners could achieve a 1.7 mph/s acceleration rate which was quite higher than the older MP54s and multi-function couplers and disc brakes further improved performance. The 38 PRR cars were numbered in two series, 201-219 and 251-269 and given PRR classification MP85B, while

5508-419: The Pioneer IIIs in intercity service along its electrified routes and the cars were split between long distance and suburban duties. However, as testing went on they were soon limited to suburban service in the Philadelphia area when a full-scale production order of 38 PRR "Silverliner" cars were delivered in 1963. The Pioneer III cars suffered from a low capacity main transformer as well as gearbox issues and

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5616-404: The Silverliner IIIs worked trains running into Suburban Station . In addition to suburban duties the Silverliner IIIs were used on longer distance runs to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , replacing PRR MP54E5 and E6 cars. This was branded as "Silverliner Service" in 1970s Amtrak timetables, and was operated by Conrail along with the rest of the state-supported SEPTA routes. In 1984/85 eight of

5724-579: The Silverliner IV fleet was delivered in 1974–1975. The 6th car, which would have been #249, had already been written off in an accident by that time. While the other Silverliner models all came with similar GE propulsion gear, they could not MU with the earlier Silverliner I cars, which soon became the odd ducks in the SEPTA Regional Rail fleet. In the late 1980s SEPTA purchased a number of push-pull trainsets to provide enough peak period capacity to retire its remaining Reading Blueliners and

5832-529: The Silverliner IVs was briefly interrupted by the production of 70 Arrow II cars for the New Jersey Department of Transportation before the Penn Central received 96 pairs numbered 304 through 399. Finally in 1976 the Reading took delivery of a final batch of 88 pairs numbered 101 through 188. All the IVs were delivered with the circular SEPTA logo on the left, and the Penn Central or Reading logo on

5940-414: The Silverliner Is by the timetable that took effect April 1, 1990. Until 2000, the cars were kept in storage near Wayne Junction . Although there were plans to convert the cars into locomotive-hauled coaches, SEPTA finally decided to dispose of the fleet due to the expense it would have taken to deal with PCBs in the transformers and the lack of ADA compliance. Of the 5 surviving cars, three were sent to

6048-448: The ancillary equipment required per set) while allowing all cars to be powered, unlike a motor-trailer combination. Each car has only one control cab, located at the outer end of the pair, saving space and expense over a cab at both ends of each car. Disadvantages include a loss of operational flexibility, as trains must be multiples of two cars, and a failure on a single car could force removing both it and its partner from service. Some of

6156-419: The average capacity of a Pennsylvania Railroad freight car increased from 31 to 54 short tons (28 to 48 long tons; 28 to 49 t). This increased to 55 short tons (49 long tons; 50 t) in the mid-1930s and then to 56 short tons (50 long tons; 51 t) in 1945. By the start of 1946, the Pennsy's freight car ownership decreased to 240,293 cars and in 1963, down to 140,535. The Pennsylvania Railroad used

6264-403: The backbone of SEPTA's service plan with older equipment tending to be used on peak services only. Most SEPTA trains consist of a single pair of Silverliner IVs, with longer trains made up as needed. The single units are most frequently coupled to pairs to make 5 or 3 car trainsets, although single units are run alone on Cynwyd Line service. Only one car, #9020, has been retired as of 2015 after

6372-403: The batteries are charged via the electric pickup when operating on electric mode. EMUs, when compared with electric locomotives , offer: Electric locomotives, when compared to EMUs, offer: Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR ), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company , also known as the " Pennsy ", was an American Class I railroad that

6480-426: The boxier look and smaller side windows, the main changes between the new IVs and earlier Silverliners included a dynamic brake system, for which the resistance grids were fitted in the car's signature roof hump, and, for the Penn Central cars, a trainline automatic door system which removed the need for train crew to manually open doors at high level platforms. The Silverliner IVs were also the first to be delivered in

6588-455: The car ends, full-length overhead luggage racks on both sides of the cars, and rectangular interior door windows in place of round portal windows seen on the Budds. Since a letterboard was omitted, railroad identification on the car sides was provided by PRR keystone decals (later covered by Penn Central decals) at each end of the window band. Numbered 220 through 239, for their first eight years

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6696-455: The cars for boarding and alighting at stations with either high or low-level platforms, and an additional door adjacent to one of the quarter-point doors used at high-level platforms for faster arrivals and departures at the major Center City zone stations (University City, 30th Street, Suburban/Penn Center, Jefferson, and Temple University). They also feature wider aisles and seats, and dedicated areas for wheelchairs and power scooters. In place of

6804-633: The cars, numbers 232 through 239, were converted into a dedicated fleet for the SEPTA Airport Line . The Airport IIIs were wrapped in a bright yellow band (the color of the Airport Line on SEPTA signs and timetables at the time), and emblazoned with the logo of the Philadelphia International Airport on the fronts. Inside, larger luggage racks were provided along with a wider central aisle made possible by

6912-406: The company. The controlling, non-institutional shareholders of the PRR during the early 1960s were Henry Stryker Taylor , who was a part of the Jacob Bunn business dynasty of Illinois, and Howard Butcher III, a principal in the Philadelphia brokerage house of Butcher & Sherrerd (later Butcher & Singer). On February 1, 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with its longtime arch-rival,

7020-414: The effects of rail travel at such speeds. The most visible modification was a slightly streamlined slab end applied to the T-1 car to reduce drag during the high-speed runs. After the tests at least one of the cars was de-powered and used as a USDoT rail testing vehicle for some years afterward. The experimental Silverliners reached a maximum speed of 156 mph and were instrumental in the development of

7128-503: The electrified trackage are still in use, owned and operated by Amtrak as the Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor high-speed rail routes, by SEPTA , and by NJ Transit . The Pennsylvania Railroad's corporate symbol was the keystone , the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's state symbol, with the letters "PRR" intertwined inside. When colored, it was bright red with a silver-grey inline and lettering. The Pennsylvania Railroad bought its first 75 freight cars in 1849. Two years later,

7236-400: The end of 1926, it operated 11,640.66 miles (18,733.83 kilometers) of rail line; in the 1920s, it carried nearly three times the traffic as other railroads of comparable length, such as the Union Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. Its only formidable rival was the New York Central Railroad (NYC), which carried around three-quarters of the Pennsy's ton-miles. In 1968,

7344-476: The end of the century, a third and fourth track were added. Over the next 50 years, the Pennsy expanded by gaining control of other railroads by stock purchases and 999-year leases. At the end of its first year of operation, the Pennsylvania Railroad paid a dividend, and continued the dividend without interruption until 1946. The Pennsy's charter was supplemented on March 23, 1853, to allow it to purchase stock and guarantee bonds of railroads in other states, up to

7452-440: The end of their design life, but their lack of dynamic brakes and manually worked doors were presenting growing operational headaches. However a prolonged procurement process as well as delays in delivering the replacement Silverliner V cars resulted in the Budds lasting in service well into 2012, a run of nearly 50 years. The final run took place on June 29, 2012 with former Reading car #9010 running with Silverliner III #235 on

7560-441: The extra equipment needed to transmit electric power to the train can be difficult. Multiple unit train control was first used in the 1890s. The Liverpool Overhead Railway opened in 1893 with two-car electric multiple units, controllers in cabs at both ends directly controlling the traction current to motors on both cars. The multiple unit traction control system was developed by Frank Sprague and first applied and tested on

7668-468: The first passenger train, the Metropolitan, went into operation over the newly electrified line from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. On April 15, the electrified freight service from Harrisburg and Enola Yard east was inaugurated, thus completing the Pennsy's eastern seaboard electrification program. The railroad had electrified 2,677 miles (4,308 km) of its track, representing 41% of the country's electrically operated standard railroad trackage. Portions of

7776-682: The formation of Conrail in 1976, the Silverliners were operated by and wore the livery of their respective railroads, the PRR Keystone being replaced by the Penn Central "Worms" in 1968. After 1976 the service continued to be operated under Conrail, but was fully branded as SEPTA and would operate as such until the end of their careers. In 1989 the entire fleet was sent to the Morrison-Knudsen plant in Hornell, New York for

7884-526: The formation of Conrail. It reorganized in 1994 as American Premier Underwriters , which continues to operate as a property and casualty insurance company. With the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 and the beginnings of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in 1828, Philadelphia business interests became concerned that the port of Philadelphia would lose traffic. The state legislature was pressed to build

7992-399: The front car all of the traction motors in the train are controlled in unison. The cars that form a complete EMU set can usually be separated by function into four types: power car, motor car, driving car, and trailer car. Each car can have more than one function, such as a motor-driving car or power-driving car. On third rail systems, the outer vehicles usually carry the pick up shoes with

