The New York Central Railroad. Part One.

NYC Hudson Locomotive, built with iconic Streamlining

designed by Henry Dreyfuss, used to haul

The 20th Century Limited Train, starting in 1938.

Photo courtesy SMU.

Date: 1938.

Source: Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries, DeGolyer Library: Robert Yarnall Richie Photographs. Retrieved from Flickr: Hudson Locomotive for The New York Central.

Author: Robert Yarnall Richie (1908-1984).

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Grand Central Station Terminal,

42nd Street, New York,

United States of America.

Français: Vue extérieure nocturne de la gare

Grand Central Terminal sur l'ile de Manhattan, à New-York (États-Unis).

Date: 1/08.

Source: Own work.

Author: Fcb981 ; Eric Baetscher (attribution required).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The New York Central Railroad (NYC), known simply as The New York Central in its publicity, was a Railroad operating in the North-Eastern United States. Headquartered in New York City, the railroad served most of the North-East, including extensive Trackage in the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Massachusetts, plus additional Trackage in the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

The Railroad primarily connected Greater New York and Boston, in the East, with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid-West, along with the intermediate Cities of Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Detroit. NYC's Grand Central Terminal, in New York City, is one of its best-known extant landmarks.

In 1968, The NYC merged with its former rival, The Pennsylvania Railroad, to form Penn Central (The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad joined in 1969). That Company went bankrupt in 1970 and was taken over by The Federal Government and merged into Conrail in 1976.

"The Steam Locomotive".

New York Central Railroad 1938.

Available on YouTube at

https://youtu.be/ZBFdpBol3l4

Conrail was broken up in 1998, and portions of its system was transferred to the newly-formed New York Central Lines LLC, a subsidiary leased to, and eventually absorbed by, CSX and Norfolk Southern. Those Companies' Lines included the original New York Central Main Line, but, outside that area, it included Lines that were never part of The New York Central System. CSX was able to take one of the most important Main Lines in the Nation, which runs from New York City and Boston to Cleveland, Ohio, as part of The Water Level Route, while Norfolk Southern gained The Cleveland, Ohio, to Chicago, Illinois, portion of the Line, called The Chicago Line.

At the end of 1925, The New York Central System operated 11,584 miles (18,643 km) of Road and 26,395 miles (42,479 km) of Track; at the end of 1967, the mileages were 9,696 miles (15,604 km) and 18,454 miles (29,699 km).

The oldest part of the NYC was the first permanent Railroad in the State of New York and one of the first Railroads in The United States. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad was chartered in 1826 to connect The Mohawk River at Schenectady to The Hudson River at Albany, providing a way for freight, and especially passengers, to avoid the extensive and time-consuming Locks on The Erie Canal between Schenectady and Albany. The Mohawk and Hudson opened on 24 September 1831, and changed its name to The Albany and Schenectady Railroad on 19 April 1847.

1876 map of The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, from [1]

This File: 2 July 2005.

User: SPUI~commonswiki

(Wikimedia Commons)

"Flight of the Century".

20th Century Limited Train.

1935 Steam Trains Newsreel.

A promotional film made in 1935 by The New York Central Lines.

Features a journey on The 20th Century Limited, once America's premier Train.

Available on YouTube at

https://youtu.be/CcC9laB3UFU

PART TWO FOLLOWS