Alphabet Route

The Alphabet Route was a coalition of Railroad s connecting the Midwest United States with the Northeast , as a freight alternate to the four major systems - the Pennsylvania Railroad , New York Central Railroad , Erie Railroad and Baltimore And Ohio Railroad . Named for the many-lettered initials of the participating railroads, it used the following systems from west to east:

The freight trains along the middle section of the route were known as ''Alpha Jets''.

Major Yard s on the line included:

The NYC&StL's Bellevue Yard was just east of the junction with the W&LE at Bellevue, Ohio . Freight cars were transferred here between the two lines, leaving the same way they came; a direct connection avoiding the yard was impossible due to the lack of a suitable connecting track.

The CNJ's Allentown Yard was just east of Allentown, Pennsylvania ; the RDG and L&HR had Trackage Rights along the CNJ to the yard.

The NYNH&H's Maybrook Yard was just east of the junction with the L&HR. Cars were transferred between the two lines.

The NYNH&H's Cedar Hill Yard was in New Haven, Connecticut . Through trains continued on to Providence and Boston, while some freight was transferred to other NYNH&H lines at Cedar Hill.

The route was formed on 's attempts to create a Transcontinental Railroad and later proposals made to the Interstate Commerce Commission for a " Fifth System " to supplement the four major systems; the consolidations planned to form those systems were stopped by the Great Depression .

SEE ALSO

REFERENCES

	CATEGORIES ABOUT ALPHABET ROUTE

	new york, chicago and st. louis railroad

	wheeling and lake erie railway

	pittsburgh and west virginia railway

	western maryland railway

	reading company

	central railroad of new jersey

	lehigh and hudson river railway

	new york, new haven and hartford railroad

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