On this page, I've added scans of some vintage railroad timetables (about 25 so far), many of which I've had in my collection since the 1960's when they weren't really that old. These are all in pdf format, and they will open in a new window with your pdf viewer (Acrobat or other). Some of these are quite large in size, so I would suggest not trying to view these if your are not on a DSL or cable connection. One of the largest, for example, is the 1953 New York Central timetable, which is 14.5 megabytes and 52 pages long. I started with my favorite region (northeast USA), and continued from there. Most of these were chosen for their "interest" or "noteworthiness", but this collection is far from a representation of the entire US. I have added most of the ones I have from the 1950's, and balanced out the collection with some from the mid and late 60's. All are pre-Amtrak. I do have a complete set of the last individual railroad timetables from around 1971 (pre-Amtrak), and a good set of commuter timetables (especially for routes like the Erie-Lackawanna), but none of these are currently included here. I tried to make a good representation for most of the US, but you can see my bias for the Northeast. If you wish to gain knowledge about the extent of passenger service for all of the US at any given time, I would suggest looking for old copies of the "Official Guide", which can often be found on E-Bay reasonably. If you email me with a request and I happen to have it, I will gladly post additional timetables here. Also, if you are a fan of a particular line and I do not have a timetable for it, I can scan the pages for the line from my Official Guide collection. I have Official Guides from 1926, 1940, 1949, 1959, and 1967.
Click on a cover image (below) to download and view any of the timetables posted so far in a new browser tab...
You should be able to zoom in so that the detail print on each page is visible, if not you may save a copy for later viewing on your pdf viewer.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the collection.



Added Fall 2010:

Central Railroad of NJ - April 29, 1956
This is a short timetable printed on pulp paper.



Delaware Lackawanna & Western - April 25, 1954



Erie-Lackawanna Railroad - October 29, 1961



Erie Railroad - April 27, 1958



Lehigh Valley Railroad - September 27, 1953



Reading Railway System - September 26, 1954
This is a short timetable for a limited portion of their service.



New York Central System - December 6, 1953



Southern Railway System - December 18, 1952



Louisville & Nashville Railroad - August 24, 1947



Seaboard Air Line Railroad - December 11, 1952



Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe - Fall, 1962



Chicago, Burlington & Quincy - June 9, 1968



Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific - October 27, 1968



Denver & Rio Grande Western - May 1, 1968



Great Northern - August 15, 1968



Illinois Central - April 25, 1965



New York, New Haven & Hartford - April 30, 1967



Northern Pacific - October 29, 1967



New York Central - December 6, 1968
By this time, their timetable was very limited and just a few pages.



Pennsylvania Railroad - July 30, 1967



Southern Pacific - May 12, 1968
By this time, SP was no longer a fan of passenger service, and the timetable was just a pulp-paper brochure.



Spokane, Portland & Seattle - October 29, 1967



Union Pacific Railroad - April 30, 1967
Though this timetable is fairly large, it was printed on very yellowed pulp stock.



Western Pacific - March, 1929
This is actually a "museum reprint" from May 1973, not an original.
One feature is the great coverage of the Sacramento Northern electrified service.
The WP held the SN as a subsidiary at the time, and still had plans for interurban expansions.



Western Pacific - April 28, 1968