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106-538: Class D6 (formerly Class K , pre-1895) on the Pennsylvania Railroad was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotive . Nineteen were built by the PRR's Altoona Works (now owned by Norfolk Southern ) between 1881 and 1883. They were equipped with 78-inch (1,981 mm) drivers. Seven were later converted to 72-inch (1,829 mm) drivers and classified D6a . The D6 was one of the first American 4-4-0s to place

212-496: A 36-mile (58 km) route that included 11 levels, 10 inclined planes fitted with stationary engines that could raise and lower boats and cargo, a 900-foot (270 m), viaduct over the Little Conemaugh River , and many bridges. Infrastructure included 153 drains and culverts . The railroad climbed 1,398 feet (426 m) from the eastern canal basin at Hollidaysburg and 1,171 feet (357 m) from

318-666: A Railroad to be constructed at the expense of the state and to be styled "The Pennsylvania Railroad" (Act of March 24, 1828, Pamph. Laws, p. 221) . Begun with Navigations construction along the Susquehanna and the West Fork of the Susquehanna with surveys for the best route over the barrier of the northern Allegheny Mountains , the system in time ran from Philadelphia on the Delaware estuary westwards across

424-607: A canal across Pennsylvania and thus the Main Line of Public Works was commissioned in 1826. It soon became evident that a single canal would not be practical and a series of railroads, inclined planes, and canals was proposed. The route consisted of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad , canals up the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers, an inclined plane railroad called the Allegheny Portage Railroad ,

530-853: A canal by the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad at historic Wright's Ferry . Engineers faced complications at the northern end of the Eastern Division Canal, where it met the Juniata Division Canal and the Susquehanna Division Canal at Duncan's Island. Boats had to cross from one side of the Susquehanna River to the other between either the Susquehanna Division or the Juniata Division on the west side and

636-489: A change in elevation of 584 feet (178 m) over the full length of the canal, which opened in 1832. From the canal basin, westbound boats began their journey by being elevated about 10 feet (3 m) by a lock that brought them to the level of a wooden aqueduct on which they were towed 600 feet (183 m) to the south side of the Juniata. At North's Island, 18 miles (29 km) from the Susquehanna, they were towed by

742-523: A classification system for their freight cars. Similar to their locomotives, the Pennsy used a letter system to designate the various types and sub-types of freight and maintenance cars. As noted, Pennsy colors and paint schemes were standardized. Locomotives were painted in a shade of green so dark it seemed almost black. The official name for this color was DGLE (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel), though often referred to as "Brunswick Green." The undercarriage of

848-608: A continuous railroad line ran between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh over the tracks of several entities including the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1853, the Pennsy was granted trackage rights over the Philadelphia and Columbia, providing a connection between the two cities and connecting with the HPMtJ&;L at Lancaster and Columbia. By 1854, the Pennsy completed its line from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, eliminating

954-537: A difficult energy crisis, and bituminous coal imports from Liverpool, England, ground to a halt under an 1812 embargo. Industrialists in Philadelphia pressed for some solution to their foundries' fuel needs and by year's end, legislation was on the books for improving the Schuylkill River into the Schuylkill Canal . But this project was underfunded, and other canals were completed first, including

1060-472: A few years later. The route was nearly the same, but the Delaware Canal as the state built it had numerous engineering flaws, including locks both too short and unpaired (single & supporting only one way traffic) locks LC&N's experience and expertise would have mitigated. LC&N had started coal flowing to Philadelphia using short squared-off blocky barges it called coal arks , but in 1822-23

1166-681: A government-guaranteed $ 200 million operating loan forced Penn Central to file for bankruptcy protection on June 21, 1970. In May 1971, passenger operations, including equipment, were transferred to a new government-subsidized company called the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, or Amtrak . This was devised to relieve the Penn Central (and other railroads) of money-losing passenger service. Penn Central rail lines, including ex-Pennsy lines, were transferred to Conrail in 1976, and eventually Amtrak received

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1272-546: A multi-modal freight transportation subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It owned oil tanker cars and used them to transport refined oil for mostly independent oil refiners during the era of John D. Rockefeller's and Standard Oil's oil refinery mergers of the 1870s. The company also owned grain freight boats on the Great Lakes and oil pipelines in the oil regions of Pennsylvania . When the company attempted to buy and build some oil refineries in 1877, Standard Oil bought

1378-575: A new railroad named Consolidated Rail Corporation , or Conrail for short. Conrail was itself purchased and split up in 1999 between the Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation , with Norfolk Southern getting 58 percent of the system, including nearly all of the remaining former Pennsylvania Railroad trackage. Amtrak received the electrified segment of the Main Line east of Harrisburg. The Penn Central Corporation held several non-rail assets which it continued to manage after

