Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-05-21
Birth Of a Great American Railroad.

May II, 1903, marked the Fiftieth Ami
versary of the incorporation of the New
York Central Railroad; a fact interesting
in the history of the State of New York,
for the consolidation of the ten separate
small roads into one line, that formed a
continuous route from Albany on the east
to Buffalo on the west, was the beginning
that made possible the enormous in
dustrial and commercial development in
the country contiguous to it.
Articles of agreement were filed May
II, 1858, the first Board of Directors was
elected July 9th, and the whole line de-
livered to the new company August LIST,
1853; i%nsuring better service, more com.
plete connections between all points, and
a more general stimulus to development
than was possible under separate and
rival corporations. This also opened the
way for the consolidation OF the New
York Central Company with the Hudson
River Railroad in 1869, which event
presaged that era of wonderful progress
in the undeveloped west, for it created a
direct line from the ocean to the inland
seas, known as the great lakes, and
brought distant territories into close con-
nection with the seaboard.
1t Is a picturesque fact that this line
traverses the one break in the whole APP
palachian chain between the Gulf of Mex
icu anu Ine CI. Lawrence ItlNef, anu IL
would seem as if Nature meant this to
be a roadway for travel. Certainly the
Indian found it so, for the Mohawk trail,
the pathway of the confederated I~roquois
tribes, is almost identical with the New
York Central Railroad of to-day. This
trail was also the pathway of war during
the French and Indian and the Revolu.
tionary Wars, and later, in its offering OF
easy travel, it lured the pioneers of the
West to the Mohawk Valley, which is SO
rich to-day with the product of agricul'
tural industry, on to the broad and fallow
fields OF the Genesee, to build up and
develop the traffic of the west upon the
great lakes.
1t is a far cry indeed from that print.
tive little line of the New York Central
of fifty years ago to the great Railroad
of to-day with its Twentieth Century lin.
tied, speeding like the wind, carrying its
passengers on luxurious palace cars, over
smooth roadbeds, with a scarcely p"ercepti
bic jar. and fifty years of progress could
not find a better illustration than is re
lated in an interesting letter of remi
niscences written by Mr.. Joshua WILDER
road travel in New York in 1889.
The writer says: I'VE took the cars
on State Street in Albany; these carr
were drawn to the city line by horses
for locomotives were not then allowed ir
the city. The cars were of the ancient
pattern, entered by doors on the side
with seats across the car, the passenger.
facing each other, as in the old-fashionec
stage coaches.
THE speed was tremendous-abou
twelve miles an hour. Arrived on tn,
ridge opposite Schenectady, our car
were let down an incline plane, secured
to ii large rope cable, the other end bein!
attached to flat cars weighted with stone
which were drawn up on a parallel tract
as we went down. At Schenectady w,
changed cars and travelled west to Utica
reaching there in the afternoon. Tha
was then the end of railroad travel.
a canal packet was boarded which
landed us in Syracuse next morning
There another packet was taken TO
Rochester, which we reached early tn,
following day. A third packet brough
us from Rochester to Lockport in six
teen hours.
The time consumed in coming from
New York City to Lockport was nearl
four days, being on the move all tn
time. except the night spent at Albany.
MOT long after the roads built from
Albany westward, and from Buffalo east
ward met, and a continuous line wa
formed: but with many changes of car
and other inconvenience.
Then the Hudson River road wa
opened, and Buffalo and New Yorl
became neighbors."