From a geographical point of view, I'm not sure how the Pan Handle would have fit with the rest of the Van Sweringen lines (C&O, PM, NKP, Erie). The Pittsburgh-St. Louis line would have an awkward eastern terminal at Pittsburgh and C&O already had a Chicago-Cincinnati line.
The NYC had a line to St. Louis, so the PRR had to have one too.
Isn't at least some part of the Panhandle essential in reaching St. Louis with high-speed passenger traffic?
I'd have to wonder how greatly a continuation of the prospective Sam Rea line for true high-speed passenger traffic would likely have directly followed the Fort Wayne line route, and might have become more 'thinkable' as a priority in the absence of an established alternative.
Then again, if the PRR had not scooped up the Panhandle, it might instead have made an attractive bypass around Chicago for one of the big western roads via "The Logansport Speedway" district of what today might be called "Usurper Pacific"
Pennsy tried to route more freight West of Pittsburg on the Panhandle line rather than the shorter, straighter, Fort Wayne line. Conversely, the premier passenger trains favored the Fort Wayne Line for fast running.
Even so, there are rumors that there were 100 trains a day through Fort Wayne in the day. Imagine if they shoe-horned all the extra freight trains (and some passenger) from the PanHandle. That is a lot to stuff on a double main. Trains would be following on approach indications all the way most of the day. When would maintainers get anything done? They would have had to at least triple-track the line from Mansfield to Chicago to keep things moving somewhat.
I don't know, at least "Pittsburgh, Santa Fe & Western" sounds like a real railroad name.
Look at CSX or BNSF. Those could be chemical companies or mega-banks for all anyone knows.
ncandstl576How would things have developed had the Pennsy never got their hands on the line? It seems the Panhandle would be a very attractive purchase for the Van Sweringens.
I recall reading somewhere that PRR acquired control of the line mostly to prevent the line from falling into the hands of competitors, and that the cost of doing so impacted the bottom line of PRR to the extent that it limited the ability to invest in other higher growth opportunities elsewhere. Birds that came home to roost decades later as highway freight traffic rose and the cost to maintain parallel routes became burdensome.
So who knows? One possible outcome could be that the PC merger never became necessary, and the PRR today might be known as the Pittsburgh, Santa Fe, & Western. (**ducks for cover**)
The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, known as the "Panhandle Route", was formed in 1890 from the Chicago, St. Louis & Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis, Cincinnati & Richmond Railroad, and Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis Railroads. In 1916, it merged with the Vandalia Railroad and several smaller railroads, exchanging the railway in their name for railroad. The PCC&StL lost its identity within the Pennsy system in 1921.
How would things have developed had the Pennsy never got their hands on the line? It seems the Panhandle would be a very attractive purchase for the Van Sweringens.
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