Map of Pennsylvania Railroad and connections

An early 1950’s overview of the network of the Pennsylvania Railroad, one of the transportation juggernauts of the 20th century.

This map was issued as a centerfold in a promotional brochure advertising the extensive passenger service offered by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The routes in operation are shown in bold red, stretching from New York to St. Louis. National parks and monuments are also highlighted and labeled. The verso features a number of photographs from locations serviced the by the Pennsylvania Railroad and extensive text praising the service of the line.

The image presents the company at the beginning of it’s slow postwar decline, when increased accessibility to automobile and aviation transportation siphoned off huge portions of the rail passenger service. The company merged with the New York Central in 1968 to stave off bankruptcy, but this failed and the majority of its routes were ultimately purchased by Conrail and Amtrak.