ain was used, and sleeping cars also soon began to appear.

The railroad genius identified with the history of the Pennsylvania
Railroad during the following decade is J. Edgar Thomson. A man of
vision and of great shrewdness and ability, he was more like the modern
railroad head of the Ripley or Underwood type than of the Vanderbilt,
Garrett, or Drew type. His interest was never in the stock market nor in
the speculative side of railroading but was concentrated entirely on
the development and operation of the Pennsylvania Railroad system.
His dreams were not of millions quickly made nor of railroad dominance
simply for the power that it gave; his mind was concentrated on the
growth and prosperity of a vast railroad system which would increase
with the years, become lucrative in its operations, and not only radiate
throughout the State of Pennsylvania but extend far beyond into the
growing West.

Under the Thomson management, which lasted until 1874, the record of the
Pennsylvania Railroad was one of progress in every sense of the word.
While Daniel Drew was lining his pockets with loot from the Erie
Railroad and Commodore Vanderbilt was piling up his colossal fortune
through consolidation and manipulation, J. Edgar Thomson was steadily
building up the greatest business organization on the continent. In
1860, the entire Pennsylvania Railroad system was represented merely
by the main line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, with a few short
branches. By 1869 the road had expanded within Pennsylvania alone to
nearly one thousand miles and also controlled lines northward to the
shores of Lake Erie, through the State of New York.

But the master accomplishment of the Thomson administration was the
acquisition of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago line in 1869. This
new addition gave the Company its own connection with Chicago and made a
continuous system from the banks of the Delaware at Philadelphia to the
shores of Lake Michigan, thus rivaling the far-flung Vanderbilt line, a
thousand miles long, which the industrious Commodore was now organizing.
Shortly thereafter the Pennsylvania began to expand on the east also and
obtained an entry into New York City by acquiring the United Railroad
and Canal Company, which owned lines across the State of New Jersey,
passing through Trenton.

In the latter years of the Thomson management it became more and more
evident that it was important for the Pennsylvania Railroad to have