PRR P70 2
| P70 | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Pennsylvania Railroad American Car and Foundry Company Pressed Steel Car Company Pullman Company Harlan and Hollingsworth |
| Family name | P70 |
| Constructed | 1908–1929 |
| Entered service | 1908–1983 |
| Number built | PRR 1635 |
| Formation | Single car |
| Fleet numbers | PRR (original): 800-1265 (partial) 1266-1649 1652-1900 3278-3350 3365-3396 3400-3773 |
| Operator(s) | Pennsylvania Railroad Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines LIRR Penn Central Railroad Conrail New Jersey Department of Transportation Norfolk and Western |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | carbon steel |
| Car length | 80 ft 3 3⁄4 in (24.479 m) |
| Width | 9 ft 11 1⁄2 in (3.035 m) |
| Floor height | 4 ft 0 in (1.22 m) |
| Doors | 1 or 2, end vestibule |
| Train heating | Steam heat Mechanical/Ice Air Conditioning (as modified) |
| Braking system(s) | Pneumatic |
| Coupling system | AAR |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The P70 was the Pennsylvania Railroad's standard family of heavyweight intercity and commuter passenger railroad cars with 1635 examples being built between 1908 and 1929 in many different configurations. The class would undergo several rebuilding programs and were able to meet most of the Pennsylvania Railroad's needs for passenger rolling stock until the formation of Amtrak in 1971. Although the only significant non-PRR/PC operator was the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, small numbers of P70s would work on in commuter services in New York, Boston, and Chicago after the formation of Amtrak in 1971. The last example of a P70 left public service in 1983, but a significant number remain in tourist service or other forms of preservation.
Initial Construction
The construction of New York Pennsylvania Station required a new fleet of all-steel railcars due to the risk of fire in the tunnels and underground station. To complement the MP54 for Long Island Rail Road commuter service, the PRR developed a longer coach for use by intercity passenger trains using the new station. The new cars would have an overall length of 80 ft (24 m), but the passenger space between the vestibules was a hair over 69 ft (21 m), giving the new class the designation "P70". A prototype, #1652, was delivered in December 1907, and after being found satisfactory, an order for 60 cars was placed with American Car and Foundry Company, with a further 90 from Pressed Steel Car Company. Several hundred additional cars would follow from various car builders until World War I suspended production. Orders were resumed in 1923 with 659 more examples delivered through 1929. The final car delivered, #3773, was one of 12 produced by the PRR's own Altoona Shops.
A total of 1635 P70 cars were constructed to the same fundamental design, although the internal plumbing and wheel sets were updated as new designs became available over the 21-year construction period. The P70 came in all of the typical passenger configurations including coach, lounge, combine (baggage-coach), baggage, and mail. The P70 would serve as the default coach on all PRR passenger services, with 109 cars of various types being spun off to the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1934.
Early Modifications
In 1916, two cars were modified to serve "light refreshments". These would later be air-conditioned in 1937 before being converted back to coaches in 1949. An unknown number of coaches were converted into "smoking" cars, class P70d, while five coaches were converted into parlor-coaches in 1930–31. Cars in the sequences 3400–3623 and 3703–3760 were gradually outfitted with air conditioning. Known as "ice cars," they seated 76 passengers instead of the usual 80 to make room for the ice-based air conditioning system. In 1936, the "ice cars" would be upgraded to a more modern system using refrigerant and mechanical compressors driven from the wheels. All air-conditioned cars had their class designations marked with an "R". The final early modification was a pair of "broiler coaches" rebuilt in 1930 that offered hot food service.
Altoona Shops Rebuild Schemes
In 1936, the PRR constructed six prototype cars with a mix of modifications that would bring the fleet to a more modern standard as funds became available. Classed together as P70e, each car represented a specific rebuild "scheme," labeled Scheme 1 through Scheme 6, that trialed updated roofs, windows, lavatories, and interior fittings along with air conditioning if not yet fitted. Scheme 4 and Scheme 6 were the winners, with Scheme 4 targeting long-distance overnight travel and Scheme 6 daytime travel. The initially 40 Scheme 4 and 20 Scheme 6 cars were ordered from Altoona Shops, which was later increased to 244 and 440 cars respectively, with the program wrapping up by the summer of 1942. Although externally the 684 rebuilt cars appeared to be of the contemporary lightweight "streamliner" type with round roofs and larger windows, their underpinnings were still a 1908 design.
Scheme 4
- Number converted: 244
- Fleet numbers: 4360–4399, 4144–4399
- Car classes: P70gR, P70gsR, P70kR
Scheme 6
- Number converted: 440
- Fleet numbers: 3774–3984, 3200–3229
- Car classes: P70fR (1 vestibule), P70faR (two vestibules)
Between 1939 and 1942, the PRR's own Altoona Shops converted a further 16 P70 cars to round-end lounge-observation cars classed POC70R to ride at the rear of some of the railroad's high-profile express passenger trains. An additional two cars were rebuilt as class PLC70R mid-train observation cars.
1948 Scheme
- Number converted: 156
- Fleet numbers: 1600–1749, 1760–1765
- Car classe: P70fbR
After World War 2, the PRR implemented another P70 rebuild plan, but with passenger service now in decline, the scale would be more modest than the 1936 "schemes." Little would be done to modify the cars' external appearance, retaining the clerestory roof and narrow windows; however, the interiors would be brought up to current standards. Classed P70fbR, the 1948 rebuilt cars featured reversible "walkover" seats, new electric lighting, new lavatories, and the wheel sets replaced with smoother-riding designs. The plan initially called for 212 additional conversions, but this was soon scaled back to 156, with 78 completed in 1948 and the remainder from 1949 to 1952. An additional 40 PRSL P70 coaches were also rebuilt to this standard after an order from New Jersey to improve passenger service.
Final Years and Retirement
Beginning in 1953, the large P70 fleet began to shrink with unrebuilt 1908–1917 cars and later non-air-conditioned cars targeted for retirement after spending their final years in New Jersey area commuter and seashore services. The 1964 New York World's Fair provided a bit of a reprieve as stored Scheme 6 and Scheme 4 cars were given a light overhaul and reactivated for the surge, but as both long and short-haul passenger services were cut, this created a domino effect that quickly pushed out the most worn-out rolling stock. In 1966, the PRR carried out one last P40 improvement program with 94 P70fbR class cars being refurbished, and 21 of those converted into a 60-reclining seat format for longer-distance travel. At the time of the Penn Central merger in February 1967, only 211 P70 type cars were still on the books in 12 different classes. By 1970, the P70s were reclassified into three basic types, CA9 with ~72 walkover seats, CR9 with 60 reclining seats, and CS9 snack bar cars. Only 25 were repainted into Penn Central colors, and none were taken by Amtrak.
The last P70 coaches in service were all of class P70fbR and were used in commuter operations in Boston, Chicago, and Northern New Jersey. The Boston and New Jersey cars were run under contract with Conrail, and the Chicago cars on the former Wabash Railroad line to Manhattan, IL. The P70fbR cars in Boston and Chicago would be replaced in 1979, with the 18 remaining New Jersey cars being sold to the Adirondack Scenic Railroad in 1980. This left North Jersey Coast Line commuter club car #1734 as the final P70 in regular passenger service. Rebuilt from a regular coach in 1966, #1734 would serve until October 29th, 1983, when it rode behind PRR GG1 #4877 on the locomotive classes' final run.
References
- Simon, El (Fall 2025). "The PRR's Iconic P70 Coach". West Jersey Rails Quarterly. 31 (1).
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