Event of 1849: The first segment of the Pennsylvania Railroad, from Lewistown to Harrisburg, op

Background. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was established in 1846 with a charter to construct a rail line from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh. Letters Patent were issued in February 1847, fulfilling the requirements for the new railroad. The company was headquartered in Philadelphia and would later become the largest transportation enterprise in the world by 1882.

Operations. In 1848, the Pennsylvania Railroad contracted with the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mountjoy and Lancaster Railroad to buy and use equipment over both roads, providing service from Harrisburg east to Lancaster. In 1849, the company purchased its first 75 freight cars. At the end of its first year of operation, the Pennsylvania Railroad paid a dividend; the sources do not date that first year, and the dividend was continued without interruption until 1946.

Infrastructure. In 1849, officials developed plans to construct a repair facility at Altoona, Pennsylvania. Construction began in 1850, establishing several small buildings for machine, woodworking, blacksmith, locomotive repair, and foundry operations.