1484-628: A new technology, railroads , in place of the planned but costly 82-mile (132 km) canal connecting the Delaware River in Philadelphia to the Susquehanna River . The route from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh remained a patchwork of canals and railroads until the Pennsylvania Railroad was built in the 1850s. Trans-Appalachian settlement had begun in earnest during the latter years of the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Following

1590-473: A percentage of its capital stock. Several lines were then aided by the Pennsy in hopes to secure additional traffic. By the end of 1854, the Pennsy purchased stock in the Ohio & Pennsylvania, Ohio & Indiana, Marietta & Cincinnati, Maysville & Big Sandy, and Springfield, Mt. Vernon & Pittsburgh railroads, totalling $ 1,450,000 (equivalent to $ 49.2 million in 2023). The Steubenville & Indiana

1696-529: A reliable inexpensive fuel and proved that once-treacherous inland Pennsylvania waterways could be engineered into profitable industrial shipping routes. A couple years later, the legislature declined another offer by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company (LC&N) which had built the Lehigh Canal with private funds. LC&N was unquestionably one of the most innovative companies of the era, driving

1802-559: A separate amending act, the state authorized the Delaware Canal, which was delayed for a few more years costing LC&N many dollars, until it was finally dug alongside, and generally in sight of the Delaware River between Easton down river to Bristol. When completed in 1832 by the state it also didn't work—having leaking issues and water supply problems like those that plagued the Union Canal and Schuylkill Navigation, and

1908-461: A split of two mountain ravines which were cleverly crossed by building a fill and having the tracks ascend a 220-degree curve known as Horseshoe Curve that limited the grade to less than 2 percent. The crest of the mountain would be penetrated by the 3,612 ft (1,101 m) Gallitzin Tunnels , from which the route descended by a more moderate grade to Johnstown . The western end of the line

2014-508: A stake in Madison Square Garden . The company began to acquire a portfolio of insurance companies in 1988. In 1994, the company reorganized as American Premier Underwriters , a subsidiary of American Financial Group , which continues to operate as a property and casualty insurance company as-of January 2024. Thomson (1808–1874) was the entrepreneur who led the Pennsylvania Railroad from 1852 until his death in 1874, making it

2120-594: A tunnel across the Allegheny Mountains , and canals down the Conemaugh and Allegheny rivers to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , on the Ohio River; it was completed in 1834. Because freight and passengers had to change conveyances several times along the route and canals froze in winter, it soon became apparent that the system was cumbersome and a better way was needed. There were two applications made to

2226-591: A two-square-mile (5.2 km ) reservoir. Dubbed Lake Conemaugh , it supplied water to the Western Division Canal. When canal traffic declined, the lake and dam were abandoned, then sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1857; the railroad in turn sold them to private interests. They were purchased by the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club in 1879, and a private resort was built surrounding the lake. On May 31, 1889, following heavy rains,

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2332-409: A water powered continuous rope to the north side of the river across a slack water pool formed by a dam. From North's Island to Huntingdon, the river was dammed in three more places to feed water to the canal, and above Huntingdon, 14 more dams were needed to create 16 miles (26 km) of slack water navigation in the river to supplement 22 miles (35 km) of travel in segments of canal. In addition,

2438-551: A year, then the B&;O bill would become effective and the Pennsy's void, thereby allowing the B&O to build into Pennsylvania and on to Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Railroad fulfilled the requirements and Letters Patent were issued by the Pennsylvania governor on February 25, 1847. The governor declared the B&O's rights void the following August. In 1847, the Pennsy's directors chose J. Edgar Thomson , an engineer from

2544-630: The Broadway Limited which became the most famous train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. This train ran from New York City to Chicago, via Philadelphia, with an additional section between Harrisburg and Washington (later operated as a separate Washington–Chicago train, the Liberty Limited ). In 1890, the Pennsylvania Railroad gained control of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (PCC&StL), itself

2650-604: The Congressional Limited s in both directions were the first trains in regular electric operation between New York and Washington, drawn by the first of the GG1 -type locomotives . In 1934, the Pennsylvania received a $ 77 million loan from the New Deal 's Public Works Administration to complete the electrification project begun in 1928. Work was started January 27, 1937, on the main line from Paoli to Harrisburg;

2756-622: The Georgia Railroad , to survey and construct the line. He chose a route that followed the west bank of the Susquehanna River northward to the confluence with the Juniata River, following its banks until the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains were reached at a point that would become Altoona, Pennsylvania . To traverse the mountains, the line would climb a moderate grade for 10 miles (16 km) until it reached

2862-560: The Hudson River tunnels . The next area to be electrified was the Philadelphia terminal area, where Pennsy officials decided to use overhead lines to supply power to the suburban trains running out of Broad Street Station . Unlike the New York terminal system, overhead wires would carry 11,000-volt 25-Hertz alternating current (AC) power, which became the standard for future installations. On September 12, 1915, electrification of

