The ''Pittsburgher'' was an overnight limited

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

operated by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

over the Pennsylvania's Main Line. It operated from 1924 to 1964 and one of the most prestigious trains operated by the Pennsylvania and perhaps the premier train between New York and Pittsburgh.

History

The ''Pittsburgher'' began operation on January 14, 1924. The ''Pittsburgher'' was the premier Pennsylvania train operating between New York and Pittsburgh. Although not streamlined in 1938 as part of the " Fleet of Modernism", it was completely upgraded with streamlined equipment (but with no

observation car An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad Passenger car (rail), passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a plat ...

) at the express request of U.S. steel business clientele. Although the train was considered all- Pullman, it frequently carried coaches on the end for day travelers going to Pittsburgh and back. In 1944, the ''Pittsburgher'' was discontinued as part of a government order that prohibited the use of

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...

s between points less than apart so the government could free up sleeping cars for the war effort. The next day, it was reinstated as a day train between the two points. By late 1945, it was back to running as an overnight, all-Pullman train between New York and Pittsburgh. Service was discontinued in 1964, and its sleepers were transferred to the ''

Manhattan Limited The ''Manhattan Limited'' was a passenger train of the Pennsylvania Railroad which served the Chicago—New York City route. History The ''Manhattan Limited'' was originally the ''Seashore Limited'', an eastbound-only train which was rename ...

''.

Equipment

During the 1940s, the ''Pittsburgher'' was assigned lightweight equipment from a pool of cars built by

Pullman-Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

for the Pennsylvania Railroad immediately before World War II. These included City-series cars, with 18 roomettes; Brook-series cars, with 12 duplex single rooms and 5 double bedrooms; Imperial-series cars with four compartments, two drawing rooms, and four double bedrooms; and County-series cars, with 13 double bedrooms. The trains also carried a Colonial-series car with a drawing room, three double bedrooms, and a bar lounge. These were originally built in 1938 for use on the ''

Liberty Limited The ''Liberty Limited'' was a named train on the Pennsylvania Railroad. It ran from Washington D.C. to Chicago, Illinois, through Baltimore, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. It began running on September 27, 1925, as a replacement for the '' Washingt ...

'', ''

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

'', and ''

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that Charles Lindbergh flew on May 20–21, 1927, on the Charles Lindbergh#New York–Paris flight ...

''. The trains also carried heavyweight

baggage car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (American English), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (British English and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (Indian English) is a railroad car that is designed to c ...

s, a lightweight dining car, and westbound conveyed a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

sleeping car from the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

's ''William Penn''.

Notes

References

External links

''Pittsburgher'' brochure
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittsburgher, The Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad Railway services introduced in 1924 Transportation in Pittsburgh Railway services discontinued in 1964