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53-779: In 1849, the Erie and North East Railroad started laying track east from Erie to the New York–;Pennsylvania border, 20 miles (32 km) away, at a gauge of 6 ft ( 1,829 mm ). At the same time, the Franklin Canal Company was laying track west from Erie to the Ohio –Pennsylvania border and the Buffalo and State Line Railroad was laying track from Buffalo to the Pennsylvania–;New York border. Both of these were at

106-622: A branch off that alternate to Monroe. Also included was the Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad , leased July 1, 1856, and providing a branch from Toledo, past Monroe, to Detroit , Michigan. The Franklin Canal Company was chartered on May 21, 1844, and built a railroad from Erie , Pennsylvania, southwest to the Ohio border. The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad was incorporated February 18, 1848, to build northeast from Cleveland, to join

159-640: A branch to Toledo, and a connection to planned railroads to the east. Due to lobbying by the Michigan Central Railroad , a competitor of the Michigan Southern, the latter's charter prevented it from going within two miles (3.2 km) of the Indiana state line east of Constantine , Michigan. However, the most practical route went closer than two miles, west of White Pigeon , Michigan. To allow for this, Judge Stanfield, of South Bend , Indiana, bought

212-733: A gauge of 4 ft 10 in ( 1,473 mm ) (Ohio gauge). On November 23, 1852, the first train left Erie for Ashtabula, Ohio , and on January 19, 1852, the first train from the New York state border arrived in Erie. A passenger traveling between Buffalo and Cleveland was forced to change trains twice: once in Erie and once at the Pennsylvania–New York border, because of the different gauges. The trains were timed to connect, but delays were not uncommon, resulting in missed connections. Many passengers found, unexpectedly, that they had to spend

265-512: A major rail transportation corridor used by Amtrak passenger trains and several freight lines; in 1998, its ownership was split at Cleveland , Ohio, between CSX Transportation to the east and Norfolk Southern Railway in the west. On April 22, 1833, the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad was chartered in the Territory of Michigan , to run from the former Port Lawrence, Michigan, now Toledo , Ohio, near Lake Erie , northwest to Adrian , Michigan, on

318-409: A night in Erie before continuing the following day. The citizens of Erie benefited from being an "enforced stopping place," as they made good money from the transferring freight from one train to another and from passengers buying food at Erie's restaurants or street vendors (leading the conflict to sometimes be referred to, with scorn, as the "Peanut War," as Erie's peanut sellers would allegedly be

371-471: The Buffalo and Erie Railroad . The Junction Railroad was chartered March 2, 1846, to build from Cleveland, west to Toledo. The Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland Railroad was chartered March 7, 1850, to build from Toledo, east to Grafton , Ohio, on the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad . The latter company opened on January 24, 1853, finally forming a continuous Buffalo-Chicago line. On September 1,

424-608: The Erie West Subdivision , from Erie, to east of Cleveland, and the Cleveland Terminal Subdivision , into downtown Cleveland. From the former Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad junction in Cleveland, west to Chicago, the line is now Norfolk Southern's Chicago Line . Amtrak 's New York City–Chicago Lake Shore Limited runs along the full route from Buffalo west. The Capitol Limited joins in Cleveland, at

477-733: The Lake Shore Railway on March 31, 1868, and on February 11, 1869, the Lake Shore absorbed the Cleveland and Toledo. On April 6, the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad and Lake Shore merged to form the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway , which absorbed the Buffalo and Erie Railroad on June 22, giving one company the whole route from Buffalo to Chicago. The main route passed through Dunkirk; Erie; Ashtabula , Ohio; Cleveland; Toledo; Waterloo , Indiana; and South Bend. An alternate route,

530-621: The River Raisin . The Toledo War soon gave about one-third of the route to the state of Ohio. Horse-drawn trains began operating on November 2, 1836; the horses were replaced by a newly arrived steam locomotive , Adrian No. 1, in August 1837. The Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad was chartered in Indiana on February 6, 1835, to run from Buffalo , New York, to the Mississippi River . The name

