![]() ![]() He then formed a new company, the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad in 1869 the HRRR and NYC were merged into the new operation while the Harlem was leased. Through shrewd business practices the Commodore gained control of the original New York Central Railroad in 1867. This became part of the NYC's future "Water Level Route" high-speed main line. It was chartered on to extend from Rensselaer, New York (a connection here was made with the Troy & Greenbush Railroad, later leased by the HRRR) down the eastern shore of the Hudson River until terminating along the western side of Manhattan, opening on October 3, 1851. The nearby Hudson River Railroad (HRRR) was a future competitor to the NY&H. It reached as far as Fordham, in the Bronx, in 1841 and then pushed far beyond the city over the next few years when it opened to Chatham, New York (129 miles away) during 1852 where a connection was established with the Western Railroad (later Boston & Albany). The NY&H, originally operated as a horse-drawn system, had been incorporated on Apto open service on the east side of New York's Manhattan Island from the downtown region to the uptown community of Harlem. These two roads provided the later NYC with a coveted entry into downtown Manhattan, an advantage the railroad maintained until the Pennsylvania Railroad opened Pennsylvania Station in 1910. In 1863 he acquired control of the New York & Harlem and a year later owned controlling interest in the Hudson River Railroad. He was worth a half-million dollars by 1834 and remained in the shipping industry for another three decades before realizing the future of transportation lay in the railroad. He was born in 1794 and at the age of 16 began his own ferry service between Staten Island and New York City.īusiness savvy, Vanderbilt established a successful steamship operation and earned the title of Commodore by operating the largest schooner on the Hudson River. "Commodore" VanderbiltĮnter Cornelius Vanderbilt, whose name remains synonymous with the New York Central Railroad. It was under the Commodore's guidance that the modern New York Central was born as he pieced together several large railroads into a network under common management stretching from New York to Chicago. The first NYC expanded slightly over the next decade but essentially remained the same system linking the aforementioned endpoints until after the Civil War when Cornelius Vanderbilt acquired control of the property. The consolidation was officially carried out on when they formally joined to form the original New York Central Railroad. The results were nearly instantaneous as profits soared.Ī few years prior to this event, merger talks had already been launched between the group as they understood the benefits of a unified line offering through service. It proved how successful railroads could become, moving many passengers, despite the state regulations placed upon it.Īt Utica, the Syracuse & Utica was chartered on to extend rail service westward to Syracuse, opening a 53-mile route in August of 1839.Īccording to Mike Schafer and Brian Solomon's book, " New York Central Railroad," the state discontinued canal tolls on these railroads during December of 1851. The U&S was chartered on Apand opened 78 miles between its namesake cities in 1836. These systems included the Utica & Schenectady, Syracuse & Utica, Auburn & Syracuse, Auburn & Rochester, Tonawanda Railroad, and Attica & Buffalo. Six other small roads comprised what later became the NYC's main line between Albany and Buffalo. Louis Railway (Big Four Route)Įvansville, Indianapolis & Terre Haute Railwayĭespite transporting predominantly only passengers early on the Mohawk & Hudson did relatively well and is even credited with operating the first covered freight car, the boxcar, in 1833 (essentially a covered gondola) while it also placed the first steam locomotive into service when the DeWitt Clinton, an American-built 0-4-0 model, entered service on the M&H's first day of operation. Mohawk & Hudson Railroad (April 17, 1826)Ĭleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky (Louisville), Illinois, Missouri (St. ![]() New York City (230 Park Avenue, 466 Lexington Avenue)
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