There are six distinct lines of railway in Mercer, besides two considerable coal roads, and numerous short tracks running to the various coal shafts. These are, the Erie and Pittsburgh Railway, which traverses the valley of the Shenango River entirely through the county, and having, including its meanderings, about thirty (30) miles of track; the Atlantic and Great Western (broad track) Railway, which passes through the north-western portion of the county, and, including the Cleveland and Mahoning, and other branches, having also about thirty miles of track; the Shenango and Allegheny Railway, which traverses the central portions of the county, diagonally, from Shenango Station, on the Atlantic and Great Western, to a point in Butler county, and having a length in Mercer county of nearly thirty miles; the Newcastle and Franklin Railway, which follows the valley of the Neshannock Creek to Mercer, and thence diverges towards Stoneboro, where it intersects and makes connection with the Jamestown and Franklin Railway, and having a total length of about twenty miles within the county; the Jamestown and Franklin Branch of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, which runs diagonally across the north-eastern portion of the county, with a length of twenty-five miles; the Franklin Branch of the Allegheny Valley Railway, which passes through the extreme north­eastern corner of the county, along the valley of the famous French Creek, and having only about three miles of track; and the two coal roads, one the “Sharpsville Railway,” running from Sharpsville, south-east about six miles, into the coal region of Hickory township, and including its various branches, having a length of about ten miles; the other, called the Sharon and Greenfield Narrow Gauge Railway, with a total length of about five miles. Besides these, there are enough other short coal tracks to make an additional ten miles.

Recapitulation.

The two great passenger and general traffic lines, are the Erie and Pittsburgh and the Atlantic and Great Western Railways. The latter is a broad-guage road, and connects with the New York system.

The Shenango and Allegheny and the Jamestown and Franklin lines handle immense quantities of oil, and the remaining lines do a fair passenger business, and handle a very large amount of coal. The largest coal-shipping points are Sharpsville, Sharon, Stoneboro, and Pardoe, the grand aggregate being about 2,000 tons daily. All these lines have been constructed since 1860.

History of Mercer County, 1877, page 21