General (train)

The General (train numbers 48 and 49) was the Pennsylvania Railroad's (PRR) number two train between New York City and Chicago. Only marginally slower than the Broadway Limited, it had no extra fare and for a time before World War II, carried more passengers than the Broadway Limited or the New York Central Railroad's 20th Century Limited.

General
Overview
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleMid-West/Mid-Atlantic States
First service1937
Last serviceDecember 12, 1967
SuccessorBroadway Limited
Former operator(s)Pennsylvania Railroad (1937–1967)
Route
StartNew York City and Washington, D.C.
EndChicago
Distance travelled907.7 miles (1,460.8 km) (New York-Chicago)
Service frequencyDaily
Train number(s)48 (Chicago to New York)
49 (New York to Chicago)
On-board services
Seating arrangementsReclining seat coach (1957)
Sleeping arrangementsRoomettes, duplex rooms, double bedrooms
Catering facilitiesDining car
Observation facilitiesObservation lounge coach

The General was inaugurated in 1937, and carried coaches and Pullmans. It received some new lightweight equipment in 1938 as part of the fleet of modernism,[1] but it was mostly heavyweight until 1940. It was the only "Fleet of Modernism" train to be streamlined without an observation car. It lost its coaches when the Advance General was inaugurated in 1940. It was re-equipped with lightweight sleeping cars from both the pre-war Broadway, and new cars from post-war orders. At this time, it also carried the Broadway's pre-war View series observation cars. In 1951 the General lost its all-Pullman status when it was combined with the all-coach Trail Blazer for non-peak travel periods only. In 1952 this consolidation became permanent, and by 1960, the Trail Blazer name was dropped.

In the late 1950s, the General also carried coaches and sleepers from Washington, DC, to Chicago via Harrisburg, when the PRR discontinued its Washington-Chicago Liberty Limited train.[2][3]

In 1967 the General merged with the Broadway Limited when that train lost its numbers and all-Pullman status.

Motive Power

Here is a list of motive power used on the General:

  • PRR GG1 4-6-0+0-6-4 electric locomotive (1937-1967, East of Harrisburg, electrified region)
  • PRR K4s 4-6-2 type steam locomotive (1937-1948)
  • PRR S1 6-4-4-6 type steam locomotive (1941-1946)
  • PRR T1 4-4-4-4 type steam locomotive (1942-1948)
  • ALCO PA passenger diesel electric locomotive (1948-1952)
  • BLW DR-6 passenger diesel electric locomotive (1948-1953)
  • EMD E8 passenger diesel electric locomotive (1948-1967)


References
  1. Welsh, Joe. Pennsylvania Railroad's Broadway Limited. Voyageur Press. ISBN 9781610600101.
  2. Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Indiana University Press. pp. 36–37. ISBN 9780253027931.
  3. "The General". American-Rails.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
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