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 | |
 Map of Pennsylvania Railroad up to 1945 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Key people |
|
| Founder | Samuel Vaughan Merrick |
| Reporting mark | PRR |
| Locale | Northeastern United States |
| Dates of operation | April 13, 1846–January 31, 1968 (renamed to Penn Central Transportation Company) |
| Successor | Penn Central Transportation Company |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Previous gauge | at one time 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) |
| Electrification | 12.5 kV 25 Hz AC: New York City-Washington, D.C./South Amboy; Philadelphia-Harrisburg; North Jersey Coast Line |
| Length | 11,640.66 miles (18,733.83 kilometers) (1926) |
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia. It was named for the commonwealth in which it was established. 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.[1]
Over its existence, Pennsylvania Railroad acquired, merged with, or owned part of at least 800 other rail lines and companies.[2] At the end of 1926, it operated 11,640.66 miles (18,733.83 kilometers) of rail line;[notes 1][3] 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, 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.[4]: Chapter 1
Bankruptcy continued and on April 1, 1976, the railroad gave up its railroad assets, along with the assets of several other failing northeastern railroads, to 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 the formation of Conrail. It reorganized in 1994 as American Premier Underwriters, which continues to operate as a property and casualty insurance company.[5]
- ^ Churella, Albert J. (2012). The Pennsylvania Railroad, Volume 1: Building an Empire, 1846–1917. U of Pennsylvania Press. pp. ix, x, 501. ISBN 978-0-8122-0762-0. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ^ "Pennsylvania Railroad Company Inspection of Physical Property Board of Directors and Arbiters". RailsAndTrails.com. November 10, 1948. Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
- ^ Schotter (1927).
- ^ Paige, John C. (May 1989). "A Special History Study Pennsylvania Railroad Shops and Works Altoona, Pennsylvania". National Park Service Special History Study. United States National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ "American Premier Underwriters, Inc". International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 10. St. James Press, 1995, reproduced by Funding Universe. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
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