From 1846 to 1976, the Pennsylvania Railroad was a railway spanning from across the east coast and into the south. Throughout this time, they were responsible for becoming a 10,000-mile rail system, being the first railroad station to go from New York to the South. The railroad was eventually merged into Penn Central Transportation but after struggling with financial challenges, they closed.  

The first President of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company was Samuel Vaughan Merrick. During his career, he established the “Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania." They focused on mechanical art. He was the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the president of two other railroad companies in Pennsylvania. Samuel Vaughan Merrick dedicated his time as president to making the railroad the best it could be, acting as president from 1847 to 1849. 

The Pennsylvania Railroad started to lose money in 1946 for the first time. They lost money due to their Chicago route “having to cross the Appalachian” mountains, while the Pennsylvania Railroad's main competitor, New York Central, “had a water level route to Chicago.”  Eventually, in 1968, Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central merged and became Penn Central Transportation Company, which later absorbed more railway companies. Penn Central “was not only the largest railroad in the country," but it also owned important real estate and was the United States' sixth-biggest firm. The combination of the two railroads “did not yield an efficient or resilient entity.” Due to the lack of proper organization, the switchyards became clogged, and delays affected freight and passenger service. On top of this, the chain of command had many “management failures." These led Penn Central's stock to plummet. After many failed attempts to save the company, on June 21, 1970, they filed for bankruptcy.     

Being a railroad officer dates back to 1855 when Allen Pinkerton became the first railroad officer.  Currently, in the US, there are around 4,500 railroad police that protect train cargo from rubbery, vandalism, and violence. The reason why train companies hired railroad detectives was to help them save money because loss of freight or vandalism could cost railroad companies up to millions of dollars. 

In 1842, Allen Pinkerton moved to America from Scotland. When he lived in Illinois, he volunteered at a local police station while being a woodchopper. He was later hired by “The Chicago Police Department, becoming their very first Detective.” Later, Pinkerton switches to focusing only on railroad crimes. During this time, he establishes Pinketon’s National Detective Agency. Opening this agency gave him the “power to arrest criminals anywhere in the country.” Pinkerton’s agency protected gold, silk, and tobacco. His first big investigation was in 1854 when the Adam’s Express company lost 10,000 dollars of money to theft. Today that would be worth around 373,271 dollars. The vice president of Adam’s Express Company wrote a letter to Pinkerton about the robbery, and Pinkerton suspected Nathon Marney, their Montgomery, Alabama manager, and advised them to watch out for Marney. The vice president didn’t listen to Pinkerton’s warning, and Marney stole more money from the company. After he was hired for the case, Pinketons conclusion was correct. 

Railroads were one of the fastest methods of transportation during WWII. The Pennsylvania Railroad was a massive part of transporting soldiers quickly, moving supplies, and making jobs open to women to keep the trains running. Their contributions had a huge impact on the War.

The transportation of soldiers was Pennsylvania Railroad’s main goal during the time of World War II. Pennsylvania contributed greatly to moving troops across the US because of its “strategic geography.” This was a major help because their railroads spanned from the north and south, which was perfect for moving servicemen across the US. Due to the amount of soldiers that they were transporting 13,000 troops took 21 or more trains with 200 plus coaches. In order to move troops, the Pennsylvania Railroad needed 29,670 more trains, which were around 400,000 cars. This shows how the Pennsylvania Railroad was valued, and its resources helped the US. 

Specific resources were very high in demand during WWII; for example, coal and ore were super popular. Due to this, the Pennsylvania railroad needed to expand its Greenwich and Philadelphia yards. This not only helped them get their resources quicker but also helped with the overall flow of railroad traffic. Coal was an important resource during WWII because it was used for manufacturing military products, iron, and steel.

To keep the trains running during this time, the PRR hired 20,000 women to fill in for jobs that men did before the war. They were employed in many different positions, such as telegraphers, passenger representatives, brakemen, ticket agents, hostlers, and welders. One example is Sada Turnbull, who worked as a brakeman, adjusting the breaks on the train cars. Sada Turnball is just one of the many women who were hired during WWII to support the war effort.