Catenary west of Harrisburg

Suppose the Pennsulvania Railroad had decided to undertake a comprehensive electrification of its main line from Harrisburg west through Pittsburgh all the way to Chicago?

The electrification of the northeast corridor, carried out piecemeal (more or less) during the 1930s with WPA assistance, came after the zenith of PRR steam locomotive technology / before full fruition of diesel long-haul operation. As such, with the birth of the GG1, electrification held decided potential advantages.

So: assuming it played out in 1938 and beyond, with 11000 volt catenary across western PA, OH, IN and into Chicago, whither the PRR through World War II and beyond?

Wouldn't THAT have been lovely!! GG-1's in Chicago . . . (sigh)

bobinleipsic

New York to Chicago in, what, nine hours?

And just imagine catenary on all four tracks around the Horseshoe Curve. Makes you wonder if the PRR might have undertaken some sort of crash program to develop brute-force electric freight haulers for wartime use...

I'm not sure exactly how economical it would have been. Traffic was a lot more dense out east (specifically in areas like the NEC) and not only that, but station stops were a lot more frequent as well - The faster acceleration of the electrics made them ideal for this. I don't think the extra expenditure would have been justified across the entire West End.

joeferrito said:

I'm not sure exactly how economical it would have been. Traffic was a lot more dense out east (specifically in areas like the NEC) and not only that, but station stops were a lot more frequent as well - The faster acceleration of the electrics made them ideal for this. I don't think the extra expenditure would have been justified across the entire West End.

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That's whole problem with HSR. It seems uneconomical, and people say they don't want it, until you build it and slash eight or ten hours from the run time from New York to Chicago. When people realize that HSR will let them travel 900 miles in eight hours instead of 20, all of the sudden, they want it and yes they will ride it. A good POD for the PRR wanting to do it, or at least think about it might be the 1948 refit of the 20th Century Limited. They decide in advance that they are going undercut the New York Central by stealing their passengers and their going to do by electrifying their main line from Harrisburg to Chicago and electrifying the Broadway Limited.