South Pennsylvania Railroad
Encyclopedia
The South Pennsylvania Railroad is the name given to two proposed but never completed Pennsylvania railroads in the nineteenth-century. Parts of the right of way
for the second South Pennsylvania Railroad were reused for the Pennsylvania Turnpike
.
, 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 Shermans Valley and Broad Top Railroad, and the planned northern terminus changed to the mouth of Fishing Creek, in Perry County near Marysville
. An 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 the grandiose name of Pennsylvania Pacific Railway, with the rights to extend into Maryland and Virginia. On April 1, 1863, it was renamed as the South Pennsylvania Railroad. 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 the charter became dormant on May 31, 1879.
, 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, 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 potentially lethal 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 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 Reading Railroad, would form a route to the East Coast. The group used the long-inactive charter of the South Pennsylvania Railroad as their 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 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 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.
, who was the New York Central's principal banker and a Vanderbilt ally, was also concerned about the financial effects of 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 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, but the majority of the line, including several unfinished tunnels, remained unused. It eventually came to be known as "Vanderbilt's Folly".
In 1893, 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, the Baltimore & 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 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.
, 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 the workers from the South Penn 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 South Penn'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 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.
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...
for the second South Pennsylvania Railroad were reused for the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...
.
Initial promotions
The first South Pennsylvania Railroad was originally chartered as the Duncannon, Landisburg and Broad Top Railroad on May 5, 1854. Its intended route began in DuncannonDuncannon, Pennsylvania
Duncannon is a borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,508 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. The center of population of Pennsylvania is located in Duncannon. It is named after the coastal town of...
, passed through Landisburg
Landisburg, Pennsylvania
Landisburg is a borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 195 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Landisburg is located at ....
and Burnt Cabins
Burnt Cabins, Pennsylvania
Burnt Cabins is an unincorporated community in Dublin Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the foot of Tuscarora Mountain. It contains U.S. Route 522 and I-76 ....
, and ended on the Juniata River
Juniata River
The Juniata River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long, in central Pennsylvania in the United States. The river is considered scenic along much of its route, having a broad and shallow course passing through several mountain ridges and steeply-lined water gaps...
via the Broad Top Mountain coalfields. On May 5, 1855, it was renamed the Shermans Valley and Broad Top Railroad, and the planned northern terminus changed to the mouth of Fishing Creek, in Perry County near Marysville
Marysville, Pennsylvania
Marysville is a borough in Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,425 in July 2008. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. An amendment to the charter on May 12, 1857 allowed it to connect with the Allegheny Portage Railroad
Allegheny Portage Railroad
The Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania, United States. It was a series of 10 inclines, approximately long, and operated from 1834 to 1854...
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 the grandiose name of Pennsylvania Pacific Railway, with the rights to extend into Maryland and Virginia. On April 1, 1863, it was renamed as the South Pennsylvania Railroad. Despite feverish promotion, including plans for 200 miles (322 km) of line from Marysville to West Newton
West Newton, Pennsylvania
West Newton, located southeast of Pittsburgh, is a borough in Westmoreland County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Formerly, the manufacture of radiators and boilers were the chief industries. In 1900, the people living there numbered 2,467. In 1910, 2,880 people lived there...
(on the Youghiogheny River
Youghiogheny River
The Youghiogheny River , or the Yough for short, is a tributary of the Monongahela River in the U.S. states of West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania...
), no further work was completed. The two miles (3 km) of grading were sold off in 1872 and the charter became dormant on May 31, 1879.
New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad competition
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 RailroadPennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, 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, a newly built railroad whose line paralleled the route of the New York Central between New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Vanderbilt viewed the West Shore project as a Pennsylvania Railroad incursion into prime New York Central territory and a potentially lethal threat to the Central's supremacy in the area.
To retaliate, Vanderbilt allied himself with Pittsburgh capitalists, including Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
and Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel steel manufacturing concern...
, who were anxious to break 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
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, and, working jointly with the Reading Railroad, would form a route to the East Coast. The group used the long-inactive charter of the South Pennsylvania Railroad as their vehicle to begin constructing the railroad.
The route
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
in southern Pennsylvania. It connected Harrisburg with the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad
The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio at nearby Haselton, Ohio in the west and Connellsville, ...
, 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 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.
Cessation of work
Banker J. P. MorganJ. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
, who was the New York Central's principal banker and a Vanderbilt ally, was also concerned about the financial effects of 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
South Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)
The South Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge 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...
over the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
at Harrisburg), and agreed to sell its right-of-way to the Pennsylvania. However, legal action prevented the Pennsylvania from taking control of the line, and the South Pennsylvania remained in limbo for almost 20 years. In the meantime, two short sections, including the Quemahoning Tunnel
Quemahoning Tunnel
The Quemahoning Tunnel is a tunnel that was constructed by the New York Central Railroad for use on the stillborn South Pennsylvania Railroad. The tunnel is located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania near the 106.3 milemarker of the Pennsylvania Turnpike....
, were later used for local short line railroads, but the majority of the line, including several unfinished tunnels, remained unused. It eventually came to be known as "Vanderbilt's Folly".
In 1893, 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
Mount Dallas, Pennsylvania
Mount Dallas is a populated place in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. It is located in the water gap of Tussey Mountain approximately 1 mile upstream of Everett along the Raystown Branch Juniata River...
. 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
Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...
Commission in 1938.
In 1904, the Baltimore & 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 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.
Pennsylvania Turnpike
The route was revived during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, 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
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
and Irwin
Irwin, Pennsylvania
Irwin is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh. Some of the most extensive bituminous coal deposits in the State are located here. In the past, iron foundries, flour mills, car shops, facing and planing mills, electrical goods, and mirror factories provided...
. Two of the workers from the South Penn 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 South Penn's nine tunnels (subsequent route re-alignments have caused some of these tunnels to be abandoned
Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike is the common name of a 13 mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike that was bypassed in 1968 when a modern stretch opened to ease traffic congestion in the tunnels. In this case, the Sideling Hill Tunnel and Rays Hill Tunnel were bypassed, as was one of the...
), while the original Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
Allegheny Mountain Tunnel
The Allegheny Mountain Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel carrying the Pennsylvania Turnpike through the Allegheny Mountains. At this point, the Turnpike carries Interstates 70 and 76. The original Allegheny Mountain Tunnel was built in the late 19th century for the South Pennsylvania Railroad, which was...
wasn't used due to structural concerns and the Quemahoning Tunnel
Quemahoning Tunnel
The Quemahoning Tunnel is a tunnel that was constructed by the New York Central Railroad for use on the stillborn South Pennsylvania Railroad. The tunnel is located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania near the 106.3 milemarker of the Pennsylvania Turnpike....
and Negro Mountain Tunnel
Negro Mountain Tunnel
The Negro Mountain Tunnel is a tunnel located in Negro Mountain in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It was built by New York Central Railroad as part of the stillborn South Pennsylvania Railroad, which over time became known as "Vanderbilt's Folly"...
were bypassed because advances in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
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.