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26-715: The first South Pennsylvania Railroad was originally chartered as the Duncannon, Landisburg, and Broad Top Railroad Company on May 5, 1854. Its intended route began in Duncannon , passed through Landisburg and Burnt Cabins and ended on the Juniata River via the Broad Top Mountain coalfields. On May 5, 1855, it was renamed the Sherman's Valley and Broad Top Railroad Company, and the planned eastern terminus

52-616: A newly built railroad whose line paralleled the route of the New York Central between New York City and Buffalo . Vanderbilt viewed the West Shore project as a Pennsylvania Railroad incursion into prime New York Central territory and a threat to the Central's supremacy in the area. To retaliate, Vanderbilt allied himself with Pittsburgh capitalists, including Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick , who were anxious to break

78-594: Is a borough in Perry County , Pennsylvania , United States. The population was 1,473 at the 2020 census . It is part of the Harrisburg – Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area . The center of population of Pennsylvania is located in Duncannon. Lightning Guider Sleds were manufactured in Duncannon from 1904 until 1988. The Appalachian Trail makes its way through the town, going on various streets, and runs mainly along North High Street. It comes off

104-531: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bought the South Pennsylvania grade west of Mount Dallas, organizing it under the name of Fulton, Bedford and Somerset Railroad . No railroad was ever built on the right-of-way, and it was also sold to the turnpike commission. Pittsburgh was originally a branch line until Carnegie and others intervened and persuaded Vanderbilt to discard the original alignment, which

130-457: The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad , a Vanderbilt subsidiary, at Port Perry . The so-called "southern route" of the South Pennsylvania was a treacherous one, as it crossed six mountain ridges, required nine tunnels and involved numerous curves and steep grades. Construction continued into 1885, with considerable work done in drilling the tunnels and grading the portion of the route through

156-605: The Quemahoning Tunnel and Negro Mountain Tunnel were bypassed because advances in engineering since the 1880s allowed for bypasses. The highway engineers did not use most of the railroad's other grading, however, since they could afford steeper grades and shorter alignments. Because of this, relics of the "ghost railroad" may still be found all across the Alleghenies. Duncannon, Pennsylvania Duncannon

182-793: The Pennsylvania Railroad's freight monopoly in Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania. Vanderbilt, the Pittsburghers and other investors formed a syndicate to finance and build a new mainline railroad across the Alleghenies that would connect Pittsburgh with Harrisburg , and, working jointly with the Philadelphia and Reading Railway , would form a route to the East Coast. The group used the long-inactive charter of

208-665: The South Pennsylvania Railroad as its vehicle to begin constructing the railroad. The new route for the railroad was surveyed beginning in 1881, and construction began soon after. The alignment, which had first been surveyed in the 1840s by Colonel Charles Schattler of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and then dismissed as a possible route for the Pennsylvania, crossed the spine of the Appalachians in southern Pennsylvania. It connected Harrisburg with

234-609: The Southern Pennsylvania Railway, a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary which had charter rights along the route, initiated court proceedings to take ownership of part of the South Pennsylvania grade. In 1895, it obtained title to the grade east of Mount Dallas . A little surveying and repair work was done on the route that year, but it was never used, and the grade was sold to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in 1938. In 1904,

260-423: The age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.94. In the borough the population was spread out, with 23.1% under

286-463: The age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $ 33,000, and the median income for a family was $ 38,750. Males had a median income of $ 31,643 versus $ 21,477 for females. The per capita income for

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312-407: The borough was $ 15,883. About 6.2% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over. On S. Market Street, there is a mural with various artistic depictions of life and scenery in Duncannon, the entire area that is Perry County, Pennsylvania as a whole, and even of the entire United States. A high percentage of

338-467: The borough. The population density was 3,566.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,377.0/km ). There were 714 housing units at an average density of 1,688.7 per square mile (652.0/km ). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.28% White , 0.53% African American , 0.07% Asian , 0.73% from other races , and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population. There were 667 households, out of which 25.8% had children under

364-643: The charter became dormant on May 31, 1879. The unused charter of the defunct South Pennsylvania Railroad was revived in the 1880s as a weapon in a growing war between the New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad : the two major Eastern railroad systems. William H. Vanderbilt , who controlled the New York Central, learned that the Pennsylvania had obtained control of the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway :

390-599: The grandiose name of Pennsylvania Pacific Railway Company , with the rights to extend into Maryland and Virginia . On April 1, 1863, it was renamed as the South Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Despite feverish promotion, including plans for 200 miles (322 km) of line from Marysville to West Newton (on the Youghiogheny River ), no further work was completed. The two miles (3 km) of grading were sold off in 1872 and

416-417: The line, and the South Pennsylvania remained in limbo for almost 20 years. In the meantime, two short sections, including the Quemahoning Tunnel , were later used for local short line railroads (the Pittsburgh, Westmoreland and Somerset Railroad among them), but the majority of the line, including several unfinished tunnels, remained unused. It eventually came to be known as "Vanderbilt's Folly". In 1893,

442-555: The mountain at 40.3813, -77.0292 lat/long, onto Inn Road. Duncannon was originally called Petersburg, and under the latter name was laid out in 1792. The present name is derived from Duncan's Island in the Susquehanna River . The Puritan missionary David Brainerd visited the area in the 1740s. In his journal he describes his trip on the Susquehanna and his brief stay with an Indian tribe on Duncan's Island, across

468-413: The mountains. But, as expenses rose, Vanderbilt began to have second thoughts and began looking for a graceful way out that would protect the investments made by his syndicate partners. He proposed a truce and buyout by the Pennsylvania, but the Pennsylvania's president, George Roberts , refused to meet his price. Banker J. P. Morgan , who was the New York Central's principal banker and a Vanderbilt ally,

494-443: The population is Christian, and many churches are in Duncannon, including a Lutheran , UCOC , Assembly of God , Presbyterian , Catholic , and Church of God . Many other churches, including multiple Methodist churches, are a few miles away. [REDACTED] Media related to Duncannon, Pennsylvania at Wikimedia Commons South Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) The South Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge

520-418: The river from present-day Duncannon. Duncannon is located at 40°23′38″N 77°1′44″W  /  40.39389°N 77.02889°W  / 40.39389; -77.02889 (40.393986, -77.028891). According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the borough has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1.0 km ), all land. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,508 people, 667 households, and 386 families residing in

546-509: The twenty three piers originally built, eight piers still rise from the water at the west side of the river near the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge . This article about a specific rail bridge in the United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a bridge in Pennsylvania is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Harrisburg, Pennsylvania –related article

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572-558: The workers from the South Pennsylvania Railroad project (one contractor and one laborer) also worked on the Turnpike despite the 54-year time difference in construction. The turnpike's original route was opened in October 1940, using six of the railroad's nine tunnels (subsequent route re-alignments have caused some of these tunnels to be abandoned ), while the original Allegheny Mountain Tunnel wasn't used due to structural concerns and

598-639: Was a proposed structure that would have carried the South Pennsylvania Railroad rail lines across the Susquehanna River between Cumberland County, Pennsylvania and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania . Work began on the South Penn and was abruptly halted by banker J. P. Morgan in 1885 when he called a truce in the railroad wars that threatened to undermine investor confidence in the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads . Of

624-470: Was also concerned about the financial effects of ruthless competition. He brokered an agreement in which the New York Central bought the West Shore Railroad, halted construction on the South Pennsylvania (including a bridge over the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg) and agreed to sell its right-of-way to the Pennsylvania. However, legal action prevented the Pennsylvania from taking control of

650-487: Was changed from Duncannon to the mouth of Fishing Creek, in Perry County near Marysville , in order to connect with the Pennsylvania Railroad . Another amendment to the charter on May 12, 1857, allowed it to connect with the Allegheny Portage Railroad and the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad. Around this time, two miles of the proposed route were in fact graded. On March 31, 1859, it was given

676-535: Was to go to Wheeling via Connellsville and Brownsville . Maps, letters and other documents including tunnel designs are open to the public in the state archives in Harrisburg . The route was revived during the Great Depression , when plans were made to build a superhighway across Pennsylvania. In 1937, the new Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission bought the old line from the two railroads and, in 1938, construction began between Carlisle and Irwin . Two of

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