Source:Fleming-obstacles
George T. Fleming. "Railroads push over many obstacles: Sidelights given on early lines building in Pennsylvania and West: Merger is effected." Pittsburgh Gazette Times, Dec. 31, 1916, sec. 3, p. 8. Newspapers.com 85515319.
BEGINNING in 1850, Pittsburgh people were reading almost daily in the press of those years of progress in building railroads and of surveys and projected railroads that would terminate in Pittsburgh.
As late as 1856 we learn from George H. Thurston's first issue of his once celebrated directory of the city that Pittsburgh had through rail connection to Philadelphia via the Pennsylvania Central Railroad; that the road was 328 miles in length, later 353 miles, the principal offices in Philadelphia; the passenger depot in Pittsburgh, at the corner of Liberty, Grant and Eighth streets, the latter street long since vacated; the Duquesne depot for freight at the corner of Liberty and Marbury streets; foot of Third street (now avenut [sic]), the Outer Depot on Liberty street near Clymer street, now Twenty-ninth street, that the ticket agent in Pittsburgh was John Miskimen; the freight agent, George C. Franciscus; superintendent at Altoona, Henry J. Lonbaert; superintendent of Western Division at Pittsburgh, Thomas A. Scott; chief engineer, Hermann Haupt; solicitors at Pittsburgh, William A. Stokes and John H. Hampton; treasurer, Thomas F. Frith; secretary, Edmund Smith; president, J. Edgar Thomson; vice president, William B. Foster, Jr. On the board of 13 directors Pittsburgh had two representatives, Mr. Foster ant [sic] William M. Lyon. Perhaps Thomas A. Scott should be named also.
We learn also that the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad was 466 miles in length, of which 400 were completed in October, 1856; the office of the road was at 23 Fifth street (now avenue), upstairs, near Market street; the passenger depot at Federal street and South Common, Allegheny City; the freight depot at Federal street and South Common; the business office at 23 Fifth street, upstairs; the general ticket agent was George Parkin; the general freight agent, J. J. Houston; local freight agent, Samuel Barr; superintendent, J. H. Moore; chief engineer, Solomon W. Roberts; solicitor, C. T. Sherman; assistant solicitor, John H. Hampton; treasurer, George Darsie; acting secretary, J. P. Henderson; president, George W. Cass; vice president, J. K. Edgerton of Fort Wayne. On the board of directors Pennsylvania was represented by Gen. Cass, William Wade and Gen. William Robinson, Jr., all of Pittsburgh.
Ohio had four directors, Indiana four, Illinois two and New York one. Mr. Sherman, the solicitor of the road, lived at Mansfield, O., and was a director also. He was a brother of Gen. W. T. and John Sherman, the latter a director for many years. The first New York director was Thomas F. Moran, succeeded by Samuel J. Tilden, so that by virtue of their offices John Sherman and Mr. Tilden, opponents in politics, often sat together.
The Allegheny Valley Railroad was not completed, but open to Kittanning, 44 miles, its general offices at Water street and Chancery lane; its passenger depot at Penn and Wayne streets, now Penn avenue and Tenth street; its freight depot with its passenger; its ticket agent was R. B. Loomis; freight agent, Samuel Caldwell; superintendent, A. J. Hopper; chief engineer, W. Milnor Roberts; solicitor, J. R. Sewwell [sic]; treasurer, John T. Logan; secretary, James Gibson; president, William F. Johnston. Mr. Johnston was governor of Pennsylvania from 1848 to 1852.
In 1856 the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad was "not fully completed," Mr. Thurston says. "Finished to Wellsville on the Ohio River, connecting with Pittsburgh by boat. Length of road, 200 miles." The record goes on: "Office at No. 128 Water street; general ticket in Cleveland; local ticket agent, J. A. Caughey, who was also the freight agent; the president was C. W. Rockewell of Cleveland and the superintendent, John Durand of that city. Pittsburgh was not represented on the board of directors. The nearest in that way was Hiram Stowe, father of the late Judge E. H. Stowe, who resided at Beaver. The road was more of a Cleveland affair than a Pittsburgh one, although Thurston calls it the "Pittsburgh and Cleveland Railroad." It was just the reverse in name.
In 1856 the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad was partially open, that is, from Guffey's Station to West Newton by cars, and from West Newton to Pittsburgh via steamboat, the Youghiogheny River then being navigable by locks and dams as far as West Newton.
The president of this road was B. H. Latrobe, Jr., of Baltimore; chief engineer, Charles P. Manning; secretary, A. L. Russell; treasurer, Joseph D. Potts; superintendent, Henry Blackstone; solicitor, J. H. Sewell. The offices were at 67 Fourth street, now avenue, about the site of the Benedum-Trees Building. On the board of directors the Pittsburgh names were few: William Bingham, one of the old forwarding merchants of the city, yet in the business on the canal and at the time (1856) mayor of Pittsburgh; Samuel A. Long and Thomas Bakewell alone have a familiar ring. The road was stated to extend from Pittsburgh to Cumberland. It did not extend until 1870 when the Baltimore and Ohio extended it and took over the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad.
The Pittsburgh and Steubenville Railroad was to be opened, it was said, to Pittsburgh some day. The road "maintained" offices in Pittsburgh at that time. These were at Fourth street and Cherry alley, now Fourth avenue and Cherry way. The president of the road was R. W. Latham; chief engineer, D. Mitchell, Jr.; secretary, Sydney F. Von Bornhorst [sic], Lincoln's appointee as postmaster here early in 1861. This road was a steady topic in the newspapers of that era and had been for six years previously. It had been written about by Neville B. Craig in his "History of Pittsburgh," that appeared in 1851, and was still being built in 1856, and finally entered the city in 1865. It is now a part of the Pennsylvania Lines, Panhandle route, or the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.
The Chartiers Valley looked good to Pittsburghers and Washington county folks in 1856. It was not opened for more than 10 years afterward. In 1861 when the first troops from Washington county were brought to rendezvous in Pittsburgh, they were conveyed by wagons via the old Washington road through West Liberty. The Chartiers Valley road was completed to Mansfield, now Carnegie, about the time the Panhandle route was opened. Gen. J. K. Moorhead was president of the railroad company building the Charties [sic] Valley Railroad; D. Mitchell, Jr., chief engineer; Joseph B. Jones, treasurer, and S. F. Von Bonnhorst, secretary. Some of the executive officers were the same as those of the Pittsburgh and Steubenville Railroad. The directors of these were almost all Pittsburgh merchants and capitalists. Among them were N. Holmes, banker; James Schoonmaker, white lead manufacturer (father of Col. J. M. Schoonmaker); Col. W. R. Phillips, Robert Galway, R. F. Smyth, Samuel A. Long, Robert Wood, S. B. Cooper and Mansfield B. Brown, the latter of Mansfield, the town originally named for his family.
In the directory of 1856 we got the first note of Mr. Carnegie as a railroad official, as follows: "Carnegie, Andrew, Supt. Department P, Central R. R., house, Rebecca, near Bank lane." Above this is the line, "Carnegie, Margaret, widow, Rebecca near Bank lane." This was in old Allegheny. Rebecca street is now Reedsdale and Bank lane is South avenue.
Mr. Carnegie was clerk to Supt. Thomas A. Scott. Gen Cass is mentioned in his official capacity as residing on the South Common, between Federal and Beaver streets, Beaver now being Arch street. He also was president at this time of the Adams Express Company.
The people of Pittsburgh and Allegheny county paid and paid well for the railroads. Bonds were issued by both city and county. In the hard times before the Civil War $540,000 interest was defaulted on the city's railroad debt of $1,800,000. There was a debt of $2,308,070 besides and the city liable also for its proportionate share of the count's [sic] railroad debt and other debts. The default led to litigation and the Supreme Court ordered city and county to pay. The county commissioners refused, went to jail and were fined $1,000 each.
The populace was indignant and popular meetings were held at which the Supreme Court and all connected with this burden of debt were consigned to "dire perdition" as it was called then. Our gentle taxpayers of those days even demanded the removal of the whole Supreme Court. Had the county commissioners levied the tax as ordered they would not have been in contempt. But they persistently refused and were locked up. Finally in May 1861, they were released by a compromise and the county paid their fines.
In February, 1863, the railroad bond matter was finally adjusted by the consolidation of bonds and coupons to January 1, 1863, an abatement of 3½ per centum allowed the creditors which was funded at 5 per cent and the issuing of new bonds which were to be free of taxation. Bonds given to secure judgments against the city or county ran for 20 years; those given for the other debts for 50 years. The old bonds were deposited with trustees appointed for the purpose and were not to be cancelled until after five ears [sic] and then only after punctual payment of interest on the new issue. All legal expenses were paid by the city and county.
The cost to the community was burdensome for some time and especially in the dark days before the Civil War. The Railroad Compromise bonds expired in 1913 and were paid. The settlement with the city and county was the same.
Of the $1,800,000 bonds issued by the city to further railroad building, the Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad received $200,000; the Pittsburgh and Steubenville $550,000; the Allegheny Valley $400,000; the Pittsburgh and Connellsville $500,000; the Chartiers Valley $150,000. The default on these bonds and other indebtedness in these years gave the city a bad credit which took years to outlive.
The chartering of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad by the Legislature of Maryland in 1827 led to the chartering of many other roads and awakened great public interest throughout the country. Pittsburgh citizens, through a special committee, urged the Maryland Legislature and the Pennsylvania Legislature for authority to extend this road to Pittsburgh. Special committees were appointed at meetings of the people known as "railroad conventions." They were held frequently in Pittsburgh, but it was many a year before a railroad was laid and the iron horses snorted. Roads were laid out in all directions from Pittsburgh, some of which never came and some only within recent years.
There was in Pennsylvania a "canal ring," which tried in every way to retard the coming of the railroads. Their occupation and graft would go. They saw the omens were bad for them and they wiggled and squeeled [sic] and finally succumbed. The Pennsylvania Central gradually overcome [sic] all obstacles.
Pittsburgh in the years that saw that railroads were surely coming divided into two factions. One supported the Pennsylvania Line, the other the Pittsburgh and Connellsville. Gen. William Robinson led the adherents of the Pennsylvania and Gen. William Larimer the Pittsburgh and Connellsville. The strife became heated and led to bitterness. The Pennsylvania forces sought to influence the Pittsburgh and Connellsville people to transfer their holdings to the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. For a time this was assured, but a strong minority continued to fight and in February, 1848, succeeded in having the action of their board in transfering [sic] the stock of the Pittsburgh and Connellsville to the Cleveland and Pittsburgh repealed. Instead the directors voted to extend its lines from Cumberland to Connellsville and from West Newton have slackwater navigation to Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Central "beat them to it," for it was not until 1870 that the road through to Cumberland was opened with a big celebration in Pittsburgh. Work on the Allegheny Valley was started in 1853.
It was in November, 1854, that Pittsburgh got through rail connection to Fort Wayne, but the Ohio and Indiana was operated without profit until its consolidation.
In February, 1855, the Fort Wayne and Indiana Company was operating but 20 miles of its road and "but shadowy hope," says the directors' report, "of being able, unaided, to complete the whole line from Pittsburgh to Plymouth, Indiana." Forty-five miles of roadbed were incomplete when the road was taken over, east of Plymouth, hence the more remote prospects and fainter hopes of being able to complete the section from Plymouth to Chicago. The Ohio and Pennsylvania Company helped out the Ohio and Indiana Company to the extent of $405,000.
