Although the train was considered all-Pullman, it frequently carried coaches on the end for day travelers going to Pittsburgh and back.
In 1944, the Pittsburgher was discontinued as part of a government order that prohibited the use of sleeping cars between points less than 450 miles (720 km) apart so the government could free up sleeping cars for the war effort.
By late 1945, it was back to running as an overnight, all-Pullman train between New York and Pittsburgh.
During the 1940s, the Pittsburgher was assigned lightweight equipment from a pool of cars built by Pullman-Standard for the Pennsylvania Railroad immediately before World War II.
The trains also carried a Colonial-series car with a drawing room, three double bedrooms, and a bar lounge.