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George Brooke Roberts
George Brooke Roberts (January 15, 1833 – January 30, 1897) was a civil engineer and the fifth president of the Pennsylvania Railroad (1880–1896).
Roberts was born at his family's farm in the Pencoyd region of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. At age 16 he graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1849, and remained to teach there for two years before becoming a rodman for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). Beginning in 1852, he worked for the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, returning to the PRR in 1862 as assistant to the president, J. Edgar Thomson. Roberts oversaw the construction of bridges and other engineering work, including the Connecting Railway Bridge over Schuylkill River in Philadelphia (attributed to John A. Wilson, 1866–67) that connected PRR's southern and northern lines. He became a PRR vice-president in 1869, and succeeded Thomas A. Scott as PRR president in 1880. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1885.
As PRR's first vice president, Roberts oversaw the construction of Broad Street Station, a seminal event in Philadelphia history. Before this, PRR locomotives did not cross the Schuylkill River but instead deposited passengers at West Philadelphia Station (32nd Street) where horse-drawn streetcars brought them into Center City. Construction of a new bridge and a 10-block viaduct, the so-called Chinese Wall, carried the PRR tracks two stories above street level and into the Wilson Brothers-designed station at Broad Street.
With the 1871 decision to build Philadelphia City Hall, the 1876 opening of merchant John Wanamaker's department store to the east, and the 1881 opening of the PRR station to the west, the center of Philadelphia's business district rapidly moved to Broad & Market Streets. The station's location at the heart of the city made commuting via the PRR practicable, fueling massive suburban growth, especially on the Philadelphia Main Line. By 1886, the station saw a million passengers a month. In 1889, a freight depot was built along the Chinese Wall at 19th Street, so the station could be devoted just to passengers. In 1892, Roberts hired architect Frank Furness to greatly expand Broad Street Station, consolidating PRR offices in a single building and turning it into the largest passenger terminal in the world.
Roberts's first major accomplishment as PRR president was the 1881 purchase of a majority stake in the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, which froze the rival Baltimore and Ohio Railroad out of a direct Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., route that had previously rented trackage rights to both railroads. The acquisition gave the PRR a direct line from New York City (actually Jersey City, New Jersey, until 1911) to Washington. Amtrak uses this same route today.
Competition between the PRR and the New York Central Railroad was fierce. William H. Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie began construction of the South Pennsylvania Railroad across Pennsylvania to directly compete with the PRR's Main Line. In response, Roberts bought up land on the west side of the Hudson River for the West Shore Railroad, to directly compete with the NYCR on the east side. J. P. Morgan saw this as wasteful competition and negotiated an 1885 truce between Vanderbilt and Roberts, in which each abandoned the competing line. Vanderbilt's line became the right-of-way for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and Roberts's line for the Palisades Parkway.
In 1887, the PRR introduced direct service from New York City to Chicago. The Pennsylvania Limited made the trip in 24 hours by way of Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh. By 1902, an express train was introduced, the Pennsylvania Special, that cut the time to 20 hours.
The 1889 Johnstown Flood occurred during Roberts's presidency. The PRR's Stone Bridge over the Conemaugh River in Johnstown acted as a dam, trapping debris that covered 30 acres (and soon caught fire). The PRR was a major participant in the rescue effort. It reopened its line to Pittsburgh within 3 days, and was the primary means by which relief workers and provisions reached the victims of the disaster. The Stone Bridge still stands today.
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George Brooke Roberts
George Brooke Roberts (January 15, 1833 – January 30, 1897) was a civil engineer and the fifth president of the Pennsylvania Railroad (1880–1896).
Roberts was born at his family's farm in the Pencoyd region of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. At age 16 he graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1849, and remained to teach there for two years before becoming a rodman for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). Beginning in 1852, he worked for the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, returning to the PRR in 1862 as assistant to the president, J. Edgar Thomson. Roberts oversaw the construction of bridges and other engineering work, including the Connecting Railway Bridge over Schuylkill River in Philadelphia (attributed to John A. Wilson, 1866–67) that connected PRR's southern and northern lines. He became a PRR vice-president in 1869, and succeeded Thomas A. Scott as PRR president in 1880. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1885.
As PRR's first vice president, Roberts oversaw the construction of Broad Street Station, a seminal event in Philadelphia history. Before this, PRR locomotives did not cross the Schuylkill River but instead deposited passengers at West Philadelphia Station (32nd Street) where horse-drawn streetcars brought them into Center City. Construction of a new bridge and a 10-block viaduct, the so-called Chinese Wall, carried the PRR tracks two stories above street level and into the Wilson Brothers-designed station at Broad Street.
With the 1871 decision to build Philadelphia City Hall, the 1876 opening of merchant John Wanamaker's department store to the east, and the 1881 opening of the PRR station to the west, the center of Philadelphia's business district rapidly moved to Broad & Market Streets. The station's location at the heart of the city made commuting via the PRR practicable, fueling massive suburban growth, especially on the Philadelphia Main Line. By 1886, the station saw a million passengers a month. In 1889, a freight depot was built along the Chinese Wall at 19th Street, so the station could be devoted just to passengers. In 1892, Roberts hired architect Frank Furness to greatly expand Broad Street Station, consolidating PRR offices in a single building and turning it into the largest passenger terminal in the world.
Roberts's first major accomplishment as PRR president was the 1881 purchase of a majority stake in the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, which froze the rival Baltimore and Ohio Railroad out of a direct Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., route that had previously rented trackage rights to both railroads. The acquisition gave the PRR a direct line from New York City (actually Jersey City, New Jersey, until 1911) to Washington. Amtrak uses this same route today.
Competition between the PRR and the New York Central Railroad was fierce. William H. Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie began construction of the South Pennsylvania Railroad across Pennsylvania to directly compete with the PRR's Main Line. In response, Roberts bought up land on the west side of the Hudson River for the West Shore Railroad, to directly compete with the NYCR on the east side. J. P. Morgan saw this as wasteful competition and negotiated an 1885 truce between Vanderbilt and Roberts, in which each abandoned the competing line. Vanderbilt's line became the right-of-way for the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and Roberts's line for the Palisades Parkway.
In 1887, the PRR introduced direct service from New York City to Chicago. The Pennsylvania Limited made the trip in 24 hours by way of Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh. By 1902, an express train was introduced, the Pennsylvania Special, that cut the time to 20 hours.
The 1889 Johnstown Flood occurred during Roberts's presidency. The PRR's Stone Bridge over the Conemaugh River in Johnstown acted as a dam, trapping debris that covered 30 acres (and soon caught fire). The PRR was a major participant in the rescue effort. It reopened its line to Pittsburgh within 3 days, and was the primary means by which relief workers and provisions reached the victims of the disaster. The Stone Bridge still stands today.