{"product_id":"railroad-atlas-of-the-united-states-in-1946-two-volumes-mid-atlantic-ny-new-eng","title":"Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946 TWO VOLUMES Mid-Atlantic NY\u0026 New Eng","description":"\u003cbody\u003e\n\u003c!-- HTML Generated by Auction Wizard 2000 - http:\/\/www.AuctionWizard2000.com\/ --\u003e\n\n\n   \u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n   \u003cmeta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0\"\u003e\n\n\n\u003c!-- AW2KLOT#:160817 --\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"width:98%;padding:2px;margin:auto;border:5px outset #673434;background-color:#FDF3D0\"\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"border:1px inset #673434;margin:5px;\"\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"width:100%;border:0px;padding:5px;\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"padding:5px\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:center\"\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial Black;font-size:1.5em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eRailroadTreasures\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial Black;font-size:1.5em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial Black;font-size:1.5em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration: underline;\"\u003eoffers the following item:\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:1.0em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\";padding:5px\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:center\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eRailroad Atlas of the United States in 1946 TWO VOLUMES Mid-Atlantic NY\u0026amp; New Eng\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:center\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eRailroad Atlas of the United States in 1946, A Vol 1 The Mid-Atlantic States by Richard C Carpenter\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eHard Cover\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003e296 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eCopyright 2003\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eCONTENTS\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eIntroduction ... vii\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eHow to Use This Atlas ... xix\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAcknowledgments ... xxiii\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eTHE ATLAS\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eKey Map3\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eMap Symbols and Abbreviations 4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eThe Maps5\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAppendix: List of Railroads in the Atlas ... 209 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eNotes on the Maps ... 211 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eReferences ... 223\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eIndexes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eCoaling Stations 227\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eInterlocking Stations and Former Interlocking Stations228\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003ePassenger and Non-passenger Stations 239\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eTrack Pans293\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eTunnels294\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eViaducts 297\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003e***********************************************************************\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eRailroad Atlas of the United States in 1946 Vol 2 New York \u0026amp; New England by Richard C Carpenter\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eHard Cover\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003e256 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eCopyright 2005\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eCONTENTS\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eIntroduction ... vii\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eHow to Use This Atlas ... xix\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAcknowledgments ... xxiii\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eTHE ATLAS\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eKey Map3\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eMap Symbols and Abbreviations4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eThe Maps5\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAppendix: List of Railroads in the Atlas ... 195 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eNotes on the Maps ... 197 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eReferences ... 209\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eIndexes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eCoaling Stations213\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eInterlocking Stations and Former Interlocking Stations214\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003ePassenger and Non-passenger Stations223\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eTrack Pans254\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eTunnels255\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eViaducts256\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003e**************************************************************\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eINTRODUCTION\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eI was driving across northern Indiana along U.S. 224, east of Huntington, on a trip home from Chicago in 1990. Looking out across the fields, I could see the distinctly visible high fill that had once been the roadbed for the double-track Erie Railroad, by then abandoned. I was following it out of the corner of my eye, as I am wont to do with old railroad lines, when suddenly it disappeared. The fill, which had been cutting a 15-foot-high swath across the verdant fields for miles, was completely gone. I could now look across flat sections of corn and soy as far as my eyes could see. There was absolutely no sign that this farmland had ever been interrupted in any way, never mind that it had watched, for more than one hundred years, the passage of thousands upon thousands of trains, from long, lumbering freights to such passenger trains as the New York-to-Chicago Erie Limited, the Atlantic Express, and the Lake Cities.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAs I drove on, I spotted one bit of evidence. It was almost paved over in a farmhouse driveway next to a fully grown cornfield. Four pieces of steel rail sat in the pavement, beginning and ending on each side. These four shining rails, now retired to a tranquil life on a picturesque Indiana farm, were all that remained-in these parts, at least-of the once mighty Erie Railroad. They bore silent witness to the golden age of American railroading, when lines like this criss-crossed the country carrying goods and people and when sublime stretches of summer-evening silence on the prairie were marked by the unmistakable throaty moan of the steam engine's whistle.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eI saw many other abandoned railroad rights-of-way as I drove across the historic, complex railscape of northern Indiana, Ohio, and on eastward into Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Somehow it occurred to me that I should not leave un-recorded or forgotten the existence of these many links in what had once been a United States railroad system totaling some 254,037 route miles. The story of American railroading in its heyday was, and is, a story worth telling. And I became determined to tell it with a clear, easy-to-read atlas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eIt seems particularly appropriate to document the railroad network that provided the steel pathway over which President Franklin D. Roosevelt's \"arsenal of democracy\" had transported the results of its overwhelming war machine. Mr. Roosevelt himself loved to ride the American rails in his private car, the Ferdinand Magellan.