The New York Central Railroad

The first Mohawk & Hudson Train

​The New York Central Railroad was one of the biggest and most powerful railroads in the United States from its early beginnings of the 1830’s until it was merged into Conrail in 1976.
It started initially as the Mohawk and Hudson RR in 1831 and operated between Albany and Schenectady, NY.  When it connected with other railroads in the area, a total of 7 railroads permitted passengers to travel between New York City and Buffalo, NY  by rail.  Connections were far from ideal, and in 1852 an agreement was reached for ten railroads to form the New York Central.  Many improvements were made andadditional routes into Pennsylvania, Ohio and Canada were constructed.  In 1867, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt became head of the railroad and built the first of three Grand Central Depots in New York City.
In 1882, the New York Central instituted rail service from New York City and Chicago and competed with the rival Pennsylvania Railroad for the passenger business.  In 1902 the New York Central introduced the 20th Century Limited between New York and Chicago, a luxurious all Pullman train. It boasted a 20 hour running time between the two cities.  The Pennsylvania Railroad offered its own luxury train, the Broadway Limited.  In 1913, the third edition of Grand Central Terminal was completed, and is still in use today.
After World War II, passenger ridership started to decline, due to the popularity of the automobile as well as the increase in air travel.  The New York Central tied out some new designs which were not well received.  The 20th Century Limited was discontinued in 1967.
The New York Central merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the resulting PennCentral Railroad went into bankruptcy in 1970.  In 1976, the PennCentral, and five other eastern railroads were merged into Conrail, as a result of the implementation of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act.  This allowed the railroads to consolidate duplicate lines, and gave the railroad needed funding for infrastructures and equipment.  Conrail improved over the years, Conrail turned a profit in 1981.
In 1998, Conrail was purchased and divided between CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern railroads.

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For additional information, please check out the videos shown below.  Enjoy!    Tom Gallagher
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