2968-667: The Lehigh Canal (which White had full ownership of by 1818 ) to Easton, Pennsylvania . An employee of White's had figured out how to get "Rock Coal" to burn properly during the War of 1812 renewing serious interest in exploiting these relatively untapped coal resources within the Pennsylvanian interior. White had previously looking for a source of coal in 1815, finding the mines of the failing and unreliable Lehigh Coal Mine Company , which would eventually deliver more coal through

3074-464: The Lehigh Canal in late 1820 and the Erie Canal in 1821. By mid-decade canal projects and some railroads were being proposed, organized, chartered, and built in Pennsylvania and other northeast seaboard states. In 1823, Pennsylvania industrialist Josiah White proposed creating a navigational canal that would allow deep keeled coastal ships to reach docks and pickup and transship coal down

3180-690: The Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor lines. After Conrail was divided between the Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation , most of the former Pennsy's remaining trackage went to Norfolk Southern. The few parts of the Pennsylvania Railroad that went to CSX after the Conrail split were: After 1976, the Penn Central Corporation held diversified non-rail assets including the Buckeye Pipeline and

3286-942: The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad 's 1859 Vera Cruz , designed by James Milholland of that road and built in their own shops; the Reading used this design until the invention of the Wootten firebox in 1877. It was subsequently adopted by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1881 for six locomotives constructed for the Central Railroad of New Jersey ; these were followed by the Pennsylvania Railroad locomotives, which garnered more attention for this design feature, in addition to having larger drivers than most previous 4-4-0s. Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR ), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company , also known as

Pennsylvania Railroad class D6 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3392-670: The Reading Railroad , then headed northwest across the Columbia Bridge over the Schuylkill River . Just after crossing the river, it traveled up the Belmont Plane, an inclined plane in the current location of West Fairmount Park , and continued west across the eastern part of the state to Columbia , where the Columbia Plane headed down to the Susquehanna River . At that point, the eastern division of

3498-686: The Senator from Boston to Washington. On July 1, 1869, the Pennsylvania Railroad leased the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway (PFtW&C) in which it had previously been an investor. The lease gave the Pennsy complete control of that line's direct route through northern Ohio and Indiana as well as entry into the emerging rail hub city of Chicago, Illinois . Acquisitions along the PFtW&;C: Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad , Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad, Toledo, Columbus and Ohio River Railroad, and Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Ashtabula Railway gave

3604-408: The firebox above, rather than between, the locomotive's frames . This added about 8 inches to the possible width of the firebox, enabling a larger, easier to fire and more powerful locomotive; the maximum fire grate area increased to about 35 sq ft (3.25 m) from the previous maximum of about 18 sq ft (1.67 m). The innovation was not wholly new, having been first seen on

3710-463: The navigations improving commerce on the Lehigh and Schuylkill Rivers , though in 1824 both systems needed further development. But the same decision makers were also continually reading the copious press coverage about the progress, the works designs, and engineering feats accomplished or building as the Erie Canal progressed. Philadelphia's luminaries were vying with other coastal cities to become

3816-549: The " Pennsy ", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. At its peak in 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest railroad (by traffic and revenue), the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world, on par with the London & North Western Railway . Over its existence, Pennsylvania Railroad acquired, merged with, or owned part of at least 800 other rail lines and companies. At

3922-492: The 1810s the population west of the mountains was exploding. Regional transport hubs were established in Brownsville , Pittsburgh , Cincinnati , Buffalo , Detroit , and New Orleans (and later in the 1840s St. Louis , Chicago , and St. Joseph , Missouri would develop similarly). The markets of this burgeoning population were targeted by the business class of Philadelphia and New Jersey. The War of 1812 exacerbated

4028-468: The 20th century, the Pennsy tried electric power for its trains. Its first effort was in the New York terminal area, where tunnels and a city law restricting the burning of coal precluded steam locomotives. In 1910, the railroad began operating a direct current (DC) 650-volt system whose third-rail powered Pennsy locomotives (and LIRR passenger cars) used to enter Penn Station in New York City via

4134-599: The Allegheny River and terminate in Pittsburgh, while residents of the borough of Allegheny favored a north bank canal ending in the borough, across the river from Pittsburgh. Eventually, the canal was run along the physically more favorable north bank, but the state agreed to build the main terminal and turning basin in Pittsburgh and a secondary terminal and connecting canal, the Allegheny Outlet, in

4240-729: The Conemaugh River to form the Kiskiminetas River, recognizes the canal's economic contribution to Saltsburg . Download coordinates as: For more on the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad , see William Hasell Wilson, The Columbia-Philadelphia Railroad and Its Successor (1896). A reprint of this booklet was issued in 1985. See also John C. Trautwine, Jr., The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad of 1834 , in Philadelphia History , Vol. 2, No. 7 (Philadelphia, PA: City History Soc. of Philadelphia, 1925). This

