Main Line of Public Works

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The Main Line of Public Works was a railroad and canal system built by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, running from Philadelphia west through Harrisburg and across the state to Pittsburgh. It consisted of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia in Lancaster County, the Allegheny Portage Railroad from Hollidaysburg to Johnstown, and canals connecting the two railroads and from Johnstown to Pittsburgh. The system opened in 1834 and was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1857.

[edit] Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad

Railroads in Philadelphia that became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system (both Philadelphia and Columbia alignments to the northwest)

The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad began in Philadelphia at Broad and Vine Streets, running north on Broad and west on Noble Street before heading 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 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. [1]

The Belmont Plane ran from the Schuylkill River for 2,805 feet, rising one foot in 15 for a total of 187 feet. A very important event in railroad history occurred on this inclined plane. On July 10, 1836, the Norris Locomotive Works, a Philadelphia firm, ran a test of a 4-2-0 locomotive named George Washington. The 14,400 pound engine hauled a load of 19,200 pounds (including 24 people riding on tender and one freight car) up the grade at 15 miles per hour. This engine, the first to ascend a hill by its own power, proved that steam locomotives could climb an ascending grade. So remarkable was this accomplishment that reports in engineering journals emphatically doubted its occurrence. A second, more formal trial with an even greater load proved the engine's capabilities on July 19, 1836.

The Columbia Plane was bypassed in 1840 by a new alignment. [2]

In 1850 the state bought the West Philadelphia Railroad, which had been incorporated in 1835 to bypass the inclined plane, and failed after completing only 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 ended at the west end of the Market Street Bridge, from which the City Railroad continued east. The old line from the Schuylkill River up the Belmont Plane and heading west 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.

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Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiaries