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New York Central Railroad Company

One of America’s great rail systems, it linked New York and Boston with major Midwestern cities and became famous for fast passenger service and a broad industrial network. Its story runs from a mid-19th-century consolidation to the 1968 merger that created Penn Central.

1 Audiobook

The Greatest Highway in the World Historical, Industrial and Descriptive Information of the Towns, Cities and Country Passed Through Between New York and Chicago Via the New York Central Lines. Based on the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

The Greatest Highway in the World Historical, Industrial and Descriptive Information of the Towns, Cities and Country Passed Through Between New York and Chicago Via the New York Central Lines. Based on the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

by New York Central Railroad Company

About the author

The New York Central Railroad Company was a major American railroad system that served the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions. Its roots go back to 1853, when a group of smaller railroads along the Erie Canal corridor between Albany and Buffalo were brought together into the New York Central Railroad.

In 1914, the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern were consolidated to form the New York Central Railroad Company. The system connected New York City and Boston with cities such as Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis, and it became especially well known for its "Water Level Route," which avoided the steep mountain grades faced by some competing lines.

The company built a strong reputation for passenger travel, including celebrated named trains like the 20th Century Limited, while also handling enormous volumes of freight. In 1968, it merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad to form Penn Central, marking the end of the New York Central Railroad Company as a separate business.