4346-581: The Delaware River from Philadelphia) to South Amboy, New Jersey (across Raritan Bay from New York City), as well as a newer line from Philadelphia to Jersey City, New Jersey, much closer to New York, via Trenton, New Jersey. Track connection in Philadelphia was made via the Pennsy's Connecting Railway and the jointly owned Junction Railroad . The Pennsy's Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road opened on July 2, 1872, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. This route required transfer via horse car in Baltimore to

Pennsylvania Railroad class D6 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4452-476: The Eastern Division on the east side. They solved the problem by building a dam 1,998 feet (609 m) long and 8.5 feet (2.6 m) high between the lower end of Duncan's Island and the east bank of the Susquehanna. This formed a pool across which boats could be pulled from a wooden, two-tier towpath bridge at Clark's Ferry. Two Duncan's Island lift locks raised or lowered the boats traveling between

4558-578: The Kiskiminetas and Conemaugh Rivers to Blairsville and then to the western end of the Allegheny Portage Railroad at Johnstown. East of Tunnelton, the route went through a canal tunnel of 817 feet (249 m) built to avoid a long loop of the Conemaugh River. The first fully loaded freight boat traveled from Johnstown to Pittsburgh in 1831; the route through Grant's Hill opened in 1832. Over its length of 104 miles (167 km),

4664-480: The Lehigh Canal than all of the coal they had previously delivered to market since their founding in 1792. White expected to construct a canal system to ship the coal, but efforts to improve shipping capabilities on the Schuylkill Navigation was lagging hope when backers took to quarreling over the best way to proceed. White distanced himself from that project and settled for an alternative route down

4770-634: The Lehigh and Delaware rivers. After surveying and deciding improving navigation on the Lehigh could be feasible, returned to lease the operations of the Lehigh Coal Mine Company and improve navigability on the Lehigh river. The first 60 miles of this planned canal project would follow the Delaware River from Easton to the Philadelphia suburb town of Bristol , and would later become the Delaware Canal . By 1818, White had obtained

4876-471: The Lehigh until the 1960s. While some problems were fixable, the Delaware Canal 's lock's design was always a costly economic problem until the Canal became the parkland and current haven for pleasure boats. White and Hazard made the offer in return for a break on tolls, and even included an offer to operate the system at cost—the state garnering all the tolls. This offer too was declined, and in 1827 in

4982-551: The New York Central Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad absorbed the New York Central and eventually went by the name of Penn Central Transportation Company . The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) required that the ailing New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (NH) be added in 1969. A series of events including inflation, poor management, abnormally harsh weather, and the withdrawal of

5088-571: The PRR began passenger train service from New York City via Philadelphia to Washington with limited stops along the route. This service became known as the "Congressional Limited Express." The service expanded, and by the 1920s, the Pennsy was operating hourly passenger train service between New York, Philadelphia and Washington. In 1952, 18-car stainless steel streamliners were introduced on the Morning Congressional and Afternoon Congressional between New York and Washington, as well as

5194-556: The Pennsy access to the iron ore traffic on Lake Erie. On June 15, 1887, the Pennsylvania Limited began running between New York and Chicago. This was also the introduction of the vestibule, an enclosed platform at the end of each passenger car, allowing protected access to the entire train. In 1902 the Pennsylvania Limited was replaced by the Pennsylvania Special which in turn was replaced in 1912 by

5300-443: The Pennsy owned 439 freight cars. By 1857, it had 1,861 cars, and in 1866, 9,379 cars. Freight equipment was either acquired new from builders or built by the railroad itself. The Pennsy acquired more cars from the railroads it absorbed. In some instances, privately owned cars were either purchased from a builder or railroad acquisition. One such example was the 1877 purchase of Empire Transportation merchandise and oil cars. By

5406-566: The Pennsylvania Railroad gained control of the Northern Central Railway , giving it access to Baltimore, Maryland , and points along the Susquehanna River via connections at Columbia, Pennsylvania, or Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. On December 1, 1871, the Pennsy leased the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company , which included the original Camden and Amboy Railroad from Camden, New Jersey (across

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5512-453: The Pennsylvania Railroad merged with New York Central and the railroad eventually went by the name of Penn Central Transportation Company , or "Penn Central" for short. The former competitors' networks integrated poorly with each other, and the railroad filed for bankruptcy within two years. Bankruptcy continued and on April 1, 1976, the railroad gave up its rail assets, along with the assets of several other failing northeastern railroads, to

5618-452: The Pennsylvania legislature in 1846. The first was for a new railroad called The Pennsylvania Railroad Company to build a line between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The second was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), which wanted to build to Pittsburgh from Cumberland, Maryland. Both applications were granted with conditions. If the Pennsylvania Railroad did not raise enough capital and contract to build enough railroad within

5724-528: The Revolutionary War wound down in the 1780s, many family groups moved west, establishing scattered settlements from below the Wyoming Valley across the near west into the retreating western frontiers and the lands of the old Ohio Country . In the early 1800s, the new farms established along the moving frontier west of the Appalachian mountains were being connected back to Atlantic seaboard cities by turnpikes, canals, and other transportation infrastructure works funded mostly by private funds or local governments. By

