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In 1840
a young and wealthy English
industrialist name Sabastian E. Nickel
came to the Allegheny Mountains of
Pennsylvania. Mr. Nickel was drawn to
this region of the United States for not
only the beauty of the mountains and
valleys, but also for the wealth in coal
and ore that lay hidden within them.
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After
several years of surveying the region,
Nickel purchased several large tracts
of land in the Allegheny Mountains
that he believed would prove rich in
minerals and ore. He began to
organize his mining industry with the
backing of his family fortune in
1848. He established a town to serve
his mining interest. The town was
named after its founder and was called
Nickel Township. In 1851, Sabastian
Nickel was granted a Charter by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to build
a railroad from his properties in the
mountain region to Harrisburg
Pennsylvania. That railroad would
become the Nickel City Line.
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Word
of Nickel’s mining operations had
brought many people seeking work
intoNickel Township. The population
swelled by 65% in two years, prompting
aname change from Nickel Township to
Nickel City. The railroad would also
inherit this name as it was the
originating point and overall purpose
for the existence of the rail line.
By July of 1854, the Nickel City Line
had run from Nickel City to Lewistown,
Pennsylvania. On May 18, 1857 the
Nickel City Line reached Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. In 1860 a branch line
from Waterloo, Pennsylvania extended
to Shippensburg Pennsylvania. By 1870
the Nickel City Line (NCL) extended
west to Ridgeway, Pennsylvania.
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Although
established to move coal and ore from
Nickel’s mining interests, the
fastroute through the Appalachian and
Allegheny Mountains was viewed by many
as amore efficient means to move goods
and services east and west. The
Nickel CityLine began hauling freight
and passengers by 1872. This expanded
rail traffic sooncaught the eye of the
largest railroad in the country, the
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).
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The
Pennsylvania Railroad sought to take
control of the NCL for its own
interests. However these plans were
placed on hold with the advent of the
Civil War and the Johnstown Flood.
These events caused numerous problems
for the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Meanwhile, the NCL saw an opportunity to
improve service and operations.
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By
1915 the Pennsylvania Railroad began
to revisit plans to take over the
NCL.Again these plans were interrupted
by the advent of World War I. With
Federaltakeover of the railroads, the
NCL saw increased traffic and
improvements to itslines. The NCL was
viewed as a vital link in the war
effort.
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In
1920, control was returned to the NCL
management. The line continued to
move freight and passengers
efficiently across mountain
territory. But the NCLManagement
began investing in other business
ventures as a means of increasing
capital and off setting potential
financial losses in the future. The
stock market crash of 1929 had a
significant impact on all investors
and companies. But the NCL management
had diversified its investments and
earnings to soften the blow for the
railroad company.
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By
1939 the railroad was helping the war
effort again, this time for World War
II. Post war business boomed and
profits soared. NCL invested heavily
in therailroad and other ventures,
further creating a solid corporation
that could fend offpotential threats
by the Pennsylvania Railroad and
others.
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By
1966, the threat of the Pennsylvania
Railroad was diminished as the PRR
soldoff a significant portion of its
property to competing railroads. The
PennsylvaniaRailroad was no longer a
rail giant. It was just another
railroad struggling tosurvive in a
fiercely competitive world.
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By
1975 the Pennsylvania Railroad had
seen the rise and fall of its former
trackage to railroads such as the New
York Central and the Penn Central. A
new railroad had taken possession of
the former PRR trackage. The new
railroad was named Conrail. The
Chessie System, an ever growing
conglomerate of railroads acquired the
old Erie Lackawanna. Amtrak would
take over the old Penn Central
passenger routes.
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In
1995 there are many changes on the
horizon. Conrail is considering a
sale of their Company to the Chessie
System. Both the Chessie System and
the Pennsylvania Railroad have leased
trackage rights from the NCL. NCL
business is at the peak of activity.
What the future holds is anyone’s
guess. Only time will tell.
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