583-404: The lieutenant governor becomes governor for the remainder of the term; if the office is only temporarily vacant due to disability of the governor, the lieutenant governor only acts out the duties of governor. Should both offices be vacant, the president pro tempore of the state senate becomes governor. The position of a lieutenant governor was created in the 1874 constitution; prior to then,

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636-547: The right-of-way from White Pigeon to the state line, and leased it to the railroad company for about 10 years, until the charter was modified to allow the company to own it. The Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad was chartered on November 30, 1850. Its initial tracks, from the Michigan Southern at the state line running west-southwest to Elkhart , Indiana, then west through Osceola , Indiana, and Mishawaka , Indiana, to South Bend, opened on October 4, 1851. The full line west to Chicago, opened on February 20, 1852, (running to

689-456: The " Shylock State" because it "demanded a 'pound of flesh' from all who passed its borders". On December 26, 1853, Horace Greeley , editor of the New York Tribune , had to travel through Erie on his way to Chicago and had to travel from Harborcreek to Erie in an open sleigh "through a cutting storm of wind, snow, and sleet". Most people had to walk the 7-mile (11 km) gap left by

742-639: The "Amtrak Connection" from the former Pennsylvania Railroad, C&P line, just east of the present Cleveland Station (MP 181), on its way from Washington, D.C. , to Chicago. Passenger trains along the route originally terminated at LaSalle Street Station , but now run to Union Station , switching to the parallel former Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway , Pennsylvania Railroad, at a crossover in Whiting, Indiana , Indiana, ( 41°41′05″N 87°29′43″W  /  41.68480°N 87.49534°W  / 41.68480; -87.49534 ) to get there. A major branch of

795-515: The 1800s and early 1900s until employment reached about 1,500. A second shop site was established in 1874 in Collinwood on the northeast side of Cleveland, Ohio . In 1901, the railroad bought a new property in Collinwood for $ 2 million to build a much larger repair center that by the 1920s employed more than 2,000 people. In 1913, a freight car repair shop was established in Ashtabula, Ohio , to maintain

848-550: The Allegheny River crossing on the new extension. This line included perhaps the most impressive engineering structures on the LS&;MS, as well as the later NYC, with several large trestles, bridges, and tunnels, near Brookville, including a bridge-tunnel-bridge-tunnel-fill combination near Piney , Pennsylvania, and two magnificent trestles west of Brookville, near Corsica , Pennsylvania. The New York Central used trackage rights over

901-528: The Canal Company's railroad at the state line, and the full line from Erie to Cleveland, opened November 20, 1852. The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula bought the Franklin Canal Company on June 20, 1854. The Buffalo and State Line Railroad was incorporated October 13, 1849, and opened January 1, 1852, from Dunkirk ,New York, west to Pennsylvania . The rest of the line from Dunkirk to Buffalo, opened on February 22. The Erie and North East Railroad

954-640: The Franklin Canal Company. All Erie & North East bridges and track were rebuilt by February 1, and E&NE trains were running normally again. Although the Gauge War largely ended in February 1854, disruptions continued irregularly into 1856. In mid-January 1855, a mob in Harborcreek tore up Erie & North East track, and destroyed two bridges. The state sent in law enforcement, and the property damage ended immediately. The bridges were swiftly rebuilt days later, and

1007-753: The Kingdom of Erie forbade it". In January 1854, with the repeal of the Missouri Compromise by the Kansas–;Nebraska Act , the Erie Gauge War stopped attracting attention. On January 28, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed legislation maintaining "the break at Erie" and repealing the charter for the Franklin Canal Company. Governor Bigler appointed future governor William F. Packer to state superintendent and personally took control of

1060-491: The LS&MS extended from Northeastern Ohio, to the coal and oil fields of northwestern Pennsylvania, terminating near Brookville. Originally the line extended to the oil fields and refineries on the Allegheny River , at Franklin , and Oil City , Pennsylvania. The line was later extended from Polk Junction, west of Franklin, to Rose , Pennsylvania, just west of Brookville. Also added was a connector south from Franklin, to

