From www.railphotoexpress.biz – The Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the US throughout its 20th-century existence and was at one time the largest publicly traded corporation in the world. At its peak, it controlled about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) of rail line. During its history, the PRR merged with or had an interest in at least 800 other rail lines and companies.The PRR corporation still holds the record for the longest continuous dividend history: it paid out annual dividends to shareholders for more than 100 years in a row. For many years the President of the PRR was considered more powerful than the President of the United States. The budget for the PRR was larger than that of the U.S. government and they employed approximately 250,000 workers.