South Pennsylvania Railroad
| Company type | Railroad company (proposed) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | May 5, 1854 |
| Defunct | 1879 |
| Fate | Construction never completed; right of way later used for Pennsylvania Turnpike |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Pennsylvania |
The term South Pennsylvania Railroad pertains to two distinct railroad projects proposed in 19th-century Pennsylvania that were never completed. Segments of the second iteration's right of way were eventually utilized for the construction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 1940.
Early Developments
The original South Pennsylvania Railroad began as the Duncannon, Landisburg, and Broad Top Railroad Company, chartered on May 5, 1854. Its intended path stretched from Duncannon through Landisburg and Burnt Cabins, terminating near the Juniata River adjacent to the Broad Top Mountain coal deposits. On May 5, 1855, it was renamed Sherman's Valley and Broad Top Railroad Company, revising its eastern endpoint to the mouth of Fishing Creek near Marysville to facilitate a connection with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Amendments made in 1857 permitted links with both the Allegheny Portage Railroad and the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Railroad. Approximately two miles of grading work had been completed. On March 31, 1859, the company adopted the name Pennsylvania Pacific Railway Company, gaining authorization to extend its line into Maryland and Virginia. The name changed again on April 1, 1863, to South Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Although there were ambitious intentions for a roughly 200-mile route between Marysville and West Newton, no additional construction took place. The graded portions were sold off in 1872 and the charter expired in 1879.
Rivalry Between New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad
During the 1880s, the inactive South Pennsylvania Railroad charter was revived amidst fierce competition between the New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad. William H. Vanderbilt of New York Central viewed the Pennsylvania Railroad’s control over the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway, a parallel line competing between New York City and Buffalo, as a significant challenge to his company’s market position.
To counteract this threat, Vanderbilt collaborated with Pittsburgh industrial magnates such as Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick, who were eager to break the Pennsylvania Railroad’s freight dominance in western Pennsylvania. Together, they established a syndicate to finance and construct a new mainline traversing the Alleghenies, connecting Pittsburgh with Harrisburg. This effort was coordinated with the Philadelphia and Reading Railway to create an alternative route to the East Coast. The syndicate leveraged the dormant South Pennsylvania Railroad charter as their legal foundation for commencing construction.
Route Details
Surveying began in 1881 for this new railroad alignment crossing southern Pennsylvania’s Appalachian region. The line was designed to link Harrisburg with Vanderbilt’s own Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad at Port Perry. Though initially surveyed in the 1840s but subsequently abandoned, this "southern route" crossed six mountain ridges, necessitated nine tunnels, and included numerous sharp curves along with steep gradients. From 1881 through 1885, construction efforts primarily focused on tunneling and grading; however, escalating expenses prompted Vanderbilt to seek a settlement involving a buyout by the Pennsylvania Railroad—a proposal that was ultimately rejected by its president, George Roberts.
Termination of Construction
Banker J. P. Morgan, in collaboration with Vanderbilt and serving as the chief financier for New York Central, facilitated an agreement whereby New York Central took control of the West Shore Railroad, ceased construction on the South Pennsylvania line—including the Susquehanna River bridge—and consented to transfer its right-of-way to the Pennsylvania Railroad. Due to legal complications, this handover was postponed, causing the South Pennsylvania route to remain dormant for close to two decades. Segments such as the Quemahoning Tunnel were later repurposed by smaller railroads like the Pittsburgh, Westmoreland and Somerset Railroad, but the majority of tunnels lay unused, leading to the moniker "Vanderbilt's Folly."
In 1893, the Southern Pennsylvania Railway, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania Railroad holding charter rights along the corridor, initiated litigation to assert control over a portion of the South Pennsylvania grade. By 1895, it had acquired ownership of the grade east of Mount Dallas, conducted limited maintenance work but never commenced train operations; this section was eventually sold to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in 1938.
Meanwhile, in 1904, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad acquired the grade west of Mount Dallas under the corporate identity of the Fulton, Bedford and Somerset Railroad, yet no construction ensued; this property was also transferred to the turnpike commission.
Initially intended as a branch line extending to Wheeling via Connellsville and Brownsville, Pittsburgh emerged as a primary junction following persuasion by Andrew Carnegie and others who convinced Vanderbilt to alter the route. Related cartographic materials and tunnel engineering plans are publicly archived in Harrisburg, PA.
Pennsylvania Turnpike
Amidst the Great Depression, proposals were developed for a major highway traversing Pennsylvania. In 1937, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission purchased the abandoned railroad corridor from two railroads and commenced construction in 1938 between Carlisle and Irwin. Remarkably, two laborers who had worked on the original South Pennsylvania Railroad project contributed to building the Turnpike despite a 54-year interval.
The Turnpike officially opened in October 1940, incorporating six out of nine railroad tunnels. Certain tunnels were left unused due to realignment decisions or structural issues; others were circumvented thanks to advancements in engineering since the 1880s. The highway designers chose steeper inclines and more direct routes rather than adhering closely to most of the railroad’s original grading, leaving remnants of this "ghost railroad" scattered throughout the Allegheny Mountains.