Old Train Schedules

I realize that some of my file sizes are extremely large.  While I do what I can to keep them as small as possible, it is extremely difficult to reduce them much without loosing quality.  I recently posted the Septa Employee Schedules from the 1980’s and attempted to reduce the file size my converting the scanned images to 150 dpi.  Needless to say, I was not happy with the results.  They are difficult on the eye to read.

While I realize that file size is a priority, I feel that good quality is more of a priority.  If you can’t read them, they are useless.  That said, all future schedules will be posted as 300 dpi images, unless they can be converted lower without sacrificing readability.  If any schedule will be an unusually large file size, I will break it down into sections.

I recently posted some schedules from 1999.  While I try to post things that are “old,” I have no set criteria for what constitutes old.  I probably will not post much from the 90’s and the new millennium, as they are still somewhat recent, but every rule has its exceptions.  In this case, I happened to have this set out of the box and decided to scan them for my archives, so it was easy to just post them.

Someone was nice enough to point out an error in one of my Links. I had accidently linked a Main Line Schedule to a North Jersey Coast Line link. It has been corrected. If anyone else finds errors in my links, or on the site as well, please feel free to post a comment or send me an email

As you may have noticed, this site was down for a few weeks. Obviously it is back up and running. I am going to try and add a few more scheduled over the next couple of days.

A few tidbits of information to help you navigate my website:

While making this website easy to use is a priority of mine, it is not an easy task.  I am very new at bloging and am still learning the basics.  I have created a link at the top of my page titled “All Train Schedules.”  Here I will provide just links to all of the schedules I will have on my site.

As for the schedules themselves, I am sure many people are going to question why the files are so large.  Please keep in mind that these are scanned images of the schedules, and not the electronic print to PDF files that are currently on today’s railroad websites.  The files will be much larger than those of current schedules.

Finally, some credit where credit is due.  Since my files are somewhat large, I have chosen to use Media Fire to host my schedules and have included links to Media Fire’s pages where they can be downloaded from.   Media Fire provides free file hosting with an unlimited quantity of files and unlimited quantity of disk space.  The only restriction is the size of each file, which is well above the threshold where I need it.

Media Fire Link 

I like the idea of having all of the train schedules available on one master page, as well as having the most recent additions stuck out in front.  That said, I have created a link at the top of the page titled “All Train Schedules.”  Here I will keep the schedules listed by railroad in chronological order.  I will update this list every couple of weeks.  As the list increases in size, I intend to create more links on the top bar to specific railroads as well as update this master list.

The specific railroad schedules are currently available on the left of this screen.  I know it is a pain scrolling down one at a time, but that is the way this site works unfortunately.  Deleting the posts to combine them would create many undesired problems from google.

In the meantime, my most recent additions will be available for download in the individual posts on my homepage.  Right now I have it set up to show the 10 most recent posts on my homepage, but any announcement I post, such as this, also counts as one of those 10.  Please give me some time to figure this stuff out and I hope to have a good way of categorizing these soon,

Having grown up in the northeast, I tend to follow my local railroads and their predicessors more closely than those out west.  That said, I will primarily focus on public and employee schedules native to the area.  Passenger railroads such as SEPTA, Amtrak, and freight Railroads such as Norfolk Southern and Conrail are expected to be featured.

As for age, I have no specific timeline I am going to keep, but I will probably be keeping it at a minimum of ten years or older.  I will also try and pay special attentions to routes that do not exist anymore, such as the Broadway Limited, Desert Wind, and Pioneer of Amtrak, or NJ Transit’s Boonton Line.

I happen to be a buff myself.  Most buffs do not like being referred to as such, as it is often used in derogatory context.  I never minded such.

I grew up in Northern NJ and hung around the railroad as a teenager.  My family moved to Eastern PA and thus I had to change high schools at the end of my junior year of high school.  I attended community college and received an associates degree in drafting.  I got my first job with a major railroad in 1999 and have been working there ever since.  I have intentions of returning to school soon to get a degree in finance.

I was always particularly interested in the scheduling process and often drafted proposed schedules and attempted to modify existing schedules for improvement.  I collected all of the train schedules from around the area and started to scan some of them and create PDF files for easy access.

I created this website as a way of sharing my hobby of collecting railroad schedules with others.  I did a google search on old train schedules and was surprised that no such site already exists.  I thought this was an excellent way to expand and incorporate my railroading hobby and my other hobby, technology.  And what’s wrong with making a buck or two off of it?

Most people who would be interested in these schedules do happen to be rail enthusiasts, commonly called “Buffs.” Those of us who are interested in the schedules and scheduling aspect collect them. Unfortunately paper is very heavy. I started to scan my schedules a few years ago and created PDF files with them to save paper space. This has proven to be very handy. If one wants to recall something from a previous schedule, it is much easier to look at a PDF on a computer, than possibly dig through large boxes to find one or two times. Basically electronic versions mean convenience. But what significance do they serve?

Comparing old train schedules to modern ones can give someone a lot of information. It says a lot about people’s commuting patterns. An example of this how many work locations in New York City moved from Downtown to Midtown after September 11. 2001. Since 9/11, NJ Transit has placed a lot more emphasis on service to and from New York Penn Station, and has drastically reduced the volume of trains going to/from Hoboken, NJ, which was a much better terminal for downtown workers. Old train schedules also serve a purpose in showing how a particular neighborhood has declined or excelled in quality. Generally, when see drastic service reductions or are even closed, it indicates a lowering of the quality of the area. Contrary, stations which receive accelerating levels of service are in booming areas.