5830-417: The South Fork Dam failed, sending 20 million tons (18.2 million cubic meters) of water down the gorge toward Johnstown. More than 2,200 people were killed. The Tunnelview Historical Site shows where in 1830 a canal tunnel of 817 feet (249 m) was built through Bow Ridge to avoid a long bend on the Conemaugh River, 10 miles (16 km) west of Blairsville. Saltsburg Canal Park, where Loyalhanna Creek joins

5936-420: The United States' most important and influential port as the country's population expanded westward to the Ohio Country and Northwest Territory regions. The system would also not only open better access to the newly opened Southeastern Coal Region and the initial mines in the Panther Creek Valley but authorized an extension of the Lehigh Canal up to White Haven, and a railroad connecting that upper canal with

6042-419: The average capacity of a Pennsylvania Railroad freight car increased from 31 to 54 short tons (28 to 48 long tons; 28 to 49 t). This increased to 55 short tons (49 long tons; 50 t) in the mid-1930s and then to 56 short tons (50 long tons; 51 t) in 1945. By the start of 1946, the Pennsy's freight car ownership decreased to 240,293 cars and in 1963, down to 140,535. The Pennsylvania Railroad used

6148-439: The borough. Getting the main canal across the Allegheny River into Pittsburgh required an aqueduct of 1,140 feet (347 m), the longest on the Pennsylvania Main Line route. Linking to the Ohio River at Pittsburgh, the Western Division Canal also linked, through a tunnel of 810 feet (250 m) under Grant's Hill in Pittsburgh, with the Monongahela River . Subsequent Western Division Canal extensions went from Freeport up

6254-432: The canal and the Allegheny Portage Railroad. The Pennsylvania Main Line Canal, Juniata Division, Canal Section was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. From 1834 until 1854, when the Pennsylvania Railroad Company finished a competing line, the Allegheny Portage Railroad made continuous boat traffic possible over the Allegheny Mountains between the Juniata and Western Division Canals. It followed

6360-455: The canal continued north along the river and then west. The Northern Liberties and Penn Township Railroad was incorporated in 1829 to build a branch continuing east on Noble Street and Willow Street to the Delaware River . This opened in 1834. The Belmont Plane ran from the Schuylkill River for 2,805 feet (855 m), rising 1 foot (0.3 m) per 15 feet (4.6 m) for a total rise of 187 feet (57 m). Steam-driven cables dragged

6466-402: The canal employed 68 locks, 16 river dams, and 16 aqueducts. From Freeport, a separate extension, the Kittanning Feeder, ran 14 miles (23 km) up the Allegheny River to Kittanning. The 1889 Johnstown Flood was caused by the failure of the South Fork Dam , part of the Main Line of Public Works. The dam across the Little Conemaugh River in the hills above Johnstown, Pennsylvania , created

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6572-409: The coal sources in the Wyoming Valley . All the eastern projects were to reliably provide clean-burning anthracite coal to eastern cities that had already consumed much of the eastern forests for heating fuel. The rail portions of the system were authorized in 1828 by an act of the Pennsylvania General Assembly entitled An act relative to the Pennsylvania Canal, and to provide for the commencement of

6678-406: The company. The controlling, non-institutional shareholders of the PRR during the early 1960s were Henry Stryker Taylor , who was a part of the Jacob Bunn business dynasty of Illinois, and Howard Butcher III, a principal in the Philadelphia brokerage house of Butcher & Sherrerd (later Butcher & Singer). On February 1, 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with its longtime arch-rival,

6784-431: The dam pool and the other canals. The Juniata Division Canal was approved in segments starting in 1827 with a canal from near Duncan's Island in the Susquehanna River to Lewistown, 40 miles (64 km) upstream. Subsequently, the state agreed to extend the canal to Hollidaysburg and the eastern end of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, 127 miles (204 km) from the Susquehanna. A total of 86 locks were required to overcome

6890-503: The electrified trackage are still in use, owned and operated by Amtrak as the Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor high-speed rail routes, by SEPTA , and by NJ Transit . The Pennsylvania Railroad's corporate symbol was the keystone , the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's state symbol, with the letters "PRR" intertwined inside. When colored, it was bright red with a silver-grey inline and lettering. The Pennsylvania Railroad bought its first 75 freight cars in 1849. Two years later,

6996-400: The end of 1926, it operated 11,640.66 miles (18,733.83 kilometers) of rail line; in the 1920s, it carried nearly three times the traffic as other railroads of comparable length, such as the Union Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. Its only formidable rival was the New York Central Railroad (NYC), which carried around three-quarters of the Pennsy's ton-miles. In 1968,

