The Weathering Depot

I’m going to speak today about the PC system. A lot has been discussed about the Penn Central, good and bad. A lot of factors went into the reason and rhyme behind the merger that forged the PC. I won’t go into the history nor reasons for the downfall.

What I will discuss is why the system was vital to the country, why the formation of Conrail out of the ashes was vital, and why I think the PC is a good imo railroad  model, basically why I modeled it.

Penn Central served half the nation and into Canada with major lines that fed the industrial centers of the East, Northeast, and Midwest. Industries from docks to coal mines to auto and steel plants to defense plants. Penn Central carried hundreds of thousands of commuters daily, plus thousands of passengers on their myriad of passenger trains, at least for several years until Amtrak took over.

Penn Central had, like any other industry,  some bad actors just playing out their time until retirement, but the majority of employees were hard working, conscientious workers trying to make do with what they had after bankruptcy filing.

Penn Central was a railfans dream, even with their ten shades of dirt on their locomotive fleet. I should say ten different shades of black or Brunswick Green! They had everything from SW1’s to Metroliners to GG1’s and everything in between. Penn Central was still in many rural communities the lifeblood of the areas local economy.

This is one reason I model the railroad. One is I grew up around them, as they were everywhere in Ohio. Second, I rode their trains before Amtrak. Third, is again the fact they ran anything and everything. Finally, I wound up working ex-PC lines during my railroad career.

Here’s to a long lost but not forgotten railroad. Here is the link to their historical society:/https://www.pcrrhs.org/