The railroad then struck out for Pittsburgh, connecting such towns as Gallitzin and Johnstown, while its fabled Horseshoe Curve was built just west of Altoona. Thomson who conceived an excellent route maintaining moderately gentle grades following the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers before reaching what later became Altoona, a major maintenance and terminal facility. The legislature hurriedly chartered the Pennsylvania Railroad on Apand work began quickly to construct an all-rail corridor across the state. The B&O was most worrying as state and business leaders feared it could propel Baltimore past Philadelphia as the region's top port. In addition, the Mohawk & Hudson inaugurated 16 miles between Albany and Schenectady on Augand the New York & Erie (predecessor to the Erie) officially began construction in 1836, completing about 40 miles from Piermont to Goshen, New York in September of 1841. The Delaware & Hudson Canal Company opened an early gravity railroad as part of its canal system to move anthracite coal in 1829 while the Baltimore & Ohio operated its first train in 1830 and was pushing west towards the Ohio River. It was a somewhat profitable venture although by the time it got underway railroads, faster with an ability to operate in all types of weather, were already under construction. In an interesting design, engineers came up with a system that utilized both waterways and early, interlinking railroads which were collectively known as the Main Line of Public Works. A few years later plans extended its eastern connection to Philadelphia. This included Pennsylvania and the legislature authorized construction of a canal (officially known as the Pennsylvania Canal) on Februlinking Harrisburg with Pittsburgh, running nearly the entire length of the state. Naturally, maintaining an efficient inland transportation system was also important in opening trade to the North American interior.Īs canal fever caught hold many of these major cities, and their home states, studied the possibility of constructing their own waterway. These cities fiercely competed with one another in an attempt to establish themselves as the preeminent eastern port.

The fledgling United States in 1830 comprise only a few dozen states while the original thirteen contained the largest commercial and port centers such as Charleston, Wilmington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky (Louisville), Illinois, Missouri (St. PRR Office Building, 3161 Market Street (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) On OctoNew York's heralded Erie Canal had opened for service, Virginia's Chesapeake & Ohio Canal followed a few years later, and numerous other similar projects were either under construction or in the planning process. The state's delay in organizing its own railroad began years earlier when many believed canals were the future in transportation. Shunk signed into law the charter for the Pennsylvania Railroad, authorizing the new company to construct a rail line from the state capital at Harrisburg to Pittsburgh.

According to Mike Schafer and Brian Solomon's book, ' Pennsylvania Railroad,' on Mathe Pennsylvania state House passed a bill to organize the Pennsylvania Railroad while their counterparts in the Senate did so on March 26th.įinally, on April 13th Governor Francis R. The PRR was not formed until a decade later. The Baltimore & Ohio, Erie, and New York Central could all trace their corporate heritage back to the 1820s and early 1830s. Unlike the other major eastern trunk lines the Pennsylvania Railroad got off to a relatively late start. Today, many of the PRR's key routes carry on under Amtrak and Norfolk Southern. Sadly, history will remember it as also creating the ill-fated Penn Central Transportation Company. It constructed a well-engineered route from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh and then expanded largely through acquisition.Īt its peak the PRR operated thousands of miles, served millions of travelers, and is widely regarded as the greatest of all American railroads. It was clear by the 1840s railroads were the future of transportation and the PRR was created as a result. The Pennsy was born through a need by the state of Pennsylvania to maintain a competitive edge. In short, the company's scope is far too broad to cover in detail here. The history of the PRR could fill libraries rangingįrom its corporate heritage to its different business sectors. Its many years of success achieved it an impeccable credit rating and vaunted status on Wall Street, which aided the future Penn Central's ability to continue securing loans in the face of a doomed destiny. The illustrious Pennsylvania Railroad was an institutional icon for more than a century.

New jersey seashore train map