7102-476: The end of the century, a third and fourth track were added. Over the next 50 years, the Pennsy expanded by gaining control of other railroads by stock purchases and 999-year leases. At the end of its first year of operation, the Pennsylvania Railroad paid a dividend, and continued the dividend without interruption until 1946. The Pennsy's charter was supplemented on March 23, 1853, to allow it to purchase stock and guarantee bonds of railroads in other states, up to

7208-468: The first passenger train, the Metropolitan, went into operation over the newly electrified line from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. On April 15, the electrified freight service from Harrisburg and Enola Yard east was inaugurated, thus completing the Pennsy's eastern seaboard electrification program. The railroad had electrified 2,677 miles (4,308 km) of its track, representing 41% of the country's electrically operated standard railroad trackage. Portions of

7314-410: The formation of Conrail. It reorganized in 1994 as American Premier Underwriters , which continues to operate as a property and casualty insurance company. With the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 and the beginnings of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in 1828, Philadelphia business interests became concerned that the port of Philadelphia would lose traffic. The state legislature was pressed to build

7420-444: The great plain of southern Pennsylvania (goal of connecting the Susquehanna to New York City via canals) through Harrisburg and across the state to Pittsburgh and connected with other divisions of the Pennsylvania Canal . It consisted of the following principal sections, moving from east to west: The canals reduced travel time between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh from at least 23 days to just four. The Main Line of Public Works

7526-410: The lack of a tow path canal for the sixty miles Easton-Philadelphia was very costly to LC&N, and the state's Delaware Canal attempt when opened in 1832 was five years later than promised and didn't work; the State had to hire Josiah White to repair its major deficiencies, then needed LC&N's expertise to operate it. LC&N ended up running both canals into the 1930s, and retained the rights to

7632-547: The largest business enterprise in the world and a world-class model for technological and managerial innovation. He served as the Pennsy's first Chief Engineer and third President. Thomson's sober, technical, methodical, and non-ideological personality had an important influence on the Pennsylvania Railroad, which in the mid-19th century was on the technical cutting edge of rail development, while nonetheless reflecting Thomson's personality in its conservatism and its steady growth while avoiding financial risks. His Pennsylvania Railroad

7738-642: The legal permissions "to ruin himself" fixing up the Lehigh, founding the Lehigh Navigation Company and using a quasi-lock of his own design to construct what is now known as the Lower Lehigh Canal between 1818 and 1820. The works had made sufficient improvements by late 1820 to deliver 365 tons of anthracite coal to Easton — by 1825 the annual anthracite tonnage had climbed to over 28,000 short tons (25,000 t) per annum. White's ventures firmly established anthracite as

7844-541: The lettering and outlining was originally done in real gold leaf. After World War II, the lettering was done in a light shade of gold, called Buff Yellow. For most of its existence, the Pennsylvania Railroad was conservative in its locomotive choices and pursued standardization, both in locomotive types and their component parts. Almost alone among U.S. railroads, the Pennsy designed most of its steam locomotive classes itself. It built most of them at Altoona Works , outsourcing only when Pennsy facilities could not keep up with

7950-547: The line from Philadelphia to Paoli, Pennsylvania, was completed. Other Philadelphia lines electrified were the Chestnut Hill Branch (March 30, 1918), White Marsh (1924), the main line to Wilmington, Delaware (September 30, 1928), West Chester (December 2, 1928), Trenton line (June 29, 1930), and completed on July 20, 1930 the Schuylkill Branch to Norristown, Pennsylvania, later followed by

8056-474: The line served the coal region of southern Illinois and as a passenger route for the Pennsylvania Railroad's Blue Ribbon named trains The St. Louisan , The Jeffersonian , and the Spirit of St. Louis . By 1906, the Pennsylvania built several low-grade lines for freight to bypass areas of steep grade (slope) and avoid congestion. These included: Some other lines were planned, but never completed: Early in

8162-464: The locomotives were painted in black, referred to as "True Black." The passenger cars of the Pennsy were painted Tuscan Red , a brick-colored shade of red. Some electric locomotives and most passenger-hauling diesel locomotives were also painted in Tuscan Red. Freight cars of the Pennsy had their own color, known as "Freight Car Color," an iron-oxide shade of red. On passenger locomotives and cars,

8268-679: The low-grade freight line from Morrisville through Columbia to Enola Yard in Pennsylvania; the Port Road Branch from Perryville, Maryland, to Columbia; the Jamesburg Branch and Amboy Secondary freight line from Monmouth Junction to South Amboy; and the Landover-South End freight line from Landover, Maryland, through Washington to Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Virginia. In less than a year, on January 15, 1938,

8374-657: The merged product of numerous smaller lines in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Commonly called the Panhandle Route , this line ran west from Pittsburgh to Bradford, Ohio , where it split, with one line to Chicago and the other to East St. Louis, Illinois , via Indianapolis, Indiana . In 1905, the acquisition of the Vandalia Railroad gave the Pennsy access across the Mississippi River to St. Louis, Missouri . Double-tracked for much of its length,

