The Pennsylvania Railroad Under Wire 4

The Pennsylvania Railroad Under Wire

On October 23, 1928, Pennsylvania Railroad president William Wallace Atterbury announced what would be the largest single electrification program undertaken anywhere in the world. The project, as initially planned, would cost and estimated $100 million and would take six or seven years to complete. But it cost much more and became much more than originally planned. By the time work on the project reached its peak in mid-1934, the railroad had 76 work trains and 12,000 men engaged in construction, and an equal number of employees manufacturing equipment and supplies.

When electrification had been completed, the Pennsy had some 673 route miles and 2158 track miles operating under electric power. The results of the project exceeded management's expectations: operating costs were significantly lower ($7.7 million in 1938 alone), running times were substantially reduced, and revenues were up.

Electrification of the Standard Railroad of the World is an amazing story recounted in the words of William D. Middleton (the man who “wrote the book” on Pennsy electrification) and historic photos from Kalmbach Publishing Co.'s David P. Morgan Library archives.