New York Chicago St Louis Railroad
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (AAR reporting mark: NKP) was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Its primary connections included Buffalo, New York, Chicago, Illinois, Cleveland, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, St. Louis, Missouri and Toledo, Ohio.
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Background
The 25 years after the Civil War more than doubled the existing railroad track miles, changing the face of America forever. Railroads allowed products made in the East to be shipped to the expanding West less expensively than previously. This allowed for an economy of scale - larger, more efficient factories. The agricultural heartland was no longer confined to a market of single days trip by wagon. Railroad and railroad construction became one of the largest industries during that era. By 1881 one out of 32 people in the nation were either employed by a railroad or engaged in railroad construction.
Starting about 1877 two of the largest railroad robber barons, William H. Vanderbilt and Jay Gould, began a war for the railroad traffic along the South Shore of the Great Lakes. By 1878 William Vanderbilt had a monopoly on rail traffic between Buffalo, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; and Chicago, Illinois, owning the only railroad between those cities - the Lake Shore Railroad. In addition, he was the richest man in America. By 1881 Jay Gould controlled about 15% of all U.S. railroad milage, most of it west of the Mississippi River and he was considered the most ruthless man in America. Gould's major railroad east of the Mississippi River was the 3350 mile Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific. The Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific mainline ran from St. Louis to Toledo, Ohio were it was forced to deliver it's railroad traffic to William H. Vanderbilt's Lake Shore Railroad for deliver to the East.
Jay Gould and William H. Vanderbilt had a monopoly on east-west rail traffic in the mid-west. The owners (the Seney Syndicate) of a 350-mile railroad, the Lake Erie & Western, were interested in tapping new sources of revenue. The stage was set for the creation of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad.
Early Years
The Seney Syndicate met at Seney's New York bank and organized the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company (also known as the NYC&St.L) on 3 February 1881. The original proposal for the NYC&St.L was as 340-mile railroad west from Cleveland to Chicago with a 325-mile branch to St. Louis.
On 13 April 1881 the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company bought the Buffalo, Cleveland & Chicago Railway, a railroad that been surveyed from the west side of Cleveland to Buffalo running parallel to Vanderbilt's Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad.
The idea of an east-west railroad across northern Ohio was very popular with the people of Ohio. They wanted to break the high frieght rates charged by Jay Gould and William Henry Vanderbilt. No one was less popular in Ohio than Vanderbilt since the 29 December 1876 collapse of Lake Shore & Michigan Southern's Ashtabula River trestle.
Another reason for the popularity of the NYC&St.L was the positive economic impact on cities that any railroad when through at that time. During a newspaper war to attract the New York, Chicago & St. Louis the Norwalk, Ohio Chronicle referred to the New York, Chicago & St. Louis as "... double-track nickel-plated railroad." The New York, Chicago & St. Louis adopted the nickname and it been better known as the Nickel Plate Road.
It was decided to start builting along the surveyed route between Cleveland and Buffalo rather then built the branch to St. Louis. 500 days later the Nickel Plate's 513-mile single-track mainline from Buffalo to Chicago was complete. The railroad was estimated to require 90,000 long tons of steel rails, each weighing sixty pounds per yard and 1.5 million oak crossties. Additionally, the railroad required forty-nine major bridges. It was characterized by long sections of straight track, mild grades and impressive bridges. The Nickel Plate ran it's first trains over the entire system on 16 October 1882.
During construction William Vanderbilt and Jay Gould watched with interest. If either person could acquire the Nickel Plate, they could end the threat to their railroads. If the line remained independent it would be able to create a substantial dent in both entrepreneurs' railroad earnings. William Vanderbilt tried to lower the value of the Nickel Plate by organizing a campaign to smear its reputation before a train ever ran on it's tracks. If Vanderbilt was successful he could scare the Seney Syndicate into selling to him or drive the company into bankruptcy. However, Vanderbilt's plan came with two important risks. If he slandered the line he risked chasing the Seney Syndicate into an alliance with Jay Gould. The other risk was that his plan to smear the Nickel Plate's reputation might fail and it could quickly grow. Vanderbilt claimed the road was being built with substandard materials and would use unsafe practices once completed. He succeeded in creating long-standing rumors about the line, but failed to devalue the company or scare the investors.
The cost of construction was higher that expected and the Seney Syndicate began to negotiate with Jay Gould to purchase the railroad, but unlike Vanderbilt, Gould lacked the capital. Frustrated at the failing talks, Gould broke off negotiations and gave up on his attempt to break Vanderbilt.
The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Era
In early 1881 William Vanderbilt could have have the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway (or Nickel Plate) for one million dollars. Vanderbilt realized if he allowed Jay Gould to gain control of the Nickel Plate his monopoly on rail traffic from Toledo - east would be broken. He decided he would do anything to keep the Nickel Plate out of Gould's hands.
On 25 October 1882 (a few days after the first trains ran) the Seney Syndicate sold the Nickel Plate to William Vanderbilt for 7.2 million dollars. Vanