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Robert B. Watson collection of Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Company documents

Creation: 1876-1968 Creation: bulk 1900-1957
 Collection
Accession: 2421

Abstract

The collection consists of materials documenting Watson's work for PRR, particularly mechanical engineering and rolling stock. Records largely focus on the development of PRR locomotives and passenger cars in the mid-twentieth century.

Dates

  • Creation: 1876-1968
  • Creation: bulk 1900-1957

Creator

Extent

6.2 Linear Feet

Biographical Note

Robert B. Watson was born at Altoona on June 29, 1931, and graduated from Penn State with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1953. As a consequence of being in the R.O.T.C. program, he was also commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and served in active duty in Railway Battalions during the end stage of the Korean War. He had begun working for the PRR in college and returned to the company full time in 1955, following the normal career path leading from Junior Engineer to Motive Power Inspector, Enginehouse Foreman, Assistant Trainmaster/Assistant Road Foreman of Engines, and Master Mechanic, while being rotated around the system. Watson completed his education by attending the Yale University Graduate School’s Railway Operations & Economics Program under a Strathcona Fellowship, graduating with a Certificate of Transportation in 1958. In this program he studied under Prof. Kent T. Healy, one of the mid-twentieth century’s leading experts in railroad operations and management. In February 1966 he became Master Mechanic at Philadelphia.

Based on his accomplishments, the company chose Watson to be its Coordinator on the Northeast Corridor Demonstration Project in September 1966. This program of the Johnson Administration was the first attempt to develop high-speed rail passenger service in imitation of the famous Shinkansen or “Bullet Trains” recently introduced in Japan. The program involved both upgrading the existing track and signaling infrastructure to take the extra wear and tear of high-speed operation and developing high-speed equipment that eventually debuted in 1969 as the first Metroliners. Watson was a member of the team that developed a high-speed test track between New Brunswick and Trenton, N.J., and ran numerous tests with a train of four experimental cars built by the Budd Company for the U.S. Department of Commerce, later the Department of Transportation. The Metroliners were rushed into production without adequate testing and debugging, and American high-speed rail has continued to lag behind its European and Asian counterparts.

With the completion of the design phase of the Northeast Corridor Project, Watson left what was now the bankrupt and doomed Penn Central Transportation Company at the end of 1971 and joined the Philadelphia consulting engineering firm of LTK Engineering Services, formerly Louis T. Klauder and Associates, where he worked on a number of projects related to rail passenger service and rolling stock until his retirement in December 1998. Watson has been active in the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society and other groups of former PRR managers and has authored several articles on the history of PRR mechanical engineering and rolling stock development.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject/title.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of materials documenting Watson's work for PRR, particularly mechanical engineering and rolling stock. Records largely focus on the development of PRR locomotives and passenger cars in the mid-twentieth century.

Related Material

William McKinley Keller Papers (Accession 1580), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library

Raymond Loewy - PRR Renderings (Accession 2349), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library

A history of the Conway Yard development (Accession 2373), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library

Pennsylvania Railroad System Locomotive Rosters (Accession 2386), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library

Pennsylvania Railroad Miscellany (Accession 2412), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provenance

Gift of Robert B. Watson

Related Names

Subject

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
Robert B. Watson collection of Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Company documents
Date:
1876-1968, bulk 1900-1957
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400