Pennsylvania Depot

Pennsylvania Depot. Access to the Prosperous East. , The mighty Pennsylvania Railroad rolled into Wheeling on February 24, 1878. It provided access north to Pittsburgh and south to Parkersburg for Wheeling's industrial products. It also enabled Wheeling's farmers and manufacturers to increase trade with the East. Many of Wheeling's young men waved goodbye to their mothers and sweethearts for the last time from the Water Street depot before going off to World War I and World War II., [Captions:] , ❶ In 1846, a group of merchants from Philadelphia created the Pennsylvania Railroad in hopes of creating a 249-mile trunk rout from Philly to Pittsburgh. The rails stretched 11,000 miles across the Allegheny Mountains and through New York, Wheeling, Chicago, and St. Louis. At its height, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the world's largest with 250,000 cares and 7,000 locomotives. By the middle of the 20th century, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest transportation enterprise in the United States., ❷ The old Pennsylvania passenger and freight station was located on Water Street at 11th Street. The Pennsylvania line to Wheeling was important because the valuable Ohio Valley trade had formerly been monopolized by the B and O Railroad. In 1883, the Pennsylvania Railroad added a four mile extension from Wheeling to the profitable iron works at Benwood., ❸ This was one of the worst to hit Wheeling. Reaching a height of 50.1 feet, it caused a number of deaths by drowning and fire. This passenger train was caught at the station in the fast rising waters and could not move. The passengers on board were removed and put up in the local hotels until the flood receded, and a new train was brought in.