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eIt is my hope that, by producing a graphic record of this transportation network, present and future generations may learn valuable lessons from one of the most glorious episodes of our transportation history. And what better year than 1946, when the impressive system of American railroads emerged from its magnificent performance during World War II to face the challenges of highway and airline competition in the post-war era. This year marked a historic turning point in American rail transportation. In 1946, railroads were still the primary mode of intercity transportation. Indeed, the previous four years of World War II had increased their modal share of passengers and freight, due to gasoline rationing and its severe restrictions on nonessential travel as well as massive wartime troop and materiel shipments. But, with the lifting of wartime restrictions, the steady prewar trend from rail to highway transport and the growing demand for the speed afforded by the airplane would challenge and fundamentally change the American railroad network.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eThe year 1946 would also mark the beginning of the end of a long period of relative stability in the number of United States railroad companies. For more than a quarter century, between 1920 and 1946, only four national, significant railroad mergers and consolidations occurred. In 1923, the Nickel Plate Road absorbed both the Toledo, St. Louis and Western and the Lake Erie \u0026amp; Western; in 1938, the Duluth, Missabe, and Iron Range absorbed through consolidation the Duluth, Missabe \u0026amp; Northern, Duluth \u0026amp; Iron Range, Interstate Transfer, and Spirit Lake Transfer; in 1939, the Gulf, Mobile \u0026amp; Ohio absorbed through consolidation the Gulf, Mobile \u0026amp; Northern, Mobile \u0026amp; Ohio, and the New Orleans Great Northern; and 1945 saw the Gulf, Mobile \u0026amp; Ohio absorb the Alton through merger.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eOnly one more merger would take place before 1950, the start of what Frank Wilner, in his 1997 book Railroad Mergers: History, Analysis, Insight, has called \"the modern merger movement of 1950-1979.\" In 1947, the Chesapeake \u0026amp; Ohio absorbed the Pere Marquette. This modern merger movement would, by 1990, remove more than 80,000 route miles from the railroad map of the United States. In 1946, there were 137 Class I railroads in the country. By 2001, there were only seven Class I railroad systems in the United States and Canada. Many new \"regional\" and \"shortline\" railroads would subsequently be created from those lines not wanted by the merged Class I railroad systems. Some of those would choose to use their former historic \"fallen flag\" names, such as Wheeling and Lake Erie, Ohio Central, and Wisconsin Central.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eIn 1946, nearly every rail line, both main and branch, was served by at least one passenger train per day, which also picked up and delivered the mail. The east-west main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, through the center of the state of Pennsylvania, had some sixty-three daily scheduled passenger trains operating over its four tracks. Often these trains operated with several following separate train sections to accommodate the demand. Nearly all of them had names, some now famous, such as the Broadway Limited between New York City and Chicago and the Spirit of St. Louis between New York City and St. Louis. These particular trains were composed of Pullman cars only.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eIn 1946, all railroad lines carried freight, both car-load and less-than-carload, and they moved everything from massive electric generators and giant steel bridge girders on heavy multiwheeled flat cars, to a child's bicycle in a Railway Express car. Nearly every town of any size had its own freight agent, coal unloading trestle, and bulk delivery track. At nearly every junction between two or more railroad companies, specially designated tracks existed to permit the interchange of freight cars. The loaded car interline routing between different railroads could be specifically chosen by the shipper from a variety of published routes, while the return of empty cars usually followed a long-standing \"home route\" pattern devised by the railroads. If shippers or receivers delayed cars beyond the normal two-day allowance, they were charged \"demurrage.\" And each railroad was required to pay the car owner for every day one of the owner's cars was on line.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eMore than 1.3 million railroad workers were needed to manage this complex transportation delivery system. In addition to five-person train crews (often with a sixth, or \"swing,\" crewman added in some states when cars exceeded certain limits per train-a holdover from applying freight car brakes by hand!), there were station agents, signal tower operators and signal maintainers, ticket collectors, track laborers, roundhouse and shop workers, yard clerks, and train-masters. All of these employees, and many more as well, functioned and reported through a military-style chain of command to an all-powerful division superintendent.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eMy own memories of a typical 1946 railroad station scene may provide the reader with a more meaningful understanding of the feel of American railroading fifty-five years ago. It is important to remember that much of American daily life revolved around the coming and going of trains. If a train was late, people took note. The \"train whistle in the night\" caused generations of small-town young people to dream of moving to a better life-far away-often in the big city.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eLooking down the track, you would see that the rails were jointed, causing the \"clickety-clack\" sound when trains ran over them. The railroad ties were all made of wood, oozing with creosote preservative on hot summer days. Nowadays, modern trains glide over uninterrupted welded rail, sometimes supported by concrete ties. Overhead bridges were blackened with coal soot, unmistakable accumulated evidence of the passage of countless steam locomotives. These bridges were guarded with \"tell-tales,\" which brushed the heads of brakemen on car roofs, warning them to lie flat, lest they hit the bridge.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAlong the edge of the track, parallel with a neat, hand-raked line delineating ballast from cinders, stood a stately procession of telegraph poles. Each pole often supported five or more cross arms, each carrying from eight to ten separate wires. Many of those wires were owned by the Western Union Telegraph Company, and they provided the visual identification mark of a railroad line. Some were for railroad company dispatching and message circuits, others for railroad signal power supply.