Other Penn Central-Related Information:
This page is for other PC-related information not found in any of the other categories or pages of this site.
The Penn Central TODAY:
Today the PC is still in existence in many places. From abandoned railroad right-of-ways, to original and restored equipment still in use or on display, things from collectors, ex-employees, etc. Also the PC still lives within today's railroads that took over Conrail (NS & CSX), and Amtrak as well.
There are also museums and groups dedicated to the PC, a few other websites, and a historical society dedicated to the Penn Central. Although societies can be a good thing to help preserve the PC's past today, other people can also make their own dedication to preserving the PC by saving original equipment & other things, modeling the PC, sharing photos, etc.
MODELING THE PENN CENTRAL:
Modeling the PC can be very easy. Things to consider if you want to have an accurate(or close enough to) PC model railroad layout:
- have a mix of NYC, PRR, NH freight, caboose, and locomotive equipment running and in storage.
- have pred. RR cars w/ PC paint-outs
- let some of your tracks be not so straight and a little bumpy in some places (of course not ALL of their track was this bad like the typical inaccurate stereotype of the PC)
- have work trucks, etc. w/ PC logos on them
- have pred. RR work trucks, etc. w/ their logos on them
- you can model a certain era of the PC if you wanted to be more detailed
- do your homework to find out what equipment the PC actually had, and paint schemes, etc. (a lot of this information is w/in this site)
- add PC signs to PC buildings
- have proper automobile and trucks, businesses, etc. for that late 60s to early 70s era look
- and have fun & be glad about it
The Penn Central made an impact, as it has on a lot of people through the years, in many ways. This website owner/author grew up seeing the Penn Central, even though being very young-too young to take photos during the 1970's. Even as Conrail took over, the author still remembers PC painted equipment everywhere on into the 1980's, and some in the 1990's, mainly in OH, and some in IN, PA, Ontario, Can., from trips.
The earliest memory would be watching a PC GP9 or 7 switch PC open autorack cars in a small (industrial?) yard/siding in Orville, OH, across from the ex-PC/PRR Depot. The small but interesting logo on the nose of the all-black locomotive was an eye-catcher, resembling a "2" at 1st, but not really knowing what it was at the time. Not only seeing this logo on a few locomotives, but freight cars as well. This was the 1970s-1980s(left-over PC from CR). Even noticing an old PC green "Do Not Disturb" sign still being used, hung on an isleway wall of an Amtrak sleeper, being used by people temporarily in Bellevue, OH. And onto the 1990's seeing abandoned PC-painted cars neglected in a PC Yard (Givens) in Columbus, OH during a train excursion, and still seeing PC coal cars as common as CR coal cars during the 1990's in Sandusky, OH. Because PC was so large, it was everywhere-not uncommon to stumble across something marked PC even into the 1990's. A lot of it is gone today, but you never know what will show up even these days!
Brief Summary about the Penn Central
In-Depth Information about the PC
PC-Related Discussion Forum/Guest Book [For PC-related discussions, information, & questions among other PC fans & visitors.]
PC's Predecessor/Parent(NYC, NH, PRR) and Subsidiary Railroads, and Other Related Companies
PC Equipment & Other Sightings
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(C)COPYRIGHT
2001-2009pcrrusa; All Rights Reserved. This website, including all
pages connected with it, and the material within it, shall not be
reproduced nor used without prior permission from the author and
website owner. This site has no affiliation to the real Penn Central
Company (that now has a different name), but is privately made/owned,
and intended to help preserve the HISTORY of the PC RR. All info was
gathered from webmaster's own extensive research. <