The Pennsylvania Company, later known publicly as the Pennsylvania Lines (west of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

) was a major

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

. It included the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, the PRR's main route to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. It also owned but did not operate the

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, whic ...

(Pan Handle Route), another line to Chicago. It merged back into the

Pennsylvania Railroad 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, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

in 1918.

History

The Pennsylvania Company was incorporated April 7, 1870 in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

as a

with a broad

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the re ...

. It was organized June 1, with president William Thaw of the PRR. Tom Scott replaced Thaw as the president January 20, 1871. On April 1 of that year the company began operating several railroads; others were acquired later. *April 1, 1871: Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway - main line direct from

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

*April 1, 1871: Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad - main line from Pittsburgh north to

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

*April 1, 1871: Indianapolis and Vincennes Railroad (merged into the Vandalia Railroad, PRR-owned but not Pennsylvania Company operated, January 1, 1905) *April 1, 1871: Lawrence Railroad (merged into the YL&P June 1, 1887) *April 1, 1871:

New Castle and Beaver Valley Railroad New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

(merged into the PY&A January 1, 1906) *December 1, 1871: Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad - branch of PFW&C to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

*January 1, 1873:

Columbus and Shelby Railroad Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "'' Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

(merged into the JM&I November 18, 1881) *January 1, 1873: Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad (merged into the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, PRR-owned but not Pennsylvania Company operated, October 1, 1890) *January 1, 1873:

Lake Erie and Louisville Railroad The Fremont and Indiana Railroad existed in Northwest Ohio beginning in 1853. Origin The Fremont and Indiana Railroad Company was incorporated April 25, 1853 by L. Q. Rawson, Sardis Birchard, James Justice, John R. Pease, and Charles W. Foster. ...

(merged into the JM&I June 26, 1890) *January 1, 1873:

Louisville Bridge Company Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

(began operating itself October 1, 1890) *January 1, 1873:

Shelby and Rush Railroad Shelby may refer to: Places United States * Shelby, Alabama, a census-designated place and unincorporated community * Shelby, Idaho * Shelby, Indiana, an unincorporated town * Shelby, Iowa, a city * Shelby, Oceana County, Michigan, a village * ...

(merged into the JM&I April 10, 1882) *May 1, 1873: Ashtabula, Youngstown and Pittsburg Rail Road;

Ashtabula and Pittsburgh Railway Ashtabula ( ) is a city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States, and the center of the Ashtabula micropolitan area. It is located at the mouth of the Ashtabula River on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the cit ...

(merged into the AN&Y June 16, 1887) *May 1, 1873:

Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan Rail Road The Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan Railroad (MCW&LM) is a defunct railroad which operated in southern Michigan and Ohio during the 1870s. By the time it went into foreclosure in the late 1870s it owned two non-contiguous track segments, ...

(merged into the NWO November 28, 1877) *May 1, 1873: Toledo, Tiffin and Eastern Rail Road; Toledo and Woodville Railroad; Northwestern Ohio Railway (merged into the TWV&O May 23, 1891) *November 10, 1873: Toledo and State Line Railroad (merged into the TT&E May 1, 1878?) *September 28, 1880: Massillon and Cleveland Railroad *October 3, 1881: Meadville Railway (reorganized February 1, 1884 as the non-PRR Meadville and Linesville Railroad) *August 7, 1882: Alliance, Niles and Ashtabula Railroad (merged into the AN&Y June 16, 1887) *January 8, 1884: Ohio Valley Railway; Pittsburgh, Ohio Valley and Cincinnati Railroad *August 18, 1884: New Brighton and New Castle Rail Road (merged into the YL&P June 1, 1887) *June 1, 1887: Youngstown, Lawrence and Pittsburgh Railroad (merged into the PY&A August 1, 1887) *June 16, 1887: Ashtabula, Niles and Youngstown Railroad (merged into the PY&A August 1, 1887) *August 1, 1887: Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Ashtabula Railroad; Pittsburgh, Youngstown and Ashtabula Railway *October 15, 1887:

South Chicago and Southern Railroad South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

*October 15, 1888:

State Line and Indiana City Railway State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

(merged into the SC&S February 5, 1901) *May 23, 1891: Toledo, Walhonding Valley and Ohio Railroad (merged into the TC&OR July 1, 1911) *January 1892: Rolling Mill Railroad (merged into the TWV&O January 1, 1904) *January 8, 1892: Salineville Railroad (merged into the C&P January 1, 1899) *September 16, 1895: Calumet River Railway (merged into the SC&S February 5, 1901) *January 1, 1900: Cleveland and Marietta Railway (merged into the TC&OR July 1, 1911) *August 1, 1900: Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway (only 51.492 miles (83 km), formerly the New Castle and Franklin Railroad from

New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is northwest of Pittsburgh, and near the Pennsylvania–Ohio border, just southeast of Youngstown, Ohio. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, ...

Stoneboro, Pennsylvania Stoneboro is a borough in eastern Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 946 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. Geography Stoneboro is located at (41.339029, -80.108100). Accor ...

plus branches) *July 1, 1910: Youngstown and Ravenna Railroad *July 1, 1911: Toledo, Columbus and Ohio River Railroad *July 1, 1912: Cleveland, Akron and Cincinnati Railway The Pennsylvania Company operated the Erie Canal of Pennsylvania from September 16, 1870, to February 4, 1871. On January 1, 1918, soon after the

United States Railroad Administration The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was the name of the nationalized railroad system of the United States between December 28, 1917, and March 1, 1920. It was the largest American experiment with nationalization, and was undertaken a ...

took over all U.S. railroads, all Pennsylvania Company leases were transferred to the PRR. On March 1, 1920, when the lines were returned to the PRR, they were separated into four regions - the Eastern Region, Central Region, Northwestern Region and Southwestern Region. The Pennsylvania Company, however, stayed around as a

, and was re incorporated in Delaware on December 12, 1958, and reorganized on December 16. Its new purpose was to diversify into

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

and other fields, and the company lasted through the 1968 PRR merger into

Penn Central Transportation The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...

. In 1973 or 1974 several subsidiaries were created - the Pennrec Company for

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

investments (including

Six Flags Great Adventure Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located in Jackson, New Jersey. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park complex is situated between New York City and Philadelphia and includes a water park named Hurricane Harbor. It first o ...

and Stars Hall of Fame), the Penn Orlando Company, and Penn Arlington, Inc. (which bought

Six Flags Over Texas Six Flags Over Texas is a 212-acre (86 ha) amusement park, in Arlington, Texas, east of Fort Worth and west of Dallas. It is the first amusement park in the Six Flags chain, and features themed areas and attractions. The park opened on August 5, ...

from the Great Southwest Corporation).

External links

Corporate Genealogy - Pennsylvania Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania Company 1870 establishments in Pennsylvania 1918 disestablishments in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1870 American companies disestablished in 1918 1918 mergers and acquisitions United States railroad holding companies Companies affiliated with the Pennsylvania Railroad west of Pittsburgh Former Class I railroads in the United States Predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Railway companies established in 1870 Railway companies disestablished in 1918 Defunct Ohio railroads Defunct Illinois railroads Defunct Indiana railroads Defunct Pennsylvania railroads