Major U.S. railroad.
It was founded in 1853 to consolidate 10 railroads that paralleled the Erie Canal between Albany and Buffalo, the oldest being the Mohawk and Hudson, New York state's first railway (established 1831). Pennsylvania Railroad Co ., to form the Penn Central Transportation Co. The merger failed, and the railroad was forced into bankruptcy in 1970. Its passenger services were taken over by {{link=Amtrak">Amtrak in 1971, and its other railroad assets were transferred to Conrail in 1976.