Penn Central Corporation

The Penn Central Corporation was incorporated in Pennsylvania as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company on April 13, 1846. Upon merger with the New York Central Railroad Company its name was changed to the Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Company on February 1, 1968, and to the Penn Central Company on May 8, 1969. On October 1, 1969, a new Penn Central Company was formed as a general holding company, and the old Penn Central Company became the subsidiary Penn Central Transportation Company.

The Penn Central was a merger of the two major rail systems in the Northeast. The Pennsylvania Railroad constructed its initial line from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh in 1847-54, and by 1868 it was the dominant railroad in the state. Between 1868 and 1874 it grew aggressively into a major system stretching from New York to Washington, Chicago and St. Louis. The depression of 1873-1879 put an end to attempts to extend PRR influence south of the Potomac and west of the Mississippi. During its peak years from 1890 to 1945, the PRR was the most powerful American railroad, the self-proclaimed "Standard Railroad of the World," built on a solid foundation of managerial and technical innovation laid down since the 1850s. After the heavy World War II traffic subsided, the PRR went into decline along with the other Northeastern railroads. After ten years of negotiations, it merged with the rival New York Central on February 1, 1968.

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