Main Line of Public Works
United States historic place / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Main Line of Public Works was a package of legislation passed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1826[lower-alpha 1] to establish a means of transporting freight[lower-alpha 2] between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It funded the construction of various long-proposed canal and road projects, mostly in southern Pennsylvania, that became a canal system and later added railroads. Built between 1826 and 1834, it established the Pennsylvania Canal System and the Allegheny Portage Railroad.
Main Line of Public Works | |
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Specifications | |
Locks | 168 (The Eastern Division Canal had 14 locks, the Juniata Division 86, and the Western Division 68) |
Maximum height above sea level | 2,322 ft (708 m) (Summit of the Allegheny Portage Railroad through Blair Gap) |
Status | Canals abandoned except for historic and recreational segments. Many railroad segments survive as part of the Keystone Corridor. |
History | |
Original owner | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
Date of act | 1826 |
Construction began | 1828 |
Date completed | 1834 |
Date closed | Sold to Pennsylvania Railroad in 1857 with the last canal segment near Harrisburg closing in 1901 |
Geography | |
Start point | Philadelphia |
End point | Pittsburgh |
Branch(es) | Wiconisco Canal, Kittanning Feeder, Allegheny Outlet |
Branch of | Pennsylvania Canal |
Connects to | Delaware River, Schuylkill Canal, Conestoga Navigation, Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, Codorus Navigation, Union Canal, Susquehanna Division, Allegheny River, Monongahela River, Ohio River, Ashley Planes, Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, Lehigh Canal, and Delaware Canal |
Later amendments substituted a new technology, railroads, in place of the planned but costly 82-mile (132 km) canal connecting the Delaware River in Philadelphia to the Susquehanna River.[lower-alpha 3] The route from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh remained a patchwork of canals and railroads until the Pennsylvania Railroad was built in the 1850s.