278 miles of canals and 117 miles of railroad, together with real estate and rail equipment. At a cost of $7.5 million the Pennsylvania now dominated the state and took control of most short-haul traffic from the many towns along its heavily populated route. Postwar expansion Thomson expanded the railroad to the west, into Ohio and parts beyond. In 1856 Thomson arranged for the consolidation of several western lines into the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway. It was formally leased to the Pennsylvania in 1869 and, in 1870-71, the Pennsylvania Company, one of the first of the holding companies, was created to take over the properties west of Pittsburgh, which were developing into large northwest and southwest systems. In 1860, the Pennsylvania represented only the main line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, with a few short branches. By 1869 it had expanded within Pennsylvania alone to nearly one thousand miles and also controlled lines northward to the shores of Lake Erie, through New York State. In 1869 it purchased the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago line, giving it a connection with Chicago through Ohio and Indiana. In 1870 the Pennsylvania began to expand on the east coast also, obtaining an entry into New York City by acquiring the United Railroad and Canal Company, which owned leased 456 miles of railroad and 65 miles of canals in New Jersey. By 1873 Thomson also had links to the South. Thomson then built up Philadelphia as a transatlantic port, creating the American Steamship Company in 1870 under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Steel was becoming available at moderate cost, and Thomson contracted with industrialist Andrew Carnegie for steel to replace all the wooden railway bridges, and to replace iron tracks with stronger steel tracks. With such infrastructure in place, trains could be designed to be heavier, faster, and more efficient. In 1871-72 the Pennsylvania expanded into the Midwest by astute purchases. It bought the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad in 1871 as well as smaller lines in Ohio, merging them into the system. The most important acquisition during this period was the purchase of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis, with lines extending westward from Pittsburgh to St. Louis, Missouri, and branches reaching southward to Cincinnati, Ohio and northward to Chicago. This system included over 1400 miles of road, giving the Pennsylvania a second line to Chicago, a direct line to St.