Collection Pamphlets Ephemera Relating Development, Used (1 results)

No binding. Condition: Very good. A collection of pamphlets and ephemera relating to the development of the railroad network in New York State. 1833-1926. A collection of twenty items, including pamphlets, prints, stock certificates, invitations, and other documents, displayed on three boards (Board 1: 22" x 28 1/16", 559mm x 711mm, Board 2: 22 1/2" x 28 1/2", 572mm x 724mm, Board 3: 22 1/2" x 28 1/2", 572mm x 724mm). The items include: an 1840 stock certificate for the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, the first railroad in the country; an 1853 schedule of the Hudson River Railroad soon after it opened; and a broadside advertising the New York Central's centennial in 1926. Tanning to "Lithography Executed with Despatch" on the first board. Small stain on Utica Locomotive works certificate (first board). Tanning and wear surrounding 1853 New York to Albany & Troy schedule on the second board. Cancellations to the stock certificates. A small stain on the New York & Harlem pamphlet on the third board. This collection of railroad ephemera shows the story of railroads in the New York area, particularly the New York Central Railroad. From its humble beginnings as the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad in the Capital Region of New York, the New York Central Railroad -- run from 1867 by "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt -- grew through corporate mergers to become an extremely large railroad, having more than 11,000 miles of track at its peak. The present assemblages track the history of the railroad from its founding, through the Golden Age, and into its heyday. The stock certificates of the Mohawk & Hudson and New York & Harlem Railroads (on boards 1 and 2 & 3) show that the New York Central owes its massive expansion not solely to its leaders, but also to the way it expanded. Prior to 1853, there was no single New York Central Railroad, but rather many separate independent railroads. But under the leadership of Erastus Corning (and later Vanderbilt), the New York Central became a major player in the railroad industry. The New York Central could not afford to work alone, however: they had bitter rivals to the west in the Pennsylvania Railroad and to the east in the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad (commonly known simply as "the New Haven"). So, they made partnerships with nearby railroads, one of them being the New York & New England (NY&NE) Railroad, a main competitor to the New Haven Railroad. A ticket on the "Norwich Line" of the NY&NE is included here. The NY&NE would prove to be a vital partner, as they co-built the Poughkeepsie Bridge with the Central New England Railway. A pamphlet relating to the Poughkeepsie Bridge is shown on board 3, and there was a track connection to the New York Central's main line. However, in 1898, the NY&NE was bought out by the New Haven Railroad, and the New York Central existed in the shadow of the bridge since then. However, that is not to say they were diminished by this, indeed, they remained one of the great American railroads well into the XXc.Catalogued by Jonah Kramer.