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAnd then there were the signals. Many were still of the upper- or lower-quadrant semaphore type, with red or yellow arms and white and black stripes. Many types of buildings-stations, signal towers, freight houses, water tanks, section houses, and tool sheds-most of them wooden, stood along the railroad tracks, each painted in the unique color style of its railroad. Often this was a particular shade of gray, brown, yellow, or green.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAt the typical small passenger station, the platform might be wooden, with a yellow stripe painted parallel to the rails to warn waiting passengers to stand back. The station would almost always have a bay window, from which the station agent could easily observe passing trains. There would likely be a train order signal on a high mast near this bay window, with brightly painted mechanical levers controlled by the agent. Train orders would be written on thin paper, nicknamed \"flimsies,\" in either three or five duplicate copies, depending upon the nature of the order. Communication at some stations was still by Morse code telegraph, with its clatter of dots and dashes, and radio was just starting to be used. But mostly, the telephone was in use, with its distinctive headset and mouthpiece on a pantograph-type extension.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eIf there was a signal tower near the station, the metallic sound of interlocking machine levers being pushed or pulled could also be heard. The imminent approach of a train would be announced within the tower by a distinctive bell, gong, or buzzer, depending upon the direction or origin of the train. At night, colored lanterns-red, yellow, green, and white-stood ready for instant use, but normally they were not visible through a window, so as to not give a false signal to trains. Both stations and towers were ideal places from which to watch trains.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eA visitor to a passenger station would see venerable wooden baggage carts, braced with cast iron straps, waiting to be pulled alongside an open baggage car door to allow the transfer of baggage, mail, and express. On the waiting room wall would be colorful posters and advertisements. Near the ticket window would be racks of multicolored railroad public timetables, all free for the taking. Air conditioning was provided by a slow-turning, electric ceiling fan. In winter, warmth was furnished by the pot-bellied stove. Refreshment was available from Chiclets, gum machines and a porcelain or shiny metal water fountain. Hard wooden waiting room seats were available, from which passengers could listen to the stately ticking of a standard railroad pendulum clock.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eMost important of all were the trains. In 1946, nearly everyone watched passenger trains. There were fast passenger \"limiteds,\" often speeding through, nonstop-baggage cars followed by coaches, then the dining car, with perhaps a brief whiff of charcoal smoke from the kitchen stove. Finally came olive-green Pullman cars, with maybe even an open-platform observation car, carrying heavy colored-glass marker lanterns to indicate the end of the train. But the real variety was provided by the long, sometimes slow freight trains-box cars, tank cars, cattle cars, yellow \"reefer\" (refrigerator) cars, gondola cars, hopper cars, flat cars, and even a few flat cars with highway truck trailers. And there was always a caboose, usually bright red, at the end of the train. Now there is only the winking flash of the \"end-of-train device\" fastened to the rear coupler of the last freight car.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eEspecially fascinating was the seemingly infinite variety of railroad names and distinctive railroad company logos and markings-the keystone of the Pennsylvania, the oval of the New York Central, the U.S. Capitol dome of the Baltimore and Ohio, the gracefully interlacing scroll of the New Haven, the black diamond of the Lehigh Valley, the shield of the Union Pacific, the \"Heart of Dixie\" of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, the \"Chessie\" cat of the Chesapeake \u0026amp; Ohio and many more. Then there was the unforgettable noise-the rolling, clattering, squealing, and straining of a long freight train.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Calibri;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAs you examine the multi-colored maps, read the station names, and trace the course of the active and abandoned lines of this railroad atlas, try to imagine yourself in this railroad age of fifty-seven years ago. Soon a steady procession of railroad mergers, as well as highway and airline competition, would cause most of the 1946 American railroad scene to disappear forever.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.0em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAll pictures are of the actual item.  There may be reflection from the lights in some photos.   We try to take photos of any damage.    If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad.  Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:center\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.13em;color:#CE0000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eShipping charges\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.0em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eUS Shipments:  Ebay will add $1.25 each additional items, there are a few exceptions.    \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.0em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eEbay Global shipping charges are shown. These items are shipped to Kentucky and forwarded to you. Ebay collects the shipping and customs \/ import fees.   Refunds may be issued if you add multiple items to your cart and pay with one payment.    For direct postage rates to these countries, send me an email.   Shipping varies by weight.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:center\"\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.13em;color:#CE0000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003ePayment options\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.13em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.0em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003ePayment must be received within 7 days. Paypal is accepted. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:center\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.13em;color:#CE0000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eTerms and conditions \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.0em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eAll sales are final. Returns accepted if item is not as described.  Contact us first.  No warranty is stated or implied. Please e-mail us with any questions before bidding.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:center\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family:Arial;font-size:1.5em;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;\"\u003eThanks for looking at our items.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\";padding:5px\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align:center;width:99.9%;margin:auto\"\u003e\n\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\n\n\u003c\/body\u003e","brand":"RailroadTreasures","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44242222481604,"sku":"334192135485","price":200.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2232\/7333\/files\/57_418615c5-368a-49c3-bf2d-415b5f5fa2bf.jpg?v=1727924755","url":"https:\/\/railroadtreasures.com\/products\/railroad-atlas-of-the-united-states-in-1946-two-volumes-mid-atlantic-ny-new-eng","provider":"RailroadTreasures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}