Amtrak Pennsylvanian
Photo courtesy of Amazing Travel Photos
The Amtrak Pennsylvanian originates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and terminates at New York City’s Penn Station. It’s route takes it through the Allegheny Mountains, past Amish Country around Lancaster, through Philadelphia and up New Jersey. Finally it goes through a tunnel under the Hudson River to midtown Manhattan.
The train departs from Pittsburgh’s Amtrak downtown station at 7:20am and arrives at Penn Station at about 5:30pm when it is on-time. The whole route is 444 miles or 715 kilometers.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is situated at the junction of three rivers. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the “Point” of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is right across from “Three-Rivers” Stadium where the Pirates play baseball. The Amtrak station is about one mile from the “Point”. The station is nothing to write home about. Apparently there were two nice stations in Pittsburgh that have been turned into a hotel and a shopping mall. Amtrak was left with a dingy little waiting room and ticket counter. Why don’t cities take pride in their train stations?
Pittsburgh was once America’s steel town. Even the football team is called The Steelers. Today, the U.S. imports steel from places like Canada, China, Brazil and Japan. So the steel industry is largely gone and Pittsburgh has a more diversified economy. At one time, there was a lot of air pollution from the steel industry, but now the air quality is quite good.
When I rode this train in mid-March, the temperature was 47 degrees F and there was a steady rain. The weather forecast was calling for flooding because many of the rivers were overflowing due to the melting snow in the mountains.
Allegheny Mountains
Most of what you see out the window of the Pennsylvanian is mountain and rivers. The mountains are the Allegheny Mountains which are part of the Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada. The train goes up and down some steep grades along the way.
Horseshoe Curve
The steepest and most famous grade is the one at Horseshow Curve. This part of the route near Altoona, Pennsylvanian was built from 1848-1854 by Irish immigrants with picks and shovels and black powder for blasting through rock. During the heyday of rail travel in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, as many as 42 trains would pass through each day. During World War II, the route was closed to civilians and guarded by the U.S. Army to protect it from sabotage. This is the most scenic part of the journey and worth the trip for rail fans.
Rockville Stone Bridge
After leaving Altoona, it is on to Harrisburg. The train crosses the Susquehanna River over the historic Rockville Bridge, which is a stone masonry arch bridge. The river is wide at this point, but not very deep, and looks like a lake. The Rockville bridge over the river is long, over one mile. The bridge was completed in 1902.
Photo courtesy of Amazing Travel Photos
Pennsylvania Dutch Country
Next it is on to Lancaster, which is the center of Pennsylvania Dutch country. This area is mostly farmland with gentle rolling hills. Out the window you see a lot of barns and silos. The Amish don’t drive automobiles or use telephones and live simple lives farming and raising animals. They make all their own clothes and, as far as they are concerned, the horse and buggy never went out of style. Naturally, they are a great curiosity and tourist attraction.
Philly and New Jersey
The next big city is Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, the Philly Cheese Steak and Rocky Balboa. Philadelphia is where the Declaration of Independence was signed back in 1776. The roots of American independence can be found in this old American city.
After Philadelphia, the Pennsylvanian heads north through new Jersey, stopping at Trenton, Princeton and Newark. Princeton, of course, is home to the Ivy League university where Albert Einstein was a professor of physics. And Newark is home to Tony Soprano, the fictional crime boss on the television show “The Sopranos”.
End of the Line: Penn Station
The last stop in New Jersey is Newark. Then the Pennsylvanian goes under the Hudson River and emerges in midtown Manhattan. The train terminates at New York’s famous Pennsylvania Station, which gets its name from the Pennsylvania Railroad. Penn Station is right in the heart of midtown Manhattan at 34th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues.
The Pennsylvanian is a great train to ride, passing through lots of interesting cities, and historic places. The is great scenery all along the way. I highly recommend riding this railroad line.