[3] The charter directed the railroad to pass through the towns of Freeport[1] and Butler and proceed to the Pennsylvania-Ohio state boundary somewhere within Lawrence County, Pennsylvania.
[3] The New Castle connection was important: The Pennsylvania Railroad ("the Pennsy") was a standard gauge road, as was the Cleveland and Mahoning.
Until this point in time, the Pennsy could send no railcars west of Pittsburgh, since its connections there were with broad gauge railroads.
By sending its cars over the North Western and the Cleveland and Mahoning, the Pennsy could move freight all the way to Chicago without the need for transshipment.
The route between Blairsville and Freeport needed another 14 bridges over ravines (one 130-foot (40 m) long), and five major cuts (all of extreme depth) of 50 to 76 feet (15 to 23 m) through ridges and hilly land.
On July 5, 1859, the bondholders of the North Western Railroad took control of the company as part of a foreclosure proceeding.
Traffic began running from Blairsville to Saltsburg while work continued on the rest of the line to Allegheny Junction.