The Pennsylvania Railroad 1846–1970

The Pennsylvania Railroad is a Class 1 railroad established in the state of Pennsylvania in 1846, with its first line running from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, and a subsequent passenger line running from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. For the first half of the twentieth century it was the largest railroad in terms of traffic and revenue and connected the East Coast to the north midwestern interior. Over time, its owners, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, merged with at least 800 other railroads and, by 1925, it had acquired 10,515 miles (16,922 km) of rail track and carried three times the traffic of its competitors. At its peak, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company had a larger budget than the US government and had in the region of 250,000 employees. In 1968, it merged with its rival, the New York Central and, in 1970, was forced to file for bankruptcy.