PRR MP54
Encyclopedia
The Pennsylvania Railroad
's MP54 class of electric multiple unit
cars was their first and largest class of this type of car. They were initially built for the original Philadelphia-based network of electrified suburban lines and were eventually used throughout the railroad's electrified area. They became a tradition during their long years of service and were known as "red cars" or "red rattlers".
and East River
s and build Penn Station
, the PRR announced that all new passenger cars would be made of steel and that wooden cars would not be allowed in the tunnels due to the hazard of fire. A design for a steel suburban car with a 54 ft. passenger compartment, 64 ft. overall length, and 72 seats was already under development, along with one for a corresponding passenger-baggage combination car. Anticipating that many of the cars would eventually be used in electrically powered multiple-unit (MU) services, the cars were designed to accommodate electrical equipment and were designated MP54 where the M is for motor and the P is for passenger.
Additional types of these cars were developed, all with the same overall length, body shape, and characteristic round end windows often referred to as porthole or owl-eyed windows and large roof-level headlights. The passenger-baggage combination cars (52 seats) were designated MPB54. In 1911, baggage cars with 62 ft. baggage compartments were added and designated MB62. In 1913, baggage-mail cars with the same dimensions were added and designated MBM62. In 1914, passenger-baggage combination cars with longer baggage compartments and 40 seats were added and designated MPB54B. In 1915, passenger-baggage-mail combination cars with 24 seats were added and designated MPBM54.
(LIRR) in 1908. They were used for a while in non-electrified service and then were electrified with 650-volt direct current
(DC) power delivered by third rail
, so that they would be available for service into Penn Station. Simultaneously, the same electrical system was being installed for use in the Hudson River tunnels and west to Manhattan Transfer
, just east of Newark
.
In 1910 the PRR received its first group of MP54-type cars. Six of the coaches and two of the combination cars were provided with DC electrical equipment, and the rest were for service in trains pulled by steam or electric locomotives.
Penn Station opened September 8, 1910, with service to Long Island points being provided by LIRR MP54 cars. PRR service began November 29, 1910 primarily using electric locomotives
. The eight electrified PRR MP54 cars were used for shuttle service between Penn Station and Manhattan Transfer to connect with PRR trains going to or from Exchange Place
in Jersey City. This shuttle service ended in 1922, and the cars were sent to the LIRR.
(AC) at 11,000 volts and 25 cycles, starting with the suburban service along the Main Line
between Philadelphia and Paoli
. This project was authorized soon thereafter. In 1914 the PRR started adding AC electrical equipment to 93 MP54-type cars at the Altoona shops
for use in this service. Each car received a pantograph
, a transformer
, a power truck
, a motorman's cab and controls at each end, and MU circuits. These cars were then designated MP54E to distinguish them from non-electrified cars. As improved electrical equipment was developed in later years, a numeral was added to signify the type of this equipment, such as MP54E2.
The Paoli line opened with electrical service in 1915 with great success, and other Philadelphia suburban lines were electrified in succeeding years. By 1933 the entire PRR line from Philadelphia to Penn Station had been provided with AC electrification and the lines from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.
and Harrisburg were subsequently electrified as well. MP54 cars then provided local service throughout this area. Large numbers of MP54 MU cars were obtained both by electrifying existing non-electrified MP54 cars and by purchasing and building entirely new cars.
In time the need to change the car designations to distinguish between the non-electrified and electrified cars other than by adding an E became apparent, and it was decided to make the initial M be a "small" capital letter for the non-electrified cars. Small capital letters are awkward to use, so many books have used the LIRR scheme of omitting the initial M for the non-electrified cars (P54) while less commonly a lower-case m is used instead of the small capital (mP54).
, New Jersey Department of Transportation
, and then SEPTA and New Jersey Transit
service. They wore several PRR Tuscan paint schemes as well as Dark Green with white lettering in PC times and a few were painted in white with blue and red stripes during the SEPTA era. Three cars served Washington, D.C.'s Union Station
yards in the blue and white scheme of the Washington Terminal. The MU coaches were assigned to commuter service along both the Keystone Corridor
on the Main Line and the Northeast Corridor
. They were also found on the Perth Amboy and Woodbridge Railroad
taking passengers to and from South Amboy, New Jersey
where the New York and Long Branch Railroad
began. A set of MP54 cars also served as the shuttle between Princeton Junction
and Princeton
, and was known to generations of Princeton students, residents and visitors as the "dinky" or the "PJ&B"
(Princeton Junction and Back). For popular events, particularly the Army-Navy football games
in Philadelphia, MP54 cars were used to make up some of the special trains to provide the needed transportation. During World War II, the PRR was often short of passenger equipment on weekends so trains of MP54 cars were used as advance sections of long-distance trains in the electrified PRR area. During these years the PRR also used solid trains of MB62 and MBM62 cars to carry express from Penn Station to various locations. In the days of Penn Central the MP54s ventured onto former New Haven tracks. Today there are very few MP54s still in existence.
Steam-hauled mP54 cars served well into the 1950s alongside their MU siblings. While these cars were more commonly seen in commuter service in the Pittsburgh area, they were also used over the entire PRR and perhaps even off-line in troop train service during World War II. Also during this time, several combine style cars were converted to completely coach seating by the addition of seats and porthole windows to the baggage and mail sections. Two of these converted cars were sold the Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad
after the war.
MP54 cars were made in large numbers and were very efficient in transporting large numbers of people. Between 1915 and 1939 the PRR made or purchased 432 cars of the MP54 type. Starting in 1932, a number of "bride and groom" sets were added by semi-permanently coupling higher-powered MP54 and MPB54B cars to unpowered MP54T and MBM62T cars, where the T is for trailer. In 1950, faced with the need for expensive new equipment for unprofitable suburban service, the PRR decided instead to extend the life of the MP54 cars by rebuilding 50 of the powered cars with new equipment at the Wilmington shops and rebuilding 49 more mP54 coaches and 1 MP54T coach, also with new equipment, in the Altoona shops, thus expanding the total number of MP54 cars of all types over the years to 481, consisting of 405 MP54, 42 MP54T, 10 MPB54B, 9 MPB54, 7 MB62, 4 MBM62, and 4 MBM62T cars.
, B&M (Boston and Maine), Erie
, Lackawanna
, NYS&W (New York Susquehanna and Western, Susquehanna), Piedmont and Northern
, Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines
, and Tuckerton
. Additional road names reported as possible: CR (Conrail), Union Transportation (Pemberton & Hightstown)
, Midland Continental (combine), Consolidades de Cuba and the Ligonier Valley Railroad
.
, A PRR subsidiary, (later merged into the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines), began electrified service from Camden
to Atlantic City and Millville
in 1906 using wooden cars and a 650-volt DC power supply delivered by third rail in most places and trolley pole
s in a few areas. In 1907 some porthole-window cars, designated MP2, were acquired which were of wooden construction with steel ends, had passenger compartments 46 ft. long, overall length 55 ft., 58 seats, and were otherwise similar to the MP54 design. In 1912, the PRR sent some additional cars to the system, which were (steel) DC-equipped MP54 cars designated MP54d.
The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad obtained some cars with porthole windows in 1911, designated MP38, for their line to Newark
. The cars were partly owned by PRR, were painted in PRR colors, had 46 ft. passenger compartments, 48 ft. overall length, 44 seats, and had additional center-entrance doors.
Between 1908 and 1930, the LIRR obtained 923 MP54-type cars, followed during 1932-1948 by 63 similar longer bilevel cars designated MP70 with 70 ft. passenger compartment, 80 ft. overall length, and 134 seats. Between 1953 and 1963, 190 porthole-window cars of a different design designated MP72 were obtained; some of these cars also served on the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway. The LIRR used a 650-volt DC power supply with third rail current collection.
The cars on the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway
had porthole windows, 70 ft. overall length, 78 or 80 seats, and additional center-entrance doors and began service in 1912.
Starting in 1912, porthole windows were used in large Southern Pacific Railroad
cars in the San Francisco East Bay region
and the Marin County region
north of San Francisco, and in more standard-size cars in the Portland, Oregon region. The San Francisco region cars, designated 58-EMC, had 58 ft. passenger compartments, 72 ft. overall length, and 3-2 seating with 116 seats, while the Portland region cars, designated 47-ELMC, had 47 ft. passenger compartments, 56 ft. overall length, and 2-2 seating with 60 seats. Many of these cars later operated on Pacific Electric in the Los Angeles region, where the larger type were extensively remodeled to have 2-2 seating with 80 seats.
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
's MP54 class of electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
cars was their first and largest class of this type of car. They were initially built for the original Philadelphia-based network of electrified suburban lines and were eventually used throughout the railroad's electrified area. They became a tradition during their long years of service and were known as "red cars" or "red rattlers".
Steel suburban cars
In 1906, during the PRR construction project to build tunnels under the HudsonHudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
and East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
s and build Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station
Pennsylvania Station is a label first applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.-New York City:...
, the PRR announced that all new passenger cars would be made of steel and that wooden cars would not be allowed in the tunnels due to the hazard of fire. A design for a steel suburban car with a 54 ft. passenger compartment, 64 ft. overall length, and 72 seats was already under development, along with one for a corresponding passenger-baggage combination car. Anticipating that many of the cars would eventually be used in electrically powered multiple-unit (MU) services, the cars were designed to accommodate electrical equipment and were designated MP54 where the M is for motor and the P is for passenger.
Additional types of these cars were developed, all with the same overall length, body shape, and characteristic round end windows often referred to as porthole or owl-eyed windows and large roof-level headlights. The passenger-baggage combination cars (52 seats) were designated MPB54. In 1911, baggage cars with 62 ft. baggage compartments were added and designated MB62. In 1913, baggage-mail cars with the same dimensions were added and designated MBM62. In 1914, passenger-baggage combination cars with longer baggage compartments and 40 seats were added and designated MPB54B. In 1915, passenger-baggage-mail combination cars with 24 seats were added and designated MPBM54.
Early use of MP54 cars
The first group of MP54 cars was delivered to the Long Island Rail RoadLong Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
(LIRR) in 1908. They were used for a while in non-electrified service and then were electrified with 650-volt direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
(DC) power delivered by third rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
, so that they would be available for service into Penn Station. Simultaneously, the same electrical system was being installed for use in the Hudson River tunnels and west to Manhattan Transfer
Manhattan Transfer (PRR station)
Manhattan Transfer was a passenger station in Harrison, New Jersey, east of Newark, 8.8 miles west of New York Penn Station on the Pennsylvania Railroad main line, now Amtrak's Northeast Corridor...
, just east of Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
.
In 1910 the PRR received its first group of MP54-type cars. Six of the coaches and two of the combination cars were provided with DC electrical equipment, and the rest were for service in trains pulled by steam or electric locomotives.
Penn Station opened September 8, 1910, with service to Long Island points being provided by LIRR MP54 cars. PRR service began November 29, 1910 primarily using electric locomotives
PRR DD1
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class DD1 were semi-permanently coupled pairs of third rail direct current electric locomotives built for the railroad's initial New York-area electrification. They operated between Manhattan Transfer and Pennsylvania Station in New York City, and from there to the...
. The eight electrified PRR MP54 cars were used for shuttle service between Penn Station and Manhattan Transfer to connect with PRR trains going to or from Exchange Place
Exchange Place (PRR station)
The Pennsylvania Railroad Station was the intermodal passenger terminal for the Pennsylvania Railroad's vast holdings on the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey. By the 1920s the station was called Exchange Place in response to local nomenclature...
in Jersey City. This shuttle service ended in 1922, and the cars were sent to the LIRR.
Extensive alternating current electrification
In late 1912, PRR engineers recommended large-scale electrification of PRR lines with alternating currentAlternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
(AC) at 11,000 volts and 25 cycles, starting with the suburban service along the Main Line
Pennsylvania Main Line
The Main Line is an unofficial historical and socio-cultural region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, comprising a collection of affluent towns built along the old Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad which ran northwest from downtown Philadelphia parallel to Lancaster Avenue , a road...
between Philadelphia and Paoli
Paoli, Pennsylvania
Paoli is a census-designated place in Chester County near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated in portions of two townships: Tredyffrin and Willistown...
. This project was authorized soon thereafter. In 1914 the PRR started adding AC electrical equipment to 93 MP54-type cars at the Altoona shops
Altoona Works
Altoona Works is a large railroad industrial complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to supply the railroad with locomotives, railroad cars and related equipment. For many years it was the largest railroad shop complex in the world.-History:In 1849, PRR...
for use in this service. Each car received a pantograph
Pantograph (rail)
A pantograph for rail lines is a hinged electric-rod device that collects electric current from overhead lines for electric trains or trams. The pantograph typically connects to a one-wire line, with the track acting as the ground wire...
, a transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
, a power truck
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
, a motorman's cab and controls at each end, and MU circuits. These cars were then designated MP54E to distinguish them from non-electrified cars. As improved electrical equipment was developed in later years, a numeral was added to signify the type of this equipment, such as MP54E2.
The Paoli line opened with electrical service in 1915 with great success, and other Philadelphia suburban lines were electrified in succeeding years. By 1933 the entire PRR line from Philadelphia to Penn Station had been provided with AC electrification and the lines from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Harrisburg were subsequently electrified as well. MP54 cars then provided local service throughout this area. Large numbers of MP54 MU cars were obtained both by electrifying existing non-electrified MP54 cars and by purchasing and building entirely new cars.
In time the need to change the car designations to distinguish between the non-electrified and electrified cars other than by adding an E became apparent, and it was decided to make the initial M be a "small" capital letter for the non-electrified cars. Small capital letters are awkward to use, so many books have used the LIRR scheme of omitting the initial M for the non-electrified cars (P54) while less commonly a lower-case m is used instead of the small capital (mP54).
Long and heavy use of the many MP54 cars
The MP54 cars ran from 1915 until 1980 on many lines, through many years of PRR service and into Penn Central, ConrailConsolidated Rail Corporation
The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail , was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. The federal government created it to take over the potentially profitable lines of bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and...
, New Jersey Department of Transportation
New Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey. It is headed by the Commissioner of Transportation...
, and then SEPTA and New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
service. They wore several PRR Tuscan paint schemes as well as Dark Green with white lettering in PC times and a few were painted in white with blue and red stripes during the SEPTA era. Three cars served Washington, D.C.'s Union Station
Union Station (Washington, D.C.)
Washington Union Station is a train station and leisure destination visited by 32 million people each year in the center of Washington, D.C. The train station is served by Amtrak, MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter rail services as well as by Washington Metro subway trains and local buses...
yards in the blue and white scheme of the Washington Terminal. The MU coaches were assigned to commuter service along both the Keystone Corridor
Keystone Corridor
The Keystone Corridor is a Federal Railroad Administration "designated high speed corridor" with a 349-mile railroad line between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a top speed of...
on the Main Line and the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
. They were also found on the Perth Amboy and Woodbridge Railroad
Perth Amboy and Woodbridge Railroad
The Perth Amboy and Wooodbridge Railroad was a railroad operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The main line began along the Pennsy main at Rahway, New Jersey. The line was only 6 miles long and was electrified in the year 1935. The line ended at the now closed Essay Tower in South Amboy, New...
taking passengers to and from South Amboy, New Jersey
South Amboy, New Jersey
South Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city population was 7,913.South Amboy, and Perth Amboy across the Raritan River, are collectively referred to as The Amboys...
where the New York and Long Branch Railroad
New York and Long Branch Railroad
The New York and Long Branch Railroad was a railroad in central New Jersey, running from Bay Head Junction in Bay Head to Perth Amboy, where it connected to the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad. The railroad was jointly owned and operated by the Pennsylvania...
began. A set of MP54 cars also served as the shuttle between Princeton Junction
Princeton Junction (NJT station)
Princeton Junction Station at West Windsor is a New Jersey Transit and Amtrak rail station on the Northeast Corridor located in Princeton Junction, an area within West Windsor Township in New Jersey, USA...
and Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, and was known to generations of Princeton students, residents and visitors as the "dinky" or the "PJ&B"
Princeton Branch
The Princeton Branch is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line is a short branch of the Northeast Corridor Line, running from Princeton Junction northwest to Princeton with no intermediate stops...
