Pennsylvania railroad black and gold logo pedestal sign

The Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the US throughout its 20th-century existence By 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad had become the largest railroad (by traffic and revenue), the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world. Its budget was second only to the U.S. government.[1] The corporation still holds the record for the longest continuous dividend history: it paid out annual dividends to shareholders for more than 100 consecutive years. Over the years, it acquired, merged with or owned part of at least 800 other rail lines and companies At the end of 1926, it operated 11,640.66 miles (18,733.83 kilometers) of rail line in the 1920s, it carried nearly three times the traffic as other railroads of comparable length, such as the Union Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. Its only formidable rival was the New York Central (NYC), which carried around three-quarters of the Pennsy's ton-miles. Image Copyright © 1999-2022 Stan Feldman