Evening journal., 1912-11-30
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Real Creator Of a Fam
GUS Railroad
BY Holland.

81 have personally known of a
good many strange developments as
sociated with the history Of some of
the railroad companies of Ohio, but
] think the strangest of all is the
story of the creation and development
OF the railroad which at last became
the notorious Nickel Plate Railroad,
which parallels the Lake Shore Rail-
road from Buffalo for the greater part
of the way to Chicago.
SO said the late Charles Finney Cox
to me at time when he was mar
rating to me some of the early rail-
road history of Ohio For many years
prior to his death, in 1911, Mr.. Cox
was treasurer of the Vanderbilt lines
west OF Buffalo
1.-TWO OF three years before the
Civil War William II. Gibson, very
brilliant lawyer of Tlffin, Ohio, a man
of great popularity and one OF the
most fascinating public speakers in
the State, projected a railroad from
the town of 1ihin, the county seat of
Seneca county, Ohio. to Fort Wayne,
Indiana Cibson's purpose was to
build a bee line. He wanted to make
II practically a straight road from
TifIln to Fort Wayne, a distance Of a
trihe over a hundred miles
Popular sentiment all through
that section of Ohio was enthusiastic
ally in favor of the construction Of
this road. Gibson got a charter. He
persuaded the towns along the pro-
posed line to bond themselves so that
funds could be procured to build the
road. He employed engineers 10
make the survey, and the contrac-
tors began the grading of the road.
lie even went so far as to procure
the ties and he ordered the rails at
/ Liverpool These rails were actually
on the wharf at Liverpool awaiting
! transportation to the United States
when the manufacturers received
word that an Ohio bank had failed
and in its failure had carried down
the Tiffln and Fort Wayne railroad
proposition.
"The plan was as good as aban-
doned until after the Civil War Then
Gibson. who had become a brevet brig
adler general in the war, set out to
reorganize the company He visited
New York and saw Samuel j. Tilden,
who gave him some very important
legal counsel The newly organized
railroad was to be called the Conti-
mental and the plan involved the con-
tinuation of it from Fort Wayne into
Chicago.
THE panic of 1879 put an end for
a time to this proposition. After the
panic was over the proposition was
revived. But Gibson always met with
some fresh obstacle, so that one day
when he was called upon by Calvin
S. Brice and Ex-Governor Charles Fos-
ter, who made a proposition to him
to take over the property, Gibson was
! glad enough to let 1t go. From the
transaction he received just about
enough to give him modest COM
/ potency for the rest of his life
"No sooner had Brice and Foster
got control of this road than they
changed the plans somewhat They
determined to extend il so as to par
allel the Lake Shore Railroad and il
was the universal belief at the time
that they did this with the expecta-
tion that William II Vanderbilt, to
forestall competition, would buy them
out as he did
"ln that obscure way the now "a
nous or notorious Nickel Plate Rail
road was begun. II created a fortune
for Brice, but Foster got out of it be-
fore the zeal with Vanderbilt was
made It sent Brice 10 the United
States Senate. and it was while Ia,
was member OF the Senat,
that he again met Foster, this
time at Washington, Foster havinl
been called in 1891 to the cabinet o
President Harrison as Secretary o
the Treasury.
So you see, the real creator of wha
becaiue the Nickel Plate Railroad wa
not. as the public generally believes
Calvin 5. Brice or Governor Charlie
Foster. nut an almost forgotten man
General William n. Gibson. Never
theleess. Tihln has not forgotten hin
sor a few years ago the citizens @
that town erected a monument TO hi
memory on the public square"
copyright. 1912. by Z. j. Edwards
All rights reserved