Existing comment:
Prosperity for Hollidaysburg and Johnstown:
All along its 390 mile route, the Public Works was hailed for the limitless opportunities it offered for growth and industry. During its normal March to December operating season, products could be shipped from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in eight days. Freight costs were reduced an amazing 66 percent. Just as important, passengers were whisked along the same route in a miraculous four to five days! As trade increased, so did the number of "forwarding" companies, carried who shipped goods and moved passengers for a fee. Hollidaysburg and Johnstown, only villages at the time construction of the Portage Railroad began, flourished at its eastern and western ends where canals met rails to cross the Alleghenies.
Hollidaysburg, already established as a stopping place on the Northern Turnpike to Pittsburgh, was chosen as the eastern terminus of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. Construction boomed as contractors laid the rails and built a machine shop, carpenter shop, weighscales, and water station. Two canal basins served the thriving town, delivering cargo and passengers to the Portrage Railroad depot. Yet even with four tracks bordering the basin, trade was so heavy that traffic congestion was an ongoing problem.
"It will, doubtless, be gratifying to the citizens of Pittsburgh to learn that the Portage Railroad will be open for public use on Tuesday, the 18th... On that day, a line of communication will be opened, uninterrupted between your city and Philadelphia."
-- S. Jones, Superintendent, Portage Railway Office, Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1834
Johnstown, a trading center on the Conamaugh River, was the western terminus of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. A large canal basin was constructed with warehouses connected to the railroad by sidings. Contracts were awarded to local businessmen to build a bridge across the river for trains as well as a depot complex and a state-owned machine shop for repairing locomotives.
Hotels, taverns, and boatyards sprang up to serve travelers in Hollidaysburg and Johnstown. Foundries and factories lined the canal basins for easy access to raw materials carried on the Public Works. By 1837 there were fourteen forwarding companies in Hollidaysburg and almost as many in Johnstown, each with its own warehouse. |