1113-693: The New York Central main line from Buffalo, west to Chicago, along with the route across southern Ontario , the Canada Southern Railway and the Michigan Central Railroad. On December 22, 1914, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad merged with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway to form the New York Central Railroad. While the original main line was to the south of Sandusky Bay , between Toledo and Elyria,

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1166-683: The Northern Indiana Railroad. On April 25, 1855, that company in turn merged with the Michigan Southern Rail Road to form the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad . In 1858, [1] the new alignment ( Northern Indiana Air Line ) from Elkhart, east to Air Line Junction, in Toledo, was completed. The company now owned a main line from Chicago to Toledo, with an alternate route through southern Michigan, east of Elkhart, and

1219-687: The Pennsylvania Railroad and the B&;O Railroad to connect from Rose to NYC lines at Clearfield , Pennsylvania. There were several mines on this line near Brookville, as well as a connection to the Lake Erie, Franklin and Clarion (LEF&C) at Sutton , Pennsylvania, and connections to the Pennsylvania Railroad, and via the Pennsy, to the Pittsburgh & Shawmut, at Brookville. Once coal traffic dried up in

1272-526: The Rippers, even in the dead of winter "with icy winds sweeping across Lake Erie...Many had feet, hands and faces frostbitten. One man was frozen to death....Embittered tourists stumbled through the snow afoot, dragging their luggage with them whenever it was humanly possible rather than buy anything in Erie." Greeley had hoped to be able to give a lecture in Adrian, Michigan , that same day "but that could not now be, for

1325-661: The Sandusky Division, in Ohio, ran north of the main line between Elyria, and Millbury, Ohio, not all track was laid until 1872. From Toledo to Elkhart, the Old Road ran to the north, through southern Michigan, and the through route was called the Air Line Division or Northern Indiana Air Line. Along with various branches that had been acquired (see below ), the Monroe Branch ran east from Adrian, to Monroe, where it intersected

1378-529: The border into Pennsylvania. Finally, on February 1, 1854, the railroad ran a train through Erie without change. But civil disturbances continued for years. Townspeople were assaulted, the local newspaper's building was torn down and the ruins burnt, and the Presbyterian church split in two. The matter was so contentious that discussing it remained taboo for years afterwards. Pennsylvania Governor William Bigler sympathized with Erie saying, "Pennsylvania holds

1431-415: The change, Erie's city council had enacted ordinances barring the new track from crossing city streets. On November 26, 1853, the council was reconvened when railroad ties were found being laid in preparation for the gauge change . The council passed an ordinance allowing the mayor to call out the city's police to take down any of the railroad track that crossed the city's streets, "in order to preserve

1484-560: The council and replaced the president with a governor, and established a three-year term for governor commencing on the third Tuesday of the December following the election, with governors not allowed to serve more than nine out of any twelve years. The 1838 constitution moved the start of the term to the third Tuesday of the January following the election, and allowed governors to only serve six out of any nine years. The 1874 constitution lengthened

1537-420: The hardest hit by the lack of passengers). Passengers stayed in Erie hotels. The owners of the Buffalo and State Line Railroad were able to acquire 2 ⁄ 3 of the Erie and North East's stock , and on November 16, 1853, they announced that they would re-lay the 6 ft ( 1,829 mm ) track between Erie and the New York border using the narrower Ohio gauge, but four months earlier, to try to prevent

1590-538: The highway. Three days later, tracks of the new gauge were completed up to the city limits and that night the people of Harborcreek tore out the tracks again, knocked down a bridge, and even ploughed up a level crossing . An injunction was obtained by the railroad from the United States Circuit Court in Pittsburgh , and a United States Marshal was dispatched to Harborcreek. Upon arriving in Harborcreek,

