Just to let you all know I've been watching this, and appreciating the comments and views; always interesting, at least to me, to hear what others say on something like this. Opens up your eyes, it does, and sometimes you see confirmations, too!

Such petty politics are not endemic to just the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Railroads in the 19th and into the 20th centuries wielded enormous political power.

If you can find a copy, a good book on a similar subject, but in Kentucky is Rail Routes South about how the city of Cincinnati battled the L&N railroad in the Kentucky General Assembly to build a railroad. The L&N didn't want the competiton, Cincinnati won eventually. (The Cincinnati Southern is leased to NS now).

After reading this book, I realized what the roots of some of the petty politics in Kentucky are based in.

Grew up in Columbus, only moved to Maryland in the 1990's. Just have never been able to swing a trip to Williams Grove yet. (sigh).

As to the N&W power, J, A, M and E.

Cheers,

Bob

"petty politics of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania"


Oh if people only saw what I saw from my little perch a few blocks away from the Dome....

When I saw "Pennsy Enthusiasm", my thoughts went to a long-ago colleague. His cubicle was a PRR admiration center. GG-1s, K-4s steamers and other views of the Standard Railroad let you know that even in Southern California, there are people who "bleed Tuscan Red". He was also a Sherlock Holmes fan; not sure how the two avocational interests correlate.

Bob, it is well documented that Sherlock Holmes was a Pennsy fan, too.

I think I'll take that Holmes connection with PRR with a grain or two of salt, but his knowledge of one of the British railways helped him find clues in a document written aboard a train. One pair of avocational interests that I've noted in a number of rail enthusiasts is the combination of trolley cars and Wurlizter theatre organs.

Bob, I know one such candidate in my home state, about sixty miles from me. Good friend, too.