At the large-scale level, Penn Station's story illustrates the history of transportation in the 20th century. By examining antiquarian railroad maps, one can view the buildup of the nation's railway system throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and observe its decline following World War II when jet and automobile travel became the dominant means of transportation.
Below are four maps of the Pennsylvania Railroad system (and later Amtrak) from 1908 - 2010.
1908 Pennsylvania Railroad & Connections Map (section)
Pennsylvania Railroad. Pennsylvania System. Scale not given. [N.p.]: Pennsylvania Railroad, 1908.
Collection: New York Public Library Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division
1929 Pennsylvania Railroad & Connections Map (section)
Pennsylvania Railroad. Pennsylvania Railroad and Connections. Scale not given. New York: Rand McNally & Company, 1929.
Collection: New York Public Library Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division
1953 Pennsylvania Railroad Map (section)
Pennsylvania Railroad. Map of Pennsylvania Railroad & Connections. Scale not given. [N.p.]: Pennsylvania Railroad, 1953.
Collection: New York Public Library Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division
2010 Amtrak Northeast Service Map
Track and Tunnel Maps
Expanding beyond the small-scale architectural and neighborhood levels, Penn Station's story can be viewed through the rail system that connects it to the rest of the country.
Pennsylvania Rail Road Tunnel Plan, 1908
Source: Jonnes, Jill. Conquering Gotham, A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels. New York: Viking, 2007. Print.
Track Map of the Long Island Railroad, 1956 (Section)
A section of a 1956 LIRR track map showing the track configuration in Penn Station.
Source: The Long Island Railroad. "Track Map of the Long Island Railroad." Scale not given. New York: The Long Island Railroad, 1956. Print.
Collection: New York Public Library Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division
Overlaying the track map with the current floor plans shows the track configuration in Penn Station has not changed since at least 1956.