1643-711: The key to this important link of connexion between the East and the West, and I most unhesitatingly say, that where no principle of amity or commerce is to be violated, it is the right and the duty of the State to turn her natural advantages to the promotion of the views and welfare of her own people." Although the governor and state of Pennsylvania agreed with Erie's objectives, people in other states criticized Pennsylvania for its "selfishness". The United States representative from Ohio, Edward Wade , suggested that Pennsylvania's nickname be changed to

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1696-405: The large roster of ore and coal cars operating at the nearby port. In 1952, as the railroad was converting its motive power from steam to diesel, the repair shops were consolidated at Collinwood. Around 1877, Cornelius Vanderbilt , and his New York Central and Hudson River Railroad , gained a majority of stock of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. The line provided an ideal extension of

1749-588: The late 1990s, this line was severed and cut back to the mine at Piney. Many of the larger trestles were taken out in the late 2000s, reportedly on orders of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), although the bridge across the Clarion River survived, as of 2015. Pennsylvania Governor The governor of Pennsylvania is the head of government of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania , as well as commander-in-chief of

1802-554: The leased Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad. At some point the original line to Toledo was abandoned west of the branch to Jackson , Michigan, the Palmyra and Jacksonburgh Railroad , with the new connection at Lenawee Junction, the crossing between that branch and the line to Monroe. The railroad established its first significant repair shop in 1851 along Mason Street in Elkhart, Indiana . These shops were occasionally expanded and upgraded in

1855-480: The marshal served it to one of the officials of Harborcreek and pointed out the seal of the United States . The official promptly threw it on the ground, stomped it with his heel, and declared the heel mark "the seal of Harborcreek." The most serious incident occurred on December 27, 1853, when a train of railroad officials and workers on the new line was stopped outside of Harborcreek by a crowd of people ripping up

1908-658: The northern alignment, the Sandusky Division, eventually became the main line. In 1968, the New York Central merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to form the Penn Central Transportation Company , Penn Central, which two years later, filed for bankruptcy. In 1976, it became part of Conrail . In 1976, the Southern Division, from Elyria to Millbury,

1961-559: The original Thirteen Colonies and was admitted as a state on December 12, 1787. Before it declared its independence, Pennsylvania was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain . The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 created the Supreme Executive Council as the state's executive branch, with a president as its head. The president was chosen annually by the council, though with no specific term dates. The constitution created

2014-432: The other side of Erie, and for the Buffalo and State Line to operate the Erie and Northeast. This would result in through passengers no longer having to change trains at Erie, and on December 7, 1853, the Erie Gauge War began between the railroads and the townspeople. On February 1, 1854, the relaying was finished and the first train passed through Erie. On May 15, 1867, the two companies between Buffalo and Erie merged to form

2067-502: The partially completed line was sold to the Michigan Southern Rail Road , which changed the planned western terminal to Chicago , using the charter of the Northern Indiana Railroad. The grading that had been done was not used, as the grade was too steep, and instead the original Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad charter was used west of La Porte. The Michigan Southern leased the Erie and Kalamazoo on August 1, 1849, giving it

2120-475: The position of "vice-president", though no provision was made if the office of the president became vacant, which occurred four times later. Contemporary sources continue to label the chief executive in such times as the vice-president, without any notion of succeeding in the presidency. One acting president, George Bryan , was subsequently recognized later as a full-fledged governor, due to his acting as president for over six months. The 1790 constitution abolished

2173-593: The predecessor of Englewood station , together with the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad ). A more direct line was soon planned from Elkhart, east to Toledo, and the Northern Indiana Railroad was chartered in Ohio, on March 3, 1851. On July 8, 1853, the Ohio and Indiana companies merged, and on February 7, 1855, the Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad and the Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad were merged into

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2226-463: The present railroad gauge." On December 7, 1853, after swearing in 150 "special police constables", Mayor Alfred King led the police to the railroad bridge crossing State and French streets and, where engineers had marked the edges of the streets on the bridges, had sections of the bridges cut out. That evening, 7 miles (11 km) away, the citizens of the town of Harborcreek , decided to pass their own ordinances, then proceeded to tear up tracks along

