Robert Pitcairn (May 6, 1836 – July 25, 1909) was a Scottish-American railroad executive who headed the Pittsburgh Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 19th century. He was the brother of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (now PPG Industries, Inc.) co-founder, John Pitcairn, Jr.
Early life Pitcairn was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland on May 6, 1836. Ten years later he accompanied his parents and five siblings to the United States aboard the ship Venice, landing at Philadelphia on October 1, 1846. The family continued their journey west, almost certainly via the Pennsylvania Main Line of Public Works (Pennsylvania Main Line Canal) which had been opened in 1834.Green, Harry. 2010. “Ship Venice.” Immigrant Ship Transcribers Guild. February 10. https://www.immigrantships.net/v12/1800v12/venice18461001.html. Retrieved 12 June 2025. Upon reaching Pittsburgh they settled across the Allegheny River in Allegheny City.
Two years later, in September 1848, another Scottish family joined the Pitcairns in Allegheny City. Will and Margaret Carnegie and their sons, Andrew and Thomas, arrived after landing in New York City and traveling via the Hudson River, Erie Canal and a series of other water routes to Pittsburgh. The Pitcairn boys, Robert (12), John (7), and Hugh (3), became close friends with Andrew (12) and Thomas (4) Carnegie.Huber, William R. 2025. Robert and John Pitcairn: Titans of Rail, Oil and Glass. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishers.
Personal life While Robert Pitcairn was working for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Altoona, he met Elizabeth Erb Rigg. On July 26, 1856, the couple married. Robert was 20 years old, and Elizabeth was just 15. Their first child, Agnes Laurene, was born on June 21, 1857, and another daughter, Lillian, followed on December 19, 1858. Two more children followed after the Civil War—Susan Blanche Pitcairn on March 19, 1868, and Robert Pitcairn Jr. on October 2, 1874.
A community Sunday School had been meeting in members’ homes since 1860, but grew too large for that arrangement. On August 10, 1866, 12 men, including Robert Pitcairn, met to plan a dedicated church building. By the end of the meeting, they had pledged $4,550 to purchase land and erect a building for Presbyterian worship, including a “Sabbath School and a select weekday school.” Belfour, Stanton. 1966. Centennial History of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church. Pittsburgh, PA: Davis & Warde, Inc. By the end of August, pledges had doubled, a charter and constitution had been drafted, and a 1.5-acre lot had been purchased from Thomas Aiken for $3,000. On September 1, the nascent church applied to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas for a charter, and on September 12, a petition for the organization of a church was sent to the Presbytery of Ohio.
Without waiting for formal approvals, construction of the building that would be the first Shadyside Presbyterian Church began on August 27, 1866. The Court granted the requested charter on September 29, 1866.
The first church building was at the corner of Amberson Avenue and Westminster Streets in Shadyside. While waiting for the church building to be completed, Robert Pitcairn arranged for the congregation to use the Pennsylvania Railroad station in Shadyside for their Sunday evening worship services. The railroad station served as a church meeting hall from September 9, 1866, until July 7, 1867. The meetings there were described as “regularly sustained, largely attended and productive of much good.” Engleman, Timothy C. 2016. Liturgy: A Reflection on Shadyside Presbyterian Church. Pittsburgh, PA: Shadyside Presbyterian Church. Music was an integral part of services, even at the railroad station. Robert was appointed choir leader. Finally, on July 8, 1867, the church building was completed, and a large group of supporters met to consecrate the facility, which had pews to accommodate 375 people.
Continued growth in the congregation led to the construction of a second church building, which was completed in 1875.
Robert became a fixture in the church’s leadership. Following is a tabulation of Robert’s official roles at the church:
Robert Pitcairn’s Service to Shadyside Presbyterian Church
Position Dates Sunday School Superintendent Intermittently for 12 years total, starting Sept 1868; ending March 1903
Deacon April 27, 1873, to his death in 1909; 36 years total
President of Board of Trustees 1881 to 1882
Ruling Elder April 2, 1882, to his death in 1909; 27 years total
Robert said in July 1891, “I feel that I can with truth say … to the promoters of this great enterprise, which has so blessed this neighborhood—those conservative men and women who gave up their beloved and cherished [church] homes, denominational preferences, and saw that their duty was at home and with their neighbors … and now I expect to live and die in my adopted church home, and can say with truth, that everything I am and have I owe to the Shadyside Presbyterian Church.” Belfour. 1966.
In 1920, well after the deaths of both Robert and Elizabeth, new stained glass was installed in the windows of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church. Among those windows was one titled The Feeding of the Five Thousand, which was dedicated “In Loving Memory of Robert Pitcairn and Elizabeth Rigg Pitcairn.” Ibid.
The Pitcairn family home, named Cairncarque, was just two blocks away from the church at the corner of Ellsworth and Amberson Avenues in the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh. Cairn is a Scottish word meaning a mound of rough stones, and carque in Scottish means conversation or gossip.
