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Archiver > PABEAVER > 2001-12 > 1009582791


From: "Cathy Raber" <>
Subject: Re: [PABEAVER-L] Travel mode 1850-1870
Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 18:39:58 -0500



Well, I also have
found one of my distant relatives, a Frank Plummer, that worked on the railroad,
in Freedom, PA in the early 1900's--moved to Crestline (I think below says
Crestline which is in Central Southern OH) in the early 1900's. I think
this is all facinating isn't it?! Happy hunting to fellow listers, Cathy
Raber


----- Original Message -----

From: SandKey

To:

Sent: 12/28/01 1:01:22 PM

Subject: Re: [PABEAVER-L] Travel mode
1850-1870





My ancestors worked on the railroads from eastern PA to Ohio and
beyond. My

great grandmother told of stories of visiting relatives..and the only

transportation she ever mentioned was the rail.



Here is a bit of the history:



History of The PA Railroad

through OH

The following newspaper article written in 1949

newspaper not indicated (possibly Columbus)



1849-1949



Roots that are deep in Columbus, central and western OH...roots that go
back

to the days when rails were oak with strap iron covers...when trains went
10

miles per hour...when horses were hitched to trains to help them up
the

hills...that's the PA Railroad, which has grown figuratively from a
tiny

acorn to a mighty oak tree that is one of the communities largest,
oldest

and most steadfast industries.



This month, the PA Railroad celebrates its first centenary, which the

carrier firm has labeled" One Hundred years of transportation
progress.

Specifically, the centennial started Saturday, April 13, just 100
years

after the PA Railroad was incorporated by an act passed by the
legislature

of the state from which the carrier took its name.



The beginning of the railroad was a line stretching 249 miles from

Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, a line that eventually grew into a system that
is

now 26,000 miles long. There was, at a time, a railroad line
connecting

Harrisburg and Philadelphia, and it was the only natural that the
PRR's

initial purchase and expansion was this road.



The first section opened Sept. 1, 1849, a total of 61 miles, from
Harrisburg

to Lewistown. Soon after, the company invested substantially in the OH
and

PA railroad (Pittsburgh to Cestline, OH); then in the OH and IN
Railroad

(Crestline to Ft. Wayne, Ind.) and subsequently, in the Ft. Wayne and

Chicago Railroad.



Columbus and Central OH's first introduction to the PA Railroad came in
May

1868. Subsidiary lines that were purchased by the "Pennsy" at that time
had

been in OH long before that - -since 1832, in fact. That dates marked
the

consolidation of the PA with the Pan-Handle Railroad company of PA;
the

Holliday's Cove railroad, of West Virginia, and the Steubenville
Indiana

Railroad County. which was amalgamated into the Pittsburgh Cincinnati
and

St. Louis Railroad.



Trips through OH must have been lengthy affairs, with the threshing

machine-like engine puffing along a break-neck speed of 40 miles per
hour,

and stopping at every cow crossing. Here's the number of stops
between

Newark, OH and Columbus: Newark, Lockport, Granville, Siding, Union
Station,

Kirksville Station, Pataskala Station, Columbus Center, Summit
Station,

Black Lick Station, Alum Creek Station, Caldwell Station, Arsenal
Station

(Ft. Hayes) and Columbus Union Depot. That of course, was before the days
of

dining cars, and trains stopped at Dennison, OH to allow passengers to
eat.

The Harvey Restaurants didn't function along the PA lines, all of the
eating

places being under private ownership.



In addition to the through line of the PA, Cincinnati and St. Louis

Railroad, the company leased, owned or operated these branch systems:
The

Charters Railroad (Mansfield, OH to Washington, Pa) Cincinnati and
Muskingum

Valley Railroad; (Dresden Junction to Morrow, OH), the Little Miami
Railroad

(Columbus to Cincinnati); the Columbus, Chicago, Indianapolis Central

Railroad (Columbus to Indianapolis)..which also had a direct west
branch

which connected to Fort Wayne, Ind.,through Piqua and Bradford, OH;
the

Pittsburgh, Wheeling and Kenton railroad, and a line from Xenia to

Springfield, a railroad from Xenia to Richmond, Ind., three Indiana and
one

IL systems.



Its total mileage was 1172 miles. Of course, all of the subsidiary
lines

listed above didn't have the new-fangled Pullman sleeping cars (the
Pullman

County. was incorporated in 1867) but the main line did, and boasted

mightily about the service.



That's the story of the PA Railroad in OH. Through its services the owner
of

the rich valley lands of the OH Valley were enabled to ship their produce
to

the eastern seaboard by a short East-West route, and likewise they
could

obtain agriculture equipment made in the East. Local industries along the
OH

were able to expand through ease of access to many markets and
availability

of raw materials.



In its service, the PA Railroad has more than fulfilled the purpose
and

visions of the Columbus men who were essential in the plans that
brought

this mighty rail link through the capital city of the Buckeye State.



Hope this helps :)

----- Original Message -----

From: "Carol S."

To:

Sent: Friday, December 28, 2001 12:25 PM

Subject: [PABEAVER-L] Travel mode 1850-1870





Can anyone tell me what would be the most common, affordable, mode
of

travel, East to West in Pennsylvania in the mid to late
1800's? Would it be

by rail? What if a family was moving and had household goods to
transport?

Still rail, or if not, what other modes were available?



Thanks in advance to anyone who has looked into this. Carol
S.









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--- Cathy Raber

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