Book ID: CBB979658817

Branch Line Empires: The Pennsylvania and the New York Central Railroads (2017)

unapi

Bezilla, Michael (Author)


Indiana University Press


Publication Date: 2017
Edition Details: Book Series: Railroads past and present
Physical Details: xv, 369 pages, bibliography, index
Language: English

The Pennsylvania and the New York Central railroads helped to develop Central Pennsylvania as the largest source of bituminous coal for the nation. By the late 19th century, the two lines were among America's largest businesses and would soon become legendary archrivals. The PRR first arrived in the 1860s. Within a few years, it was sourcing as much as four million tons of coal annually from Centre County and the Moshannon Valley and would continue do so for a quarter-century. The New York Central, through its Beech Creek Railroad affiliate, invaded the region in the 1880s, first seeking a dependable, long-term source of coal to fuel its locomotives but soon aggressively attempting to break its rival's lock on transporting the area's immense wealth of mineral and forest products. Beginning around 1900, the two companies transitioned from an era of growth and competition to a time when each tacitly recognized the other's domain and sought to achieve maximum operating efficiencies by adopting new technology such as air brakes, automatic couplers, all-steel cars, and diesel locomotives. Over the next few decades, each line began to face common problems in the form of competition from other forms of transportation and government regulation; in 1968 the two businesses merged. Branch Line Empires offers a thorough and captivating analysis of how a changing world turned competition into cooperation between two railroad industry titans. (Worldcat)

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Reviewed By

Review Kurt R. Bell (Fall-Winter 2018) Review of "Branch Line Empires: The Pennsylvania and the New York Central Railroads". Railroad History (pp. 110-111). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB979658817/

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Authors & Contributors
Churella, Albert J
Welsh, Joe
Goldfeder, Ron
Rauch, Gary
Robinson, Vincent G.
Sundman, Jim
Concepts
Railroads
Land transportation
Pictorial works
Photography of railroads
Railroads, Local and light
Management; administration
Time Periods
20th century
19th century
20th century, early
Places
United States
Pennsylvania (U.S.)
Union Station (Washington, D.C.)
Midwestern states (U.S.)
Oregon (U.S.)
Chicago (Illinois, U.S.)
Institutions
Pennsylvania Railroad
New York Central Railway
Grand Trunk Western Railway Company
Penn Central Transportation Company
East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company
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