Sheet#: D8e.1 Title: REALISTIC DATDATAASHEESHEETT OPERATION: ©NATIONALMODELRAILROADASSOCIATION PrototypePassenger Trains Updatedby: RossE.Pollock EVOLUTIONOFPASSENGEROPERATIONS OperationsSIG Updated: October1999 Passengeroperationsmaybeconvenientlydividedinto fivemajoreras: FirstIssued: April1961(D8a.3) Originally PhillipsHoughton Pioneer1830-1870 Compiledby: andCommittee PalaceCar1870-1912 Page: 1of9 Standard1912-1940 Streamlined1940-1971 Amtrak1971-current THEPIONEERERA Duringthepioneerera,trainswereshort,carswerebuiltofwood,overnighttravelwasunusual, andmosttravelwasincoaches.Throughcarsoperatingovermorethanonerailroadwere virtuallyunknownand,asamatteroffact,wereimpossibleinmanycasesbecauseofthechange intrackgaugebetweendifferentrailroads. Trainsstoppedbrieflyat"eatingstations"duringmealtimestofeedtheirpassengers,sothere weren'tanydiningcars.Manyrailroadsbuilthotelsatimportantstationsandjunctionpointsso passengerscouldbreaktheir journeyforagoodnight'ssleep.Thesleepingcarhadnotbeen perfected.Atypicaltrainmightconsistofoneormorebaggagecarsforthecarriageofpassenger baggage,mailandimportantless-than-carloadfreight,plusoneormorecoaches.Speedswere slow.Manypassengertrainsalsohandledfreightcars. Operationswererelativelysimple.Mosttrainsweredispatchedbytimetableonlyduringmuchof thisperiod.Ifasuperiortrainweredelayed,allopposingtrainshadtowaituntilitarrived. THEPALACECARERA TherapiddevelopmentoftechnologyduringandaftertheAmericanCivilWarchangedmuchof this.Thefirstcarbuiltexpresslyasadiningcarappearedin1868andbyabout1870,thesleeping carwascomingintogeneraluse.Trackgaugewasbeingstandardizedat4'-8½",makingthrough carspossible.Atfirst,therewerenumerouscompetingsleepingcarcompanies.Bytheendof thisera,thePullmanCompanyhadavirtualmonopolyonthisbusiness. In1864thePostOfficebegansendingmailbyrailandsortingitenrouteinrailwaypostalcars. Theexpresscompaniesbecameanimportantsourceofincome. Carswerestillbuiltofwood,butbecamelonger,biggerandheavierastimepassed,a ndtrains becamelongertoo,requiringlarger,morepowerfullocomotivestohaulthem.TheWestinghouse airbrakeandthemanualblocksystemfordispatchingtrainswerebothintroducedin1865. Togethertheseallowedsafemovementofmoretrainsatfasterspeedsoveragivenstretchof track. Trainsweredividedintoexpressandlocalwithcommutertrainsaddedforservicefromthe suburbsintothedowntownareaofmajorcities.Atypicalovernightexpresstrainmightcarrya railwaypostofficecar,severalbaggagecars(mostlyforexpresstraffic),acombinecarasa Sheet#: D8e.1 Title: REALISTIC DATDATAASHEESHEETT OPERATION: ©NATIONALMODELRAILROADASSOCIATION PrototypePassenger Trains Page: 2of9 PALACECARERA-continued smokingcarwithspaceforpassenger'sbaggage,severalcoaches,adiningcar,severalsleeping cars,andalounge-observationcarforfirst-classpassengers. Therewerenumerousexpresscompanies,eachoperatingoveroneormorerailroads,mostof whichinterchangedbothpackagesandentirecarswitheachother.Duringthiseraall-first-class trainsappearedonafewrailroadsintheheaviesttraveledcorridors. Local(oraccommodation)trainsmightconsistofacombinationrailwaypostoffice-baggage- expresscar,severalbaggage-expresscars,acoach-baggagecarasasmoke r,andoneormore coaches.Localtrainsdidnotnormallycarryfirst-classcars,andstoppedateverystationonthe line.Mixedfreight-passengertrainswerecommononbranchandlessermainlines. Commutertrainsbecamecommon.Manycarriedapassenger-baggagecombinecarasasmoker andtohandlethelimitedpassengerbaggage,newspapers,andsometimesmilk. Towardstheendoftheerathesteelunderframewasintroducedwhichallowedtheoperationof stillheavierandfastertrains. THESTANDARDERA WiththeopeningofthePennsylvaniaRailroadtunnelsundertheNorthRiverintodowntownNew YorkCit yin1912,fireproofcarswererequired.Oncethesenewer,safercarswereintroduced,the publicbegantodemandthatallrailroadcarsbeofthisconstruction.Bythe1920s,mostmainline passengercarshadbeenreplacedwithcarsofall-steelconstruction.Mostofthewoodencars thatremainedinmainlineserviceweresheathedinsteel,butwoodcarsremainedinbranchline serviceformanyyearsuntiltheywerebumpedbysteelcarsthatthemselveshadbeenreplaced bytheappearanceoflightweightstreamlinedcars.DuringWorldWarI,thegovernmentforcedthe amalgamationofthevariou sexpresscompaniesintooneuniversalcompany--theRailway ExpressAgency. Inthisperiod,trainsmightbedividedintoall-first-class(usuallyextra-fare),express,localand commuter.Mixedfreightandpassengertrainswerefastdisappearing. Theall-first-classtrainsgenerallyoperatedoverlonger,moreheavilytraffickedlineswithstops onlyatthemostimportantcitiesenroute.Theyoftencarriedthroughcarsforinterchangewith otherrailroads.Ontheeastcoast,entiretrainsoperatedinthroughservicefromBostonandNew YorktotheFloridawinterresortswithonl ychangeoflocomotivesandoperatingcrewsenroute. Thesetrainstendedtohaveaminimumofhead-endcars--justenoughtoservetheneedsofthe passengersonthetrain,andsometimesarailwaypostalcar.Therewasoftenacombination baggage-clubcarwithabar(andsometimesabarberandshowertoo)attheheadofthetrain. Thiswouldbefollowedbyseveralsleepingcars,adiner,moresleepers,andanobservationcar. Theobservationcarusuallyhadsomesleepingspace--opensectionsintheearlyyears,all roomslater--abarandlounge,andanopenobservationplatformattheend.Theop en-platform observationwasreplacedinmanycasesduringthelate1920sandearly1930swithafully enclosedsolariumcar.Astrainsbecamelonger,additionaldiningcarsandsometimesmid-train loungeswereadded.Theloungecarwouldusuallyalsohavesomerevenuespaceintheformof Sheet#: D8e.1 Title: REALISTIC DATDATAASHEESHEETT OPERATION: ©NATIONALMODELRAILROADASSOCIATION PrototypePassenger Trains Page: STANDARDCARERA-continued 3of9 8to10opensections.Daytimetrainswouldcarryparlorcarsinplaceofthesleepers.Ontrains whichtraversedlongerdistances,aparlorcarwouldbecutinbetweenmajorcitesthatwere servedindaylight.Passengerswhosetripincludedtravelatnightwouldrideinregularsleeping cars.Thesetrainswererealmoney-makersfortherailroadsandmanypresidentsreceiveda dailyreportontheirpremiertrainsshowingnotonlypassengerscarried,butthecauseforany delaysenroute(woetotheemployeewhocauseddelaytoanametrain!) Expresstrainscarriedmailandexpresscarsonlong- distanceruns.Someoperatedwithonlyan oldercoachasaridercarintendedprimarilyfortheconvenienceofemployees,butsomealso carriedcoaches,adinerandsleepingcars.Themoreimportantexpresstrainsmightevencarry anobservationcarattheendfortheuseoffirst-classpassengersandacombinecarforthe smokingcoachpassengers.Thesetrainsranonsomewhatslowerschedulesthandidtheall-first classtrains,withmorestopsandmuchswitchingofexpresscarsinandoutofthetrainatcities alongtheline.Inadditiontoarailwaypostofficecar,whichwasalmostuniversal lycarriedasthe firstcarofthetrain,theremightbeabaggage-expresscarusedasa"workingmailcar"withbags ofmailtobesortedbytheRPOcar'screwenrouteandspacetorestowsortedmail.Theremight alsobeoneormoresealedmailcarswhichcarriedpre-sortedmailandnewspapersbetween regularcitypairs.Expresswascarriedinbaggage-expresscarsorinfreightcarsprovidedwith passengertrucksandpipingforsteamandsignallines.Sealedcarsweredispatchedbetween citypairs.Oneworkingcarmightcarryanexpressmessengerwhoacceptedanddropped packagesatlesserstati onsalongtheroute.RailwayExpressAgencyalsooperatedexpress refrigeratedcarsforthedispatchofhighervaluerefrigeratedcargoes.RailwayExpresscars,and inlateryearsrailroad-ownedexpresscarsinREAservice,werefreelyinterchangedbetweenlines. PRRcarsmightbeseeninanATSFtrain;B&OcarsinanErietrain.Especiallyinthenortheast, milkcarswereanimportantsourceofrevenue.Inmanycases,baggage,mail,expressandmilk carshadregularruns. ThePullmanCompanyfoundthattheycouldmakemoneyonacaroperatingbetweenanytwo pairofcities(oreventowns)wi thanaveragepatronageofonly12passengerspernight. Hundredsofcarlinesweresetupfortheconvenienceofthesepassengers.Passengerswere abletoboardaPullmancarsittingonasidetrackatthestationatastatedtimetheeveningbefore theirtripandgotobed;thecarwouldthenbepickedupbyapassingtrainandoftensetoutagain atanotherstationdownthelineduringthenight.Whenatrainarrivedatitsdestinationoracar wassetoffintheearlymorninghoursPullmanpassengerswereusuallyallowedtooccupythecar untilamorereasonabletimeinthemorning. DuringtheGreatDepr essiontherailroadsbegantonoticethatcoachpassengersactually providedmostoftheirpassengerrevenuesandbegantopursuetheirbusinessmoreaggressively. Carswererefurbishedwithnicerinteriorcolorschemes,morecomfortablechairs,andair conditioning.Lunch-countercarsbegantoappearwithless-expensivemealsforcoach passengers.Luxuryall-coachtrainsbegantorunbetweenmajorcitiesonsimilarschedulesto thoseoftheall-first-classtrains. Inordertoprovidemoreefficientuseofdiningcars,theywereoftencutoutofatrainafterameal, oftenataverymi norstation,andthencutbackintoanothertrain(usuallytravelingintheopposite direction)forthenextmeal. Sheet#: D8e.1 Title: REALISTIC DATDATAASHEESHEETT OPERATION: ©NATIONALMODELRAILROADASSOCIATION PrototypePassenger Trains Page: 4of9 STANDARDCARERA-continued Localandcommutertrainsremainedaboutasbefore.Equipmenttendedtobeoldercast-offs fromthemainlinetrains.Whennewequipmentwasprovided,oftenitwasfittedoutmorewiththe ideaofdurabilitythanofcomfort.Duringthe1920s,theautomobilebegantocutintothe passengerbaseofthelocaltrains,aprocesswhichacceleratedduringthe1930sand1940sas thegovernmentpavedmoreandmoreroadsandmoreandmorepeoplecouldaffordtheirown cars. THESTREAMLINEDERA Streamlinedtrainsbegantoappearinthemid-1930s,usuallyusingnewlyavailablelightweight materials.Bytheendofthe1930s,i tbecameapparentthatthiswasthekindofequipmentin whichthepublicwantedtotravel.Asmoneybecameavailable,amassiveprogramtoreplace olderequipmentwithneworrebuiltstreamlinedequipmentbegan,generallywithdieselpower.