8480-448: The mid-1860s, the railroad had 9,379 freight cars; a decade later, 32,718; the mid-1880s, over 49,000; 1896, more than 87,000. The Pennsy changed its car reporting methods around 1900. The railroads owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad system were now included in reports, in addition to the Pennsylvania Railroad proper. So, in 1900, the Pennsy had over 180,000 freight cars; by 1910, 263,039. The zenith of freight car ownership

8586-480: The mining, transportation and industrial development of Pennsylvania by example, implementation, and by funding quite a few projects, as well. This new proposal was to build— at the companies expense — the project that would (in concept) become their version of the eventual Delaware Canal (alternatively the 'Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal') built by the states engineering managers

8692-465: The mouth of the Juniata River. The canal included 14 locks with an average lift of 7.5 feet (2.3 m). The state originally planned a canal of 24 miles (39 km) running between the Union Canal at Middletown to the Juniata. However, the plan changed in 1828, when the state opted to extend the Eastern Division 19 miles (31 km) further south to connect with the newly decided replacement of

8798-532: The next day, ending Pennsylvania Air Line service. In the early 1880s, the Pennsylvania acquired a majority of PW&B Railroad's stock. This action forced the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) to build the Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad to keep its Philadelphia access, where it connected with the Reading Company for its competing Royal Blue Line passenger trains to reach New York. In 1885,

8904-552: The other lines heading north from the city. On June 29, 1873, the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel through Baltimore was completed. The Pennsylvania Railroad started the Pennsylvania Air Line service ("air line" at the time being understood as a nearly-straight and nearly-flat route with distance similar to "as the crow flies") via the Northern Central Railway and Columbia, Pennsylvania. This service

9010-659: The pre-industrialization period. After the 1779 Sullivan Expedition broke the power of the Five Civilized Nations of the Iroquois towards the end of the American Revolutionary War , settlement became viable from the lower Susquehanna Valley to Upstate New York as far as Lake Erie . The U.S. was able to claim trans-Appalachian territories from the Ohio River to the lower Great Lakes , and west to Minnesota and Wisconsin . As

9116-474: The railroad's needs. In such cases, subcontractors were hired to build to PRR designs, unlike most railroads that ordered to broad specifications and left most design choices to the builder. The Pennsy's favorite outsourced locomotive builder was Baldwin Locomotive Works , which received its raw materials and shipped out its finished products on Pennsy lines. The two companies were headquartered in

9222-507: The railway cars to the top of Belmont Hill. The Plane was the site of a signal event in railroad history. On July 10, 1836, the Philadelphia -based Norris Locomotive Works drove a 4-2-0 locomotive up the Incline, making it the first steam locomotive to climb an ascending grade while pulling a load. The 14,400-pound (6,500 kg) engine, named George Washington , hauled a load of 19,200 pounds (8,709 kg), including 24 people riding on

9328-440: The rest of the main line to Trenton, New Jersey. In 1928, PRR's president William Wallace Atterbury announced plans to electrify the lines between New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and Harrisburg. In January 1933, through main-line service between New York and Philadelphia/Wilmington/Paoli was placed in operation. The first test run of an electric train between Philadelphia and Washington occurred on January 28, 1935. On February 1

9434-608: The route of present-day Montgomery Avenue in Lower Merion Township, was abandoned. The Columbia Bridge and line east to Broad and Vine Streets were sold to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad as part of its main line. The Reading acquired the Northern Liberties and Penn Township Railroad in 1870, giving it access to the Delaware River. The section of the old Pennsylvania Railroad running from Philadelphia west through Chester County and, by extension,

9540-747: The same city; Pennsy and Baldwin management and engineers knew each other well. When the Pennsy and Baldwin shops were at capacity, orders went to the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio. Only as a last resort would the Pennsy use the American Locomotive Company (Alco), based in Schenectady, New York, which also built for Pennsy's rival, the New York Central. Main Line of Public Works Later amendments substituted

9646-626: The section from 52nd Street west to the main line at Rosemont . The state built the rest from 52nd Street east to downtown, but on a different alignment than the one originally planned; the new line, put into operation October 15, 1850, ended at the west end of the Market Street Bridge , from which the City Railroad continued east. The old line, which ran from the Schuylkill River up the Belmont Plane to Ardmore along

9752-516: The state built three reservoirs on Juniata tributaries to keep the upper parts of the canal filled with water. A canal section of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) has been restored near Locust Campground, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Lewistown. At the western end of the canal, the Hollidaysburg Canal Basin Park has preserved two canal basins and a connecting lock; a museum at the park illustrates how canal boats transferred between

9858-454: The state needed to hire Josiah White to fix it before it became fully usable in 1834. Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company would operate the Canal into the 1930s, and controlled its resources and those rights attained on the Lehigh until the 1960s when they reverted or conveyed back to the state. Hence the Canal system was envisioned and built at the urging of New Jersey and Pennsylvanian businessmen, especially Philadelphia's bearing witness to