The time soon came when the necessity of consolidation was apparent. Concentration of effort, means and purpose was necessary to complete the line through to Chicago. Delay meant risk of ultimate loss of capital invested by each corporation. Hence the consolidation.
When the officials of the consolidated line assumed management they found 338 miles of road in use between Allegheny City, Pa., and Columbia City, Ind. From this a revenue was to be derived sufficient to pay expenses, interest and perhaps a dividend. Upon the board and its officials there was imposed the imperative duty of completing the road from Columbia City to Plymouth, Ind.; completing the road from the Federal Street Station in Allegheny City to the depot of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad in Pittsburgh; the ballasting and otherwise improving the track of the Ohio and Indiana Railroad between Crestline, O., and Fort Wayne; equipping the whole line with additional engines, passenger, freight and other cars to meet the requirements of the business reasonably expected, and finally completing the line from Plymouth to Chicago.
All this was accomplished. The Pennsylvania Central Railroad, aware of the importance of having an extension of its line to Chicago, even then the emporium of the rapidly growing West, joined with the Harrisburg and Lancaster Railroad Company in loaning the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Company $250,000 to complete its road.
J. L. Williams was then chief engineer for the latter road. He was a man of great energy—a hustler we say now. The gap of 45 miles between Columbia and Plymouth he had completed, grading, bridging and track laying in 90 days. The consolidation of the three roads was effected August 1, 1856. November 10 the first passenger train passed over this completed section and thereafter freight and passenger service was regular.
At the same time the masonry of the Allegheny River bridge at Pittsburgh was completed. All these roads were single track, with "meet and pass" stations.
The opposition of the two municipalities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny City to the extension within their limits did not delay work on the Allegheny River bridge. There was not the loss of a day on this work. The first bridge was completed in September, 1857, at a cost of $154,000, exclusive of trackage. It was a wooden truss bridge. Bridge bonds were sold to the amount of $30,000. More remained unsold as not needed.
Allegheny City officials "came over" and allowed the road to cross Federal street at grade—a death crossing for 40 years—and, although the contract entered into was deemed onerous by the company, it was accepted. The same death crossings at grade were at Sandusky and Anderson streets—gone by reason of the overhead construction of today.
It was in September, 1857, that the consolidated company obtained entrance to Pittsburgh on the company's property at Penn and Wayne streets—still the railroad's property. The date, September 22, marks the first entrance of a through passenger train from the West into Pittsburgh.
The portion of the line from the "turn out" in Allegheny (now North Side) was only seven-eighths of a mile, but it was the most expensive portion of the whole line.
This portion was originally made up of substantial trestle work, on stone foundations, an iron plate bridge, and the four arch bridges of 10 spans, the aggregate length of arch being 1,340 feet. This portion of the line was double-tracked. The rail then in use was 60-pound iron rail secured in New York and in Quebec mainly, and of English manufacture.
This portion was planned and built by George W. Leuffer, as engineer. Many Pittsburghers who are acquainted at New Florence, Pa., will remember the eccentric old man who resided there many years and who died there within the past 20 years. He was one of the pioneers of the builders of the Pennsylvania Central Lines and one of the great engineers of his day. He founded the town of New Florence.
The cost of the roadbed and track from Federal street to Penn avenue, 5,246 feet—a mile virtually—was $360,189 37.
The reader familiar with modern values will exclaim, "The road got in cheap." Not so then. Nothing is reported concerning passes.
Additional cost for purchase of property for trackage of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago to connect with the Pennsylvania road cost $19,000.
The delay in crossing Penn avenue was unfortunate to the road. When finally the company, after an appeal to the courts, overcame the opposition of Pittsburgh's Council by an injunction and secured the crossing it gave us two "death crossings"—the other at the curve at Liberty and Eleventh streets. February 10, 1858, saw Pittsburgh connected with Chicago from the same terminals as now, and from that date passenger trains regularly running between those terminals.
