Pennsylvania Railroad

Latrobe grew into a community because of the railroad. A plan developed by Oliver W. Barnes and implemented in 1851 created a true community center consisting of the Pennsylvania Railroad Depot, a railroad hotel, wood and water yards, and a profitable first industry called the Pennsylvania Car Works. In 1901, the present Pennsylvania Railroad Station was built along with the extensive engineering feat of raising the tracks. This monumental effort allowed unobstructed ground-level traffic and greatly influenced commercial activity in the borough center while increasing the efficiency of the railroad in moving increased industrial loads. The broad-scale connectivity and speed of movement made the railroad the primary method of travel for sales representatives, engineers, and executives for all of the local major industries until the rise of airline travel and the development of the interstate highway system in the 1960's.

Latrobe, Pennsylvania · United States