A. L. Bishop — The State Worhs of Pennsylvania. 195 



delphia and Columbia railroads, also for laying the rails along 

 about 40 miles of the latter line. 



During the next two years 75 miles of new canal and railroad 

 work were commenced. All of the canal work was on local lines. 

 The railroad contracts were necessarily connected with the trunk 

 line. Vigorous efforts were made to complete all the improvements 

 in progress; and^ when the canal commissioners made their report 

 in December, 1834, they proudly announced that all the lines of 

 canal and railway authorized by law were so far completed as to 

 admit of transportation throughout their whole length.* The main 

 line between Philadelphia and Pittsburg, though hampered in its 

 construction by the dissipation of the energies of the state upon so 

 many lateral and local works, had been completed in March, 1834. 

 On account of the lack of facilities for handling traffic, very little 

 business was done, however, until the following spring. 



The total length of the through line was 394.54 miles. When it 

 was ready for use, the state had undertaken and completed 637 

 miles of public improvements. 



But the work did not end here. The faith of the state had 

 already been pledged to several of its districts as yet not provided 

 with their quota of improvements. Within two years, a renewed 

 expansion of the system began. Liberal appropriations were made 

 from time to time for the extensionf of the north and west branch 

 divisions along the Susquehanna, the line between Pittsburg and 

 Erie, the Wiconisco canal, and the Gettysburg railroad. The new 

 movement continued with occasional interruptions until 1842. Dur- 

 ing this time, 135 miles of work were completed and 162 more 

 undertaken. This made the total length of the public improve- 

 ments 934 miles. After 1842, the only important activity of the 

 state in the matter of transportation improvements was directed to 

 the furtherance of the north branch extension, and to avoiding the 

 inclined planes on the railways of the main line.:]: 



In order to form any correct estimate of the location and extent 

 of the state works, it is necessary at this point to consider the sev- 

 eral divisions separately. Turning our attention to the trunk line, 



■^ J. H. Rep., 1834-35, II (Appendix), p. 3. 

 t J. H. Rep., 1840, II, p. 8. 

 X J. H. Rep., 1842, III, p. 4. 