9964-513: The tender and one freight car, up the grade at 15 miles (24 km) per hour. So remarkable was this accomplishment that reports in engineering journals doubted its occurrence. Nine days later, the engine repeated the feat in a more formal trial with an even greater load. In 1850, the state bought the West Philadelphia Railroad, which had been incorporated in 1835 to bypass the Belmont Plane and failed after completing only

10070-546: The use of the inclined planes of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. In 1857, the PRR purchased the Main Line of Public Works from the state of Pennsylvania. This purchase included 275 miles (443 km) of canal, the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad, and the New Portage Railroad (which replaced the now abandoned Allegheny Portage Railroad). The Pennsy abandoned most of the New Portage Railroad in 1857 as it

10176-741: The war, the British government made several agreements, primarily with the Iroquois , which resulted in official policies to curb the expansion of settlement in the colonial West (today's Midwest). This was one of many British policies that created support for the American Revolution along the American frontier for those hoping to emigrate into the Ohio Country , and also for East Coast seaboard populations that were blooming in

10282-531: The western basin at Johnstown. At its summit, the railroad reached an elevation of 2,322 feet (708 m) above sea level . In 1826, the state legislature authorized the first segment of the Western Division Canal, from Pittsburgh up the Allegheny River to its confluence with the Kiskiminetas River at Freeport . Pittsburgh residents favored a route that would follow the south bank of

10388-412: The western suburbs of Philadelphia, is still known as the Main Line . The Columbia Plane, which lowered railway cars down to the Eastern Division Canal along the Susquehanna River , was bypassed in 1840 by a new track alignment. The Pennsylvania Canal's Eastern Division, which opened in 1833, ran 43 miles (69 km) along the east side of the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Duncan's Island at

10494-471: Was 54.5 miles (87.7 km) longer than the old route but avoided the transfer in Baltimore. The Union Railroad line opened on July 24, 1873. This route eliminated the transfer in Baltimore. Pennsy officials contracted with both the Union Railroad and the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) for access to this line. The Pennsy's New York–Washington trains began using the route

10600-430: Was already re-doing the upper four locks on the Lehigh Canal to support a steam powered tug pulling boats over 120 feet (37 m) built to support two way traffic with full locks. By 1825 the volume of coal coming down the Lehigh & Delaware to Philadelphia was becoming huge and problematic — LC&N was rapidly over logging the forests feeding the Lehigh to build boats for the one way trip. The extra expenses of

10706-501: Was assisted by the Pennsy in the form of a guarantee of $ 500,000 worth of bonds. In 1856, a controlling interest was purchased in the Cumberland Valley Railroad and the Pennsy constructed additional lines in Philadelphia. In 1857, the aforementioned Main Line of Public Works was purchased for $ 7,500,000 ($ 245 million in 2023). The Empire Transportation Company was founded in 1865 by Joseph D. Potts and became

10812-489: Was completed in 1834 and was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad on June 25, 1857, for $ 7,500,000. Within a year, the PRR replaced the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh route with an entirely rail-based system. The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad began in Philadelphia at Broad and Vine Streets, ran north on Broad and west on Pennsylvania Avenue, a segment later taken over and submerged and tunneled over by

10918-548: Was in his day the largest railroad in the world, with 6,000 miles of track, and was famous for steady financial dividends, high quality construction, constantly improving equipment, technological advances (such as replacing wood fuel with coal), and innovation in management techniques for a large complex organization. The railroad's other presidents were: The Pennsylvania Railroad's board chairman/CEOs were: The railroad's vice-presidents were: The Pennsy's main line extended from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1861,

11024-481: Was now redundant with the Pennsylvania Railroad's own line. In 1861, the Pennsy leased the HPMtJ&L to bring the entire stretch of road between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia under its control. The Johnstown to Pittsburgh stretch of canal was abandoned in 1865 and the rest of the canals sold to the Pennsylvania Canal Company in 1866. The main line was double track from its inception, and by

11130-416: Was reached in 1919 when the Pennsy owned a reported 282,729 freight cars. Steel in freight car construction began during the later part of the 19th century, when cars were now being built with a steel underframe and wooden bodies or were all steel. The Pennsy steadily replaced their wooden cars with steel versions until there were no more wooden cars by 1934. During the first quarter of the 20th century,

11236-562: Was simultaneously built from Pittsburgh, eastward along the Allegheny and Conemaugh rivers to Johnstown, while the eastern end was built from Harrisburg to Altoona. In 1848, the Pennsy contracted with the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mountjoy and Lancaster Railroad (HPMtJ&L) to buy and use equipment over both roads, providing service from Harrisburg east to Lancaster. In 1851, tracks were completed between Pittsburgh and Johnstown. In 1852,

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