Red Arrow (PRR train)
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{{use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox rail service
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| name = Red Arrow
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| type = Inter-city rail
| status = discontinued
| locale = Midwestern United States/Mid-Atlantic States
| first = 1925
| last = 1960
| operator =
| formeroperator = Pennsylvania Railroad
| ridership =
| start = Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| stops =
| end = Detroit, Michigan
| distance = {{convert|756.6|mi|km}} Detroit-New York
| journeytime =
| frequency = Daily
| trainnumber = 68 (eastbound), 69 (westbound); 574 (branch to Washington), 569 (from Washington)
| class =
| access =
| seating = coaches (1950)
| sleeping = Sleeping cars: sections, roomettes, duplex rooms, double bedrooms, drawing room (1950)
| autorack =
| catering = Bar-lounge car -New York-Detroit, dining cars New York-Detroit and Washington to Harrisburg (1950)
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| map = {{Red Arrow|inline=y}}
| map_state = collapsed
}}
The Red Arrow was a night train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad that ran from New York City to Detroit. It was named after Michigan’s Red Arrow infantry division of World War I.{{Cite web |date=2014-10-13 |title=Michigan's Railroad History 1825 - 2014 |url=https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/MDOT/Travel/Mobility/Rail/Michigan-Railroad-History.pdf?rev=0e687838f8a540ae823113f2648e9015 |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Michigan Department of Transportation}} It had an additional section going to and from Washington, D.C. This was an unusual train, in that the PRR had few trains that ran to Detroit. More of the PRR trains went west to Chicago or St. Louis. The Red Arrow became the premier PRR train on the New York–Detroit circuit.{{cite web |website=American Rails |title=Red Arrow |url=https://www.american-rails.com/red.html}}
History
The train began as an eastbound-only train, from Detroit to Pittsburgh in 1925. In the next year it went in both directions, #69, westbound, #68 eastbound. By 1938 the train was extended to New York and Washington, with the route split at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Detroit terminus was the Fort Street Union Depot in downtown Detroit.{{cite web | title=Named Trains of the PRR Including Through Services | author=Christopher T. Baer | url=http://www.prrths.com/newprr_files/Hagley/PRR%20NAMED%20TRAINS.pdf | date=September 8, 2009 }}
=Route=
Going south from Detroit, the route went through Toledo, Ohio, joined the PRR main line at Mansfield, Ohio, and continued east. In the easterly direction the train made a stop in Canton, Ohio. In the westbound direction the train made no stops between Pittsburgh and Mansfield.{{cite journal |title=Pennsylvania Railroad, Tables 6, 13, 76, 93, 103, 170, 181 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=82 |issue=8 |date=January 1950}}
=Derailment=
On February 18, 1947, the eastbound Red Arrow was derailed at Bennington Curve near Gallitzin, Pennsylvania, killing 22 of the 200 people on board at the time. The cause of the accident was determined to be excessive speed around the curve, derailing the two K4s steam locomotives and many of the passenger cars.{{Cite web|url=https://wjactv.com/news/local/remembering-the-red-arrow-70-years-later|title = Remembering the Red Arrow 70 years later|date = 17 February 2017}}
=Decline=
References
{{reflist}}
{{PRR named trains}}
Category:Named passenger trains of the United States
Category:Night trains of the United States
Category:Passenger trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Category:Railway services introduced in 1925
Category:Railway services discontinued in 1960
Category:Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania
Category:Passenger rail transportation in Maryland
Category:Passenger rail transportation in New York (state)
Category:Passenger rail transportation in New Jersey