Original, unissued stock certificate from The Petroleum Railway Company of Pennsylvania, certificate No. 43, for shares of company stock, dating from the late 19th century (circa 1880s). Beautifully engraved on period paper with ornate border and classic railroad $ oil tank vignettes-design. This certificate is unissued (blank, unsigned, and uncancelled), making it a rare surviving artifact from the Pennsylvania oil-boom and early railroad development period.

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🏗️ Historical Background:

The Petroleum Railway Company of Pennsylvania was formed during the height of the Pennsylvania oil-rush era, when new rail lines were being proposed to move crude oil and refined products from the oil fields around Titusville, Tidioute, and Oil City to markets and refineries.

It was a successor to the Pennsylvania Petroleum Railroad, chartered in 1871, which planned to build a 67-mile line from Erie, Pennsylvania eastward through the oil region. The line’s goal was to compete with larger carriers (like the Erie and Pennsylvania Railroads) and provide independent transportation for petroleum products.

Financial difficulties halted construction, and the venture was reorganized in 1882 as the Petroleum Railway of Pennsylvania. Company officers included:

• Adalbert H. Steele, President

• D. W. Lockart, Secretary

• James T. Blair, Frank Dunning, Henry C. Bloss, Samuel Minor, Francis H. Gibbs, and J. H. Gray, Directors

Despite ambitious plans, the project was never fully completed and eventually foreclosed in 1887, reorganizing again as the Titusville, Cambridge & Lake Erie Railroad.

Condition: I am not a professional and this comes from my father’s antique stock & bond collection. Given its age, it looks in good condition. It has the normal age related toning, foxing, edge wear/folds, small edge tears. See photos and ask questions. I will do my best to answer.

Surviving stock certificates from this short-lived venture are prized among railroad and oil industry memorabilia collectors,