Commodore Granger

[Murphy Siding]

   I'm reading a book called The Historical Atlas of North American Railroads by John Westwood and Ian Wood. A map in the book shows Major Rail Combinations of the Early 20th Century. Under Vanderbilt Roads, it lists New York Central and Chicago & Northwestern. I thought CNW was a Chicago based granger. Was there some tie-in with NYC and the commodore 100+ years ago?

[Firelock76]

I've done some checking and can't find any direct connection between the New York Central and the Chicago and Northwestern, at least as far as Vanderbilt ownership is concerned.

The NYC did own the entire capital stock of the Chicago River & Indiana RR, a switching and terminal company, it also owned the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis (The Big Four), and for a time owned the New York, Chicago, and St. Louis (The Nickle Plate.)

The NYC did have interests in quite a few others at one time or another, too many to go into here, but from what I can see the C&NW wasn't one of them.

[schlimm]

Vanderbilt and allies influenced the C&NW through seats on the board of directors, 1879-1935.

https://books.google.com/books?id=yuCjrsnEykUC&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=Was+C%26NW+ever+controlled+by+vanderbilt&source=bl&ots=UoyZ9zukpj&sig=hFoDQ5_842DQSyYNkD9xGdUBQWA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBv7L7hvrRAhVQ62MKHYw9CCkQ6AEIKDAC#v=onepage&q=Was%20C%26NW%20ever%20controlled%20by%20vanderbilt&f=false

 

[Firelock76]

Interesting!  Very interesting!

[Murphy Siding]

schlimm

Vanderbilt and allies influenced the C&NW through seats on the board of directors, 1879-1935.

https://books.google.com/books?id=yuCjrsnEykUC&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=Was+C%26NW+ever+controlled+by+vanderbilt&source=bl&ots=UoyZ9zukpj&sig=hFoDQ5_842DQSyYNkD9xGdUBQWA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBv7L7hvrRAhVQ62MKHYw9CCkQ6AEIKDAC#v=onepage&q=Was%20C%26NW%20ever%20controlled%20by%20vanderbilt&f=false

 

 

Thanks.  That is interesting. It appears that Vanderbilt had his fingers into things through his allies. A lot of railroad history seems to read like the history of European royal families Everyone is out to best or control everyone else and will go to a lot of extremes to get their way.

[wanswheel]

Excerpt from My Memories of Eighty Years by Chauncey M. Depew (1921)

https://archive.org/stream/mymemoriesofeigh01depe#page/230/mode/2up

In 1867, two years after Mr. Vanderbilt had acquired the Hudson River Railroad, he secured the control of the New York Central, which ran from Albany to Buffalo. This control was continued through the Lake Shore on one side of the lakes and the Michigan Central on the other to Chicago. Subsequently the Vanderbilt System was extended to Cincinnati and St. Louis. It was thus in immediate connection with the West and Northwest centering in Chicago, and the Southwest at Cincinnati and St. Louis. By close connection and affiliation with the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company, the Vanderbilt system was extended beyond the Mississippi. I became director in the New York Central in 1874 and in the Chicago and Northwestern in 1877.

[tree68]

Ol' Chauncey had a part in building an 18 mile railroad that chiefly existed to the rich and famous (Depew, W.W. Durant, and Collis Huntington among them) could get to the great camps in the Adirondacks by rail...

It connected to the NYC at a little place known as Clearwater, NY, later Carter...

[wanswheel]

 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

"It is somewhat distinguished for a small road by the great wealth of its directors." (last sentence)

I'd add "prominence".

- Paul North. 

[tree68]

I might add that probably the biggest commodity (other than the rich and famous) the RLRR carried was ice, cut off the many lakes in the area each winter.  Much of that ice went into reefers running on the NYC...

The RLRR came up in the 1930's, but much evidence of it's existance can still be found.  I've driven over portions of the ROW, and more of the ROW can be seen alongside NYS 28.

One common question I've gotten on the train is "what's up with Train Wreck Point?"  I confess I need to dig up the history and read up on it again...

Edit - a work train hit a tree on the tracks, taking the lives of three crew members.  There is a state historical marker on the spot...