(Princeton Junction and Back). For popular events, particularly the Army-Navy football games
Army-Navy Game
The Army–Navy Game is an an American college football rivalry game between the teams of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. The USMA team, "Army", and the USNA team, "Navy", each represent their services' oldest...
in Philadelphia, MP54 cars were used to make up some of the special trains to provide the needed transportation. During World War II, the PRR was often short of passenger equipment on weekends so trains of MP54 cars were used as advance sections of long-distance trains in the electrified PRR area. During these years the PRR also used solid trains of MB62 and MBM62 cars to carry express from Penn Station to various locations. In the days of Penn Central the MP54s ventured onto former New Haven tracks. Today there are very few MP54s still in existence.
Steam-hauled mP54 cars served well into the 1950s alongside their MU siblings. While these cars were more commonly seen in commuter service in the Pittsburgh area, they were also used over the entire PRR and perhaps even off-line in troop train service during World War II. Also during this time, several combine style cars were converted to completely coach seating by the addition of seats and porthole windows to the baggage and mail sections. Two of these converted cars were sold the Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad
Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad
The Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad was a railroad chartered on April 1, 1904 and ran along Buffalo Creek in Clay County, West Virginia. The original Buffalo Creek and Gauley ended service in 1965....
after the war.
MP54 cars were made in large numbers and were very efficient in transporting large numbers of people. Between 1915 and 1939 the PRR made or purchased 432 cars of the MP54 type. Starting in 1932, a number of "bride and groom" sets were added by semi-permanently coupling higher-powered MP54 and MPB54B cars to unpowered MP54T and MBM62T cars, where the T is for trailer. In 1950, faced with the need for expensive new equipment for unprofitable suburban service, the PRR decided instead to extend the life of the MP54 cars by rebuilding 50 of the powered cars with new equipment at the Wilmington shops and rebuilding 49 more mP54 coaches and 1 MP54T coach, also with new equipment, in the Altoona shops, thus expanding the total number of MP54 cars of all types over the years to 481, consisting of 405 MP54, 42 MP54T, 10 MPB54B, 9 MPB54, 7 MB62, 4 MBM62, and 4 MBM62T cars.
Disposition of remaining MP54 cars
- PRR 413 is stored intact as part of the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey collection.
- PRR 427 is stored intact as part of the URHS collection, awaiting sale.
- PRR 437 is stored intact as part of the URHS collection, awaiting sale.
- PRR 441 is in active (demotored) use, painted for the New York CentralNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
, on the Delaware and Ulster RailroadDelaware and Ulster RailroadThe Delaware and Ulster Railroad is a heritage railroad based in Arkville, New York.-History:The last regularly scheduled passenger train over the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad tracks was operated between Kingston and Oneonta by the New York Central on March 31, 1954. The tracks were then... - PRR 442 is in active (demotored) use, converted into an open-bench car on the Wilmington & Western Railroad.
- PRR 444 is in active (demotored) use, painted for the New York CentralNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
, on the Delaware and Ulster RailroadDelaware and Ulster RailroadThe Delaware and Ulster Railroad is a heritage railroad based in Arkville, New York.-History:The last regularly scheduled passenger train over the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad tracks was operated between Kingston and Oneonta by the New York Central on March 31, 1954. The tracks were then... - PRR 447 is in active (demotored) use, painted for the New York CentralNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
, on the Delaware and Ulster RailroadDelaware and Ulster RailroadThe Delaware and Ulster Railroad is a heritage railroad based in Arkville, New York.-History:The last regularly scheduled passenger train over the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad tracks was operated between Kingston and Oneonta by the New York Central on March 31, 1954. The tracks were then... - PRR 450 is stored intact on the Wilmington & Western Railroad.
- PRR 453 is stored intact as part of the URHS collection, awaiting sale.
MP54 cars on other railroads
In addition to the cars built for the PRR and LIRR, MP54 cars (and/or combines and baggage mail cars) were built for or sold to a number of other railroads. These included AT&SF (Santa Fe)Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
, B&M (Boston and Maine), Erie
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
, Lackawanna
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
, NYS&W (New York Susquehanna and Western, Susquehanna), Piedmont and Northern
Piedmont and Northern Railway
The Piedmont & Northern Railway was a heavy electric interurban company operating over two disconnected divisions in North and South Carolina. Tracks spanned total between the two segments, with the northern division running from Charlotte, to Gastonia, North Carolina, including a three-mile ...
, Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a railroad that operated in southern New Jersey in the 20th century. It was created as a joint venture of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company .- History :...
, and Tuckerton
Tuckerton Railroad
The Tuckerton Railroad was a railway that operated in New Jersey from 1871 to 1936. The Southern New Jersey Railroad operated part of the line from 1937 to 1940.-19th Century:...
. Additional road names reported as possible: CR (Conrail), Union Transportation (Pemberton & Hightstown)
Pemberton and Hightstown Railroad
The Pemberton and Hightstown Railroad was a railroad in the U.S. state of New Jersey.-History:The Pemberton and Hightstown Railroad was chartered in 1864 and completed in 1868; it linked the towns of Pemberton and Hightstown, a total of . Most of the stock was purchased by the Camden and Amboy...
, Midland Continental (combine), Consolidades de Cuba and the Ligonier Valley Railroad
Ligonier Valley Railroad
The Ligonier Valley Railroad connected the communities of Latrobe and Ligonier, Pennsylvania, approximately apart, between 1877 and 1952. For much of its length, the railroad ran parallel to Loyalhanna Creek in a scenic mountain gorge...
.
Other cars with porthole windows
The West Jersey and Seashore RailroadWest Jersey and Seashore Railroad
The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad was a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary that became part of Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933.-History:...
, A PRR subsidiary, (later merged into the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines), began electrified service from Camden
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
to Atlantic City and Millville
Millville, New Jersey
Millville is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city population was 26,847. Millville, Bridgeton and Vineland are the three principal New Jersey cities of the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
in 1906 using wooden cars and a 650-volt DC power supply delivered by third rail in most places and trolley pole
Trolley pole
A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" overhead wire to the control and propulsion equipment of a tram or trolley bus. The use of overhead wire in a system of current collection is reputed to be the 1880 invention of Frank J....
s in a few areas. In 1907 some porthole-window cars, designated MP2, were acquired which were of wooden construction with steel ends, had passenger compartments 46 ft. long, overall length 55 ft., 58 seats, and were otherwise similar to the MP54 design. In 1912, the PRR sent some additional cars to the system, which were (steel) DC-equipped MP54 cars designated MP54d.
The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad obtained some cars with porthole windows in 1911, designated MP38, for their line to Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. The cars were partly owned by PRR, were painted in PRR colors, had 46 ft. passenger compartments, 48 ft. overall length, 44 seats, and had additional center-entrance doors.
Between 1908 and 1930, the LIRR obtained 923 MP54-type cars, followed during 1932-1948 by 63 similar longer bilevel cars designated MP70 with 70 ft. passenger compartment, 80 ft. overall length, and 134 seats. Between 1953 and 1963, 190 porthole-window cars of a different design designated MP72 were obtained; some of these cars also served on the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway. The LIRR used a 650-volt DC power supply with third rail current collection.
The cars on the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway
New York, Westchester and Boston Railway
The New York, Westchester and Boston Railway Company , known to its riders as "the Westchester" and colloquially as the "Boston-Westchester", operated as an electric commuter railroad in the Bronx and Westchester County, New York from 1912 to 1937...
had porthole windows, 70 ft. overall length, 78 or 80 seats, and additional center-entrance doors and began service in 1912.
Starting in 1912, porthole windows were used in large Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
cars in the San Francisco East Bay region
East Bay Electric Lines
The East Bay Electric Lines were a unit of the Southern Pacific Railroad which operated a system of electric interurban-type trains in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
and the Marin County region
Northwestern Pacific Railroad
The Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...
north of San Francisco, and in more standard-size cars in the Portland, Oregon region. The San Francisco region cars, designated 58-EMC, had 58 ft. passenger compartments, 72 ft. overall length, and 3-2 seating with 116 seats, while the Portland region cars, designated 47-ELMC, had 47 ft. passenger compartments, 56 ft. overall length, and 2-2 seating with 60 seats. Many of these cars later operated on Pacific Electric in the Los Angeles region, where the larger type were extensively remodeled to have 2-2 seating with 80 seats.