The ''Red Arrow'' was a night train operated by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

that ran from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. It had an additional section going to and from

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

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.American Rails, 'Red Arrow.' https://www.american-rails.com/red.html

History

The train began as an eastbound-only train, from Detroit to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

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 Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. The Detroit terminus was the

Fort Street Union Depot The Fort Street Union Depot was a passenger train station located at the southwest corner of West Fort Street and Third Street in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It served the city from 1893 to 1971, then demolished in 1974. Today, the downtown campus ...

in downtown Detroit.

Route

Going south from Detroit, the route went through

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, joined the PRR

main line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The ci ...

, 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.

Derailment

On February 18, 1947, the eastbound ''Red Arrow'' was derailed at Bennington Curve near

Gallitzin, Pennsylvania Gallitzin is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is bordered by Gallitzin Township and Tunnelhill, all of which sit astride the Eastern continental divide. Tunnel Hill and Gallitzin both are pierced by railroad t ...

, 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 The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) K4 4-6-2 "Pacific" (425 built 1914–1928, PRR Altoona, Baldwin) was its premier passenger-hauling steam locomotive from 1914 through the end of steam on the PRR in 1957. Attempts were made to replace the ...

steam locomotives and many of the passenger cars.

Demise

Between April 29, 1956 and July 26, 1959 the route was shrunk in steps, eventually to a local train between Detroit and Toledo. It had its last run on July 26, 1960.

References

{{PRR named trains Named passenger trains of the United States Night trains of the United States Passenger trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad Railway services discontinued in 1960 Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania Passenger rail transportation in Maryland Passenger rail transportation in New York (state) Passenger rail transportation in New Jersey Passenger rail transportation in Ohio Passenger rail transportation in Michigan