8100-544: The increasing age of the PRR's MP54 fleet, some of which had been in service since 1915. While 100 of the MP54s had been rebuilt in 1950 with increased power and air conditioning, the old cars still suffered from a small passenger capacity, high weight and poor acceleration among other things. As other railroads adopted new technology MUs like the New York Central ACMU and New Haven 4400 series "Washboards"

8208-547: The largest business enterprise in the world and a world-class model for technological and managerial innovation. He served as the Pennsy's first Chief Engineer and third President. Thomson's sober, technical, methodical, and non-ideological personality had an important influence on the Pennsylvania Railroad, which in the mid-19th century was on the technical cutting edge of rail development, while nonetheless reflecting Thomson's personality in its conservatism and its steady growth while avoiding financial risks. His Pennsylvania Railroad

8316-440: The left hand side of each vestibule which was to support single unit operations where the normal position of the engineer would block one of the two available entryways. The placement would also allow for one person train operation , although this was never actually carried out. Other differences included carbody sides without traditional railroad letterboards , wider stainless steel fluting , fiberglass cladding on portions of

8424-541: The lettering and outlining was originally done in real gold leaf. After World War II, the lettering was done in a light shade of gold, called Buff Yellow. For most of its existence, the Pennsylvania Railroad was conservative in its locomotive choices and pursued standardization, both in locomotive types and their component parts. Almost alone among U.S. railroads, the Pennsy designed most of its steam locomotive classes itself. It built most of them at Altoona Works , outsourcing only when Pennsy facilities could not keep up with

8532-547: The line from Philadelphia to Paoli, Pennsylvania, was completed. Other Philadelphia lines electrified were the Chestnut Hill Branch (March 30, 1918), White Marsh (1924), the main line to Wilmington, Delaware (September 30, 1928), West Chester (December 2, 1928), Trenton line (June 29, 1930), and completed on July 20, 1930 the Schuylkill Branch to Norristown, Pennsylvania, later followed by

8640-474: The line served the coal region of southern Illinois and as a passenger route for the Pennsylvania Railroad's Blue Ribbon named trains The St. Louisan , The Jeffersonian , and the Spirit of St. Louis . By 1906, the Pennsylvania built several low-grade lines for freight to bypass areas of steep grade (slope) and avoid congestion. These included: Some other lines were planned, but never completed: Early in

8748-464: The locomotives were painted in black, referred to as "True Black." The passenger cars of the Pennsy were painted Tuscan Red , a brick-colored shade of red. Some electric locomotives and most passenger-hauling diesel locomotives were also painted in Tuscan Red. Freight cars of the Pennsy had their own color, known as "Freight Car Color," an iron-oxide shade of red. On passenger locomotives and cars,

8856-679: The low-grade freight line from Morrisville through Columbia to Enola Yard in Pennsylvania; the Port Road Branch from Perryville, Maryland, to Columbia; the Jamesburg Branch and Amboy Secondary freight line from Monmouth Junction to South Amboy; and the Landover-South End freight line from Landover, Maryland, through Washington to Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Virginia. In less than a year, on January 15, 1938,

8964-657: The merged product of numerous smaller lines in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Commonly called the Panhandle Route , this line ran west from Pittsburgh to Bradford, Ohio , where it split, with one line to Chicago and the other to East St. Louis, Illinois , via Indianapolis, Indiana . In 1905, the acquisition of the Vandalia Railroad gave the Pennsy access across the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri . Double-tracked for much of its length,

9072-448: The mid-1860s, the railroad had 9,379 freight cars; a decade later, 32,718; the mid-1880s, over 49,000; 1896, more than 87,000. The Pennsy changed its car reporting methods around 1900. The railroads owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad system were now included in reports, in addition to the Pennsylvania Railroad proper. So, in 1900, the Pennsy had over 180,000 freight cars; by 1910, 263,039. The zenith of freight car ownership

9180-874: The more famous electric multiple units in the world are high-speed trains: the Italian Pendolino and Frecciarossa 1000 , Shinkansen in Japan, the China Railway High-speed in China, ICE 3 in Germany, and the British Rail class 395 Javelin. The retired New York–Washington Metroliner service, first operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad and later by Amtrak , also featured high-speed electric multiple-unit cars, known as