2279-411: The speaker of the senate would act as governor in cases of vacancy. Originally, the lieutenant governor could only act as governor; it was not until the 1968 constitution that the lieutenant governor could actually become the sitting governor in that fashion. The office of governor has been vacant for an extended period once before, a 17-day gap in 1848 between the resignation of the previous governor and

2332-592: The state's national guard . The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to approve or veto bills passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly , as well as to convene the legislature. The governor may grant pardons except in cases of impeachment , but only when recommended by the Board of Pardons. There have been seven presidents and 48 governors of Pennsylvania, with two governors ( Robert E. Pattison and Gifford Pinchot ) serving non-consecutive terms, totaling 55 terms in both offices. The longest term

2385-467: The term to four years, and prohibited governors from succeeding themselves. The current constitution of 1968 changed this to allow governors to serve two consecutive terms, with no lifetime limit. Under the 1968 constitution, Milton Shapp was the first governor to serve two terms, and Tom Corbett was the first incumbent governor to lose a re-election bid. If the office of governor becomes vacant through death, resignation, or conviction on impeachment,

2438-514: The track relaid. Erie and North East Railroad The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway , established in 1833, and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore , was a major part of the New York Central Railroad 's Water Level Route from Buffalo , New York, to Chicago , Illinois, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie (in New York , Pennsylvania and Ohio ) and across northern Indiana . The line's trackage remains

2491-514: The track was relaid in 1872, merging with the Southern Division, at Millbury , Ohio, east of Toledo. In 1866, the Southern Division, east of Oberlin , Ohio, was abandoned and a new line was built to Elyria , Ohio, on the Northern Division, ending the use of the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. In October 1867, the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad leased the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad. The CP&A changed its name to

2544-410: The tracks. An official shot at one of the men in the crowd and knocked him unconscious. The crowd, who believed the man to be dead, chased the official back on to his train. After two or three members of the crowd forced their way on to the train, the train reversed and "headed at full speed for the state line". Once across the border, the train stopped, and stowaways from Harborcreek were sent back over

2597-478: The two companies merged to form the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad , with the Junction Railroad becoming the Northern Division and the Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland, the Southern Division. The Northern Division opened from Cleveland, west to Sandusky , Ohio, on October 24, 1853, and the rest of the way to Toledo, on April 24, 1855. The Northern Division was abandoned west of Sandusky, due to lack of business, but

2650-616: Was abandoned, with parts of the former right of way now in use as a recreational trail, the North Coast Inland Trail. Under Conrail, the Lake Shore main line was part of the New York City–Chicago, Chicago Line. In 1998, Conrail was split between CSX and Norfolk Southern . The Chicago Line east of Cleveland, went to CSX, and was split into several subdivisions: the Lake Shore Subdivision , from Buffalo, to Erie,

2703-680: Was changed on February 6, 1837, to the Northern Indiana Railroad , which would run from the eastern border of Indiana, west to Michigan City , Indiana, on Lake Michigan . Some grading between Michigan City, and La Porte , Indiana, was done in 1838, but money ran out. Around 1838, the state of Michigan started to build the Southern Railroad , running from Monroe , Michigan, on Lake Erie, west to New Buffalo , Michigan, on Lake Michigan. The first section, from Monroe, west to Petersburg , Michigan, opened in 1839. Extensions opened in 1840, to Adrian, and 1843, to Hillsdale , Michigan. On May 9, 1846,

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2756-425: Was chartered April 12, 1842, to build the part from the state line west to Erie, and opened on January 19, 1852. On November 16, 1853, an agreement was made between the two railroads, which had been built at 6 ft ( 1,829 mm ) broad gauge , to relay the rails at 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge to match the Franklin Canal Company's railroad (see below) on

2809-470: Was that of the first governor, Thomas Mifflin , who served three full terms as governor in addition to two years as President of the Continental Congress . The shortest term belonged to John C. Bell Jr. , who served only 19 days as acting governor after his predecessor, Edward Martin , resigned. The current governor is Josh Shapiro , who took office on January 17, 2023. Pennsylvania was one of

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