Evening journal., 1912-10-02
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Secret Staircase That
Helped the VanderbiItS
Get a Railroad
By Holland.

81 don't know whether or not they
are going to put a secret staircase in
the new terminal station which the
New York Central Railroad Company
is building on the site of the old
Grand Central Station" said the late
Charles Finney Cox, for many years
one of the executive officers of the
Vanderbilt lines. 1T was a secret
staircase that saved an important
railway 10 the Vandcrbilts,' he added
when Commodore Vanderbilt was
planning for the construction of the
old Grand Central station, he told the
architects that he wanted a staircase
put in connecting with the executive
Offices of the company in the station
and the end of the platform against
which the outgoing railway trains
we're to stand to receive passengers.
Of course the architects did as they
were told and the staircase was
built. It was so perfectly concealed
as TO mount really to a secret stair
case.
THE Commodore confieded this Sc
cret to only one or two persons. He
told his son William II. Vanderbilt.
that he had had the staircase built be-
cause some day or other It might be
a very convenient thing to have; that
the occasion might never arrive for
using it but if it ever did the stair
case would show its value to the Van
derbits.
We'll the Commodore died. and !
presume the son, William II. Wander
bilt, when he became president, forgot
all about this concealed staircase.
There was one oiher executive officer
who knew of il; his name was Toucey
and he was general manager of the
company.
I'm 1883. propositions we're made to
William H. Vanderbilt for the pur-
chase of the West Shore Railroad.
The line was built upon the west bank
of the Hudson, and parallelled the
New York Central from Albany to
Buffalo. IL has always been believed
that the promoters of this railroad
built il for the sole purpose of COM
polling the Vanderbilts to buy it. At
all events William II. Vanderbilt did
buy it for the New York Central
Company.
But before the sale was completed
and the control of the property pass
ed absolutely into the possession Of
the New York Central, there was
good deal of bitter litigation. It's too
long a story to go into now; suffice
it to say that there were certain mi
nority stockholders who began judi
cial proceedings ostensibly to pre-
vent the sale, but presumably to force
Mr.. Vanderbilt to make exceedingly
good terms with them so as to buy
them off.
AT last the New York Central got
a decree confirming the sale, but il
was necessary that this decree be af-
firmed by the highest court at Albany
and that it be entered upon record
either in the Court of Appeals at AL
bany, or in the Secretary Of States
oflice-I have forgotten which, but il
doesn't matter.
Mr.. Vanderbilt ordered a special
train to be made up for him, for his
counsel and one or two of the direc-
tors, for the purpose Of carrying
them, if possible. in record time TO
Albany Mr.. Vanderbilt did this be-
cause he had learned that the minor
ity party had secured some kind of a
! restraining order i'm one of the courts
| OF NEW lOih COUNTY II nN AOulu So
to Albany before that order was serv-
ed upon him and secure the necessary
signatures and file the decree in the
proper place. then this order would
be of no avail.
Just before they were starting
from the office for the station plat
form, they were informed that pro-
cess servers were on the platform
/ L. al ~
the entrances to the Vanderbilt Of
ficse.
"Mr. Vanderbilt was very much
disturbed by this information. He
did not know what to do While he
was in perpleXity Mr.. Toucey said
| to him: why not use that secret
staircase? You can get to it without
going out into the main corridor. for
it opens into one of the rear Offices
The lower steps are almost directly
in front of your private car
mo sooner said than done. Mr..
Vanderbilt and his friends used the
forgotten staircase. think it. was
the first time it ever was used. And
il was at least two hours after his
special train had left the station be-
fore the process servers discovered
/ AndA iutN ndu u1ih OuAMAAA'ls - N
special train made a run of only
three hours to Albany, and within an
hour after the arrival of the party
there the sale had been absolutely
confirmed and the property was IN
the permanent possession of the Van
derbilts.
But for the old Commodore's fore
sight it is very likely that year OF
two would have passed before the
New York Central got possession OF
\ the West Shore"
Copyright, 1912. by y. J. Edwards
All rights reserved.)
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell oil
"The First Precedent That Cleveland
Broke as President"
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