PRR Rail Yard in Southwest
I am looking for images and/or layouts of the Pennsylvania Railroad rail yard that once existed in Southwest near the Bureau of Engraving and Printing near 14th and D Streets and the 14th Street Bridge. The Mandarin Oriental occupies some of the area currently. Any help would be much appreciated.
Franklin Noll
Consulting Historian, Bureau of Engraving and Printing
3 Replies
Post ReplyHi:
I did research on the PRR in Wilmington DE for a permanent exhibit on Railroading in Wilmington that the Friends of the Furness RR District installed in the renovated Biden Antrak Station when it was rededicated in 2011. The PRR docs I needed were in several places. Hagley Museum in Wilmington had some, the PA State Archives in Harrisburg hd some and the Historical Society of PA in Philadelphia had some--and that was only on the Wilmington stations and yards.
The guys who migth be able to hep you are the dedicated rail fans of the PRRTHS (Pennsylvania RR Technical & Historical Society) www.prrths.com Try Charlie Horan (charliehoran@verizon.net)
You might also contact Al Churella (Dr. Albert Churella, Southern Polytechnic State Univ) author of The Pennsylvania Railroad, Volume 1: Building An Empire (Penn State Univ Press, 2012). Although the book is a study of the business of the PRR he may have come across technical material in his very long research.
Hope this helps, Mary Anne Eves
A search of the Hagley Museum and Library catalog shows:
Pennsylvania Railroad Photograph Collection
Call Number: 1988.231
Location: AVD Stacks
Publisher: 1868-1973. approximately 6000 photographic prints : b&w ; mostly 8 x 10 in.
--- a very long scope and content note---
Access restricted; please contact staff in advance of research visit at research@hagley.org for instructions on how to apply for access to material. Indexes/Finding Aids: Indexes: Box list available in Pictorial Collections.
See: http://www.hagley.org/ and click research.
Matthew Gilmore
H-DC
The 1903 Sanborn map shows good details of the yard's layout. The map's available online from LOC. You want image 5.
Pairs of tracks are for handling cargo - team tracks, express, or milk.
David Ramos
http://imaginaryterrain.com