possible connections to the north and west. Thomson became nationally known for his expertise; his salary was $4000 in 1837. By 1845, he had completed the railroad from Augusta to Marthasville (present-day Atlanta). At 173 miles (278.4 km), it was the longest railroad in the world at the time. Thomson later bought control of the Montgomery and West Point Railroad and helped finance and locate the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. Also in 1845, he surveyed and designed the Augusta Canal for lawyer Henry Cumming; it was completed two years later. Pennsylvania Railroad The state of Pennsylvania had invested extensively in state-owned canals and short-line railroads. They were neither profitable nor efficient, and the state was falling behind its rivals in infrastructure development, believed critical for economic growth. The Pennsylvania Railroad, also known by the acronym PRR, incorporated in 1847, built a line across the Allegheny Mountains from the capital Harrisburg west to Pittsburgh, to eliminate the inefficient Allegheny Portage Railroad and the slow-paced canals. The line would give Philadelphia a link to the fast-growing west, allowing it to compete with Baltimore, Maryland (which was served by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad) and New York City. The company appointed Thomson as chief engineer at a salary of $5000 a year. Thomson did a brilliant job. With unbounded energy he sought out the best routes, making allowances for grades and river crossings. With Herman Haupt, he co-designed what became famous as "Horseshoe Curve" and built a railroad with practicable grades. He switched the fuel from wood to coal for the locomotives; other lines followed suit, thus opening up a new demand for coal, which the PRR shipped to all railroads. The through line between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh opened for traffic in February 1854, and made Philadelphia a major outlet for long-haul traffic from the west. This connection also strengthened its port, which had access to the Atlantic Ocean. Thomson led a faction that ousted the incumbent board of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1852; Thomson became president and turned his attention more toward finance than engineering. He repeatedly reorganized the company into more efficient subdivisions, and to better cost accounting, paying careful attention to the selection of vice presidents. His organizational model was widely imitated by other railroads, and set the standard for large American businesses. In 1857 he financed the railroad's purchase of the entire system of state transportation works, consisting of