"Pennsylvania had at one time and another approximately 1,250 miles of canal connecting almost all sections of the state in extensive freight and passenger activity. There are few visible traces of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal which, beginning in 1834, extended from Pittsburgh on the Allegheny to Philadelphia on the Delaware, some 400 miles. Canals were built for economic reasons in Pennsylvania; they had a vigorous and short life; their functions were carried on under great difficulties; and they were rapidly taken over by the railroads. The canals are all but gone today. This book is an attempt to organize the existing literature and materials about the canals, chiefly with respect to the Main Line Canal, in a manner that so far as possible clears the factual record and preserves the significant details." [from the introduction].
Chapters include: Early Waterways/ The Development of Canals/ The Canal Boom/ Building the Main Line Canal/ The Main Line Railroads/ Branch and Interstate Connections/ Canal Prosperity/ Navigating the Canal/ The Canallers/ Main Line Travel/ Canal Troubles/ Sale and Abandonment/ Canal Remnants.