Career
Telegraph and Railroad In 1850, 14-year-old Andrew Carnegie took a job delivering telegrams for the nascent O’Reilly Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh. The volume of telegrams grew rapidly, stimulating the need for more delivery boys. Carnegie recommended his buddy, Robert Pitcairn. Along with another Scotsman, David McCargo, the three boys delivered telegrams for the renamed Eastern Telegraph Company.
On February 1, 1853, Andrew Carnegie left the telegraph company to work for Thomas Scott at the Pennsylvania Railroad. Once Carnegie found his footing with the PRR, he saw where his friend from the telegraph office, Robert Pitcairn, could fit in and obtained an interview for him. In July 1853, 17-year-old Robert was hired and began as a telegraph operator and assistant ticket agent at Mountain House near Hollidaysburg at the east end of the Allegheny Portage Railroad.1874. Biographical Encyclopaedia of Pennsylvania of the Nineteenth Century. Philadelphia: Galaxy Publishing Company. Retrieved 17 June 2025. Robert and his family had first traveled past this point on their way to Allegheny City just seven years earlier.
When the PRR completed its rail line over the mountains in 1854, there was no more need for the ingenious but unreliable Allegheny Portage Railroad. So, Robert Pitcairn transferred to the Altoona office of the PRR, where he worked as a telegraph operator for General Superintendent Herman Lombaert.
The Altoona office was a university of railroading where Pitcairn learned all aspects of operating the complex organization. At the beginning of 1855, when Robert was just 18, he was promoted to chief clerk of the general superintendent’s office.
Robert remained as chief clerk until 1858, when he was transferred to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to supervise the construction of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railroad (PFW&CRR).
On August 1, 1860, Robert Pitcairn, age 24, left Fort Wayne to become superintendent of the PRR Middle Division. The Middle Division extended from Mifflin, 40 miles northwest of Harrisburg, to Conemaugh, east of Johnstown, and included the Horseshoe Curve and Gallitzin Tunnels.Wilson, William Bender. 1913. Robert Pitcairn 1836–1909: In Memoriam. Holmsburg, PA. https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3A00c679529m/viewer#page/6/mode/2up. 13–16. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
Civil War During the Civil War, Robert and John Pitcairn were assigned to Chambersburg to manage the trains on the Cumberland Valley Railroad (CVRR), which the Union government had taken over. Robert dispatched trains during the day and John at night. Tens of thousands of Union soldiers traveled from Harrisburg to Hagerstown via the CVRR. The Pitcairn brothers remained at their critical posts for several months. After the CVRR assignment, the Pitcairns returned to their regular PRR posts, John as assistant to the superintendent of the Philadelphia Division of the PRR and Robert as superintendent of the PRR Middle Division.
Superintendent of the Pittsburgh Division of the PRR On April 1, 1865, eight days before the end of the Civil War, Andrew Carnegie resigned as superintendent of the Pittsburgh Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. On that same day, Robert Pitcairn was named successor to his friend in that prestigious and challenging position.
The superintendent of the Pittsburgh Division was the most critical operating position in the company. Pittsburgh was the gateway for all traffic to and from the west. The area’s rivers and hilly terrain, coupled with a multitude of competing customers, including Carnegie’s steel plants, added challenges unmatched anywhere on the line.
William Bender Wilson, the noted historian who wrote History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, said of Robert Pitcairn,“He was a man above the ordinary and was able to solve (the challenges) and make of the division a powerful agency in the development of the commonwealth. He started out on the principle that while the executive officer should hold a firm grasp on the reins of power he should administer the affairs of the division in the spirit of co-operation and co-ordination. One of his earliest moves was permanently instituting a meeting with his staff for conference, to be held weekly. In these meetings he listened to reports and suggestions, heard criticisms and advised, instructed and directed. This conference was practically a school of the railroad that advised the superintendent, broadened the staff and established a standard of excellence.” Wilson, William Bender. 1899. History of Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Vol. 1. Philadelphia. Henry T. Coates & Company.A clear view of Robert Pitcairn emerges in a letter he wrote to his brother, Hugh Pitcairn, on February 1, 1866. Hugh, age 20, had just been appointed superintendent of the Susquehanna Division of the Northern Central Railroad.Dear Hugh,
I rejoice very much at your appointment and trust in my heart that you will succeed.
“There is a tide in the affairs of men which if taken at the flood leads on to fortune and fame…” How can you take advantage of the flood? By bearing your honor meekly. Not appearing to feel your position, but still show you have confidence in your ability. Putting on no airs, but still being decided and dignified, always remembering that your youth is against you. By keeping a close mouth and not showing your ignorance. A Pitcairn can’t blow, can’t talk well and his only chance is in keeping quiet. By having no confidants unless it is your brother, John. By putting nothing on paper that you can’t say verbally unless it is a train order. Always be careful what you write, remembering that it may appear against you when least expected. Be careful, weighing all your actions, doing nothing rash, being sure to get all the facts before you decide a question. Having no temper. You will always make a fool of yourself unless you control your temper. Having no feelings, but calmly and dispassionately weighing everything and acting earnestly and for the best interest of the company without regard to yourself.... Talking very little with the employees, but still being pleasant to them.