river anywhere between Harpers Ferry and Williamsport, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) took notice. There could be link with rival B&O railroad, as well as a link with its own Cumberland Valley Railroad, just north of Williamsport in Hagerstown. This new north/south line would be the key to capturing the traffic on numerous just-acquired southern lines and directing it to the port of Philadelphia. The competing B&O wanted to divert the riches of the area to the port of Baltimore and expand into the south. Each tried to cut off the other from the south. Meanwhile, Virginia really didn’t want either to succeed so that traffic would be directed to the Norfolk port. The PRR began purchasing stock in the SVRR, and took effective control of it. B&O took control of a competing north/south line called the Valley Railroad. The plans showed the railroads were to run parallel to each other through the valley, sometimes just a few miles apart. The race was on. Main line construction (1870–1882) The Central Improvement Company (a subsidiary of Pennsylvania Railroad) was awarded a contract to construct of the SVRR from Shepherdstown to Salem for $35,000 a mile. The work was to be completed by August 1872. The major source of capital came from the sale of 6% mortgage bonds backed by the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1871, Thomas A. Scott was elected as the second president of SVRR; he was also a Vice President of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Peter B. Borst was forced out because of his involvement with a competing plan for a similar rail line called the Luray Valley Railroad Company that was pushed through the Virginia General Assembly in 1870. In August 1871, the Central Improvement Company submitted a proposal to cancel the construction contract, asking for payment only for work completed. The proposal was rejected by SVRR. In 1872, the deadline for completion of the railroad was extended to January 1875 and of work south of the C&O railroad in Staunton eliminated. Service began between Shepherdstown, WV and the Shenandoah River on December 15, 1879. In September 1872, the Cumberland Valley Railroad (a subsidiary of Pennsylvania Railroad) was asked to construct the tracks from their station in Hagerstown, MD to Shepherdstown, WV. Service began on that stretch in 1880. Problems with PRR escalated over the inability to obtain a traffic contract with the Cumberland Valley Railroad. SVRR sent a team of