9288-624: The motor vehicles receiving the current via intra-unit connections . Many modern two-car EMU sets are set up as twin or "married pair" units. While both units in a married pair are typically driving motors, the ancillary equipment (air compressor and tanks, batteries and charging equipment, traction power and control equipment, etc.) are shared between the two cars in the set. Since neither car can operate without its "partner", such sets are permanently coupled and can only be split at maintenance facilities. Advantages of married pair units include weight and cost savings over single-unit cars (due to halving

9396-537: The new ACS-64s , SEPTA would look into long-term financing options for a future Silverliner VI. In a December 2018 New Jersey Transit board meeting agenda, procurement of 113 EMUs from Bombardier Transportation based on the Bombardier MultiLevel Coach was discussed. Included in the board meeting agenda was an option for SEPTA to purchase an additional 250 EMUs from the order. These cars will have USB charging capabilities, and be equipped with

9504-476: The next day, ending Pennsylvania Air Line service. In the early 1880s, the Pennsylvania acquired a majority of PW&B Railroad's stock. This action forced the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) to build the Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad to keep its Philadelphia access, where it connected with the Reading Company for its competing Royal Blue Line passenger trains to reach New York. In 1885,

9612-552: The other lines heading north from the city. On June 29, 1873, the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel through Baltimore was completed. The Pennsylvania Railroad started the Pennsylvania Air Line service ("air line" at the time being understood as a nearly-straight and nearly-flat route with distance similar to "as the crow flies") via the Northern Central Railway and Columbia, Pennsylvania. This service

9720-563: The overhead (catenary) wire high voltage AC to DC required to operate the traction motors) which were later replaced with silicon controlled rectifiers. A readily apparent external feature of the Silverliner IV is a windowed body panel plug in the middle of the cars on each side, a provision for high-platform-only center doors which have never been installed, in contrast with New Jersey Transit's similar, contemporary Arrow II and III cars which were built with such operating center doors. Internally, pairs of seats occupy this partitioned area which

9828-588: The painted and frequently rusting carbon steel railcars used by the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads between 1915 and 1936. Applied to the first large production order in 1963, the cars made such an impression that the name has since been applied to all subsequent MU classes purchased by SEPTA for the Regional Rail services. What came to be known as the Silverliner Is were a set of 6 pilot EMUs making use of Budd's prototype Pioneer III railcar design. The 6 Pioneer III cars were purchased in response to

9936-474: The railroad's needs. In such cases, subcontractors were hired to build to PRR designs, unlike most railroads that ordered to broad specifications and left most design choices to the builder. The Pennsy's favorite outsourced locomotive builder was Baldwin Locomotive Works , which received its raw materials and shipped out its finished products on Pennsy lines. The two companies were headquartered in

10044-440: The rest of the main line to Trenton, New Jersey. In 1928, PRR's president William Wallace Atterbury announced plans to electrify the lines between New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Harrisburg. In January 1933, through main-line service between New York and Philadelphia/Wilmington/Paoli was placed in operation. The first test run of an electric train between Philadelphia and Washington occurred on January 28, 1935. On February 1

10152-549: The right, of all car sides and ends, although the Reading black diamond logo was omitted (and the space left blank) on cars 129-188 which were delivered after the Reading Company was absorbed into Conrail on April 1, 1976. These logos remained mostly intact until 1983, when SEPTA took over commuter rail operations from Conrail and quickly began applying its current rectangular logo over all the others. The Silverliner IVs have never been officially rebuilt, but there have been

10260-560: The same media displays that adorn the Silverliner Vs. The VIs will be the replacement for GE's older Silverliner IVs running since the 1970s. In November 2023, SEPTA put out an expression of interest for contractors to build the Silverliner VI cars. They will be single level EMUs, either in married pairs, triplets, or quadruplets. Electric multiple unit EMUs are popular on commuter, and suburban rail networks around

10368-556: The system. In the late 1990s the fleet received its most noticeable upgrade with the original "ketchup and mustard" colored interior replaced with a softer gray motif as well as softer seating. Around 2004 SEPTA began to replace the cowcatcher pilots equipped on the original Reading cars with a bar type pilot to match those on the PRR cars. Starting in 2009 SEPTA began to replace the original Faiveley pantographs with more modern Schunk type units. The Silverliner IV fleet has provided service on all of SEPTA's Regional Rail routes, providing

10476-486: The use of plush 2+2 seating instead of the standard 3+2. The Airport IIIs were used in this service for a few years before being dispersed for general service to give SEPTA more flexibility in routing trains between routes. In the early 1990s the Silverliner III fleet was rebuilt by Morrison-Knudsen in a similar fashion to the Silverliner IIs. While able to run in multiple with the later IVs, SEPTA preferred to run

10584-626: The use of the inclined planes of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. In 1857, the PRR purchased the Main Line of Public Works from the state of Pennsylvania. This purchase included 275 miles (443 km) of canal, the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad, and the New Portage Railroad (which replaced the now abandoned Allegheny Portage Railroad). The Pennsy abandoned most of the New Portage Railroad in 1857 as it

10692-459: The world due to their fast acceleration and pollution-free operation, and are used on most rapid-transit systems. Being quieter than diesel multiple units (DMUs) and locomotive -hauled trains, EMUs can operate later at night and more frequently without disturbing nearby residents. In addition, tunnel design for EMU trains is simpler as no provision is needed for exhausting fumes, although retrofitting existing limited-clearance tunnels to accommodate

10800-471: Was 54.5 miles (87.7 km) longer than the old route but avoided the transfer in Baltimore. The Union Railroad line opened on July 24, 1873. This route eliminated the transfer in Baltimore. Pennsy officials contracted with both the Union Railroad and the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) for access to this line. The Pennsy's New York–Washington trains began using the route

10908-552: Was assisted by the Pennsy in the form of a guarantee of $ 500,000 worth of bonds. In 1856, a controlling interest was purchased in the Cumberland Valley Railroad and the Pennsy constructed additional lines in Philadelphia. In 1857, the aforementioned Main Line of Public Works was purchased for $ 7,500,000 ($ 245 million in 2023). The Empire Transportation Company was founded in 1865 by Joseph D. Potts and became

11016-493: Was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. At its peak in 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest railroad (by traffic and revenue), the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world, on par with the London & North Western Railway . Over its existence, Pennsylvania Railroad acquired, merged with, or owned part of at least 800 other rail lines and companies. At

11124-548: Was in his day the largest railroad in the world, with 6,000 miles of track, and was famous for steady financial dividends, high quality construction, constantly improving equipment, technological advances (such as replacing wood fuel with coal), and innovation in management techniques for a large complex organization. The railroad's other presidents were: The Pennsylvania Railroad's board chairman/CEOs were: The railroad's vice-presidents were: The Pennsy's main line extended from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1861,

11232-420: Was intended for passenger flow. The Reading got the first batch of Silverliner IVs in the form of 14 single unit cars produced during 1973. The first two (#9018 and #9019) were unveiled to the press on Thursday, February 21, 1974. These were numbered in series with their existing Silverliner IIs, 9018 through 9031. In 1974-75 the Penn Central took delivery of 34 single units numbered 270 through 303. Delivery of

11340-481: Was now redundant with the Pennsylvania Railroad's own line. In 1861, the Pennsy leased the HPMtJ&L to bring the entire stretch of road between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia under its control. The Johnstown to Pittsburgh stretch of canal was abandoned in 1865 and the rest of the canals sold to the Pennsylvania Canal Company in 1866. The main line was double track from its inception, and by

11448-416: Was reached in 1919 when the Pennsy owned a reported 282,729 freight cars. Steel in freight car construction began during the later part of the 19th century, when cars were now being built with a steel underframe and wooden bodies or were all steel. The Pennsy steadily replaced their wooden cars with steel versions until there were no more wooden cars by 1934. During the first quarter of the 20th century,

11556-589: Was received by SEPTA in March 2013, three years behind schedule due to a variety of production problems, resulting in contractually specified delay penalties against the manufacturer totaling over $ 20 million. Resembling a "stretched" Market-Frankford Line M-4 car or the M8 cars used by the Metro-North Railroad , the Silverliner V cars have three doors on each side: one each a quarter length from each end of

11664-562: Was simultaneously built from Pittsburgh, eastward along the Allegheny and Conemaugh rivers to Johnstown, while the eastern end was built from Harrisburg to Altoona. In 1848, the Pennsy contracted with the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mountjoy and Lancaster Railroad (HPMtJ&L) to buy and use equipment over both roads, providing service from Harrisburg east to Lancaster. In 1851, tracks were completed between Pittsburgh and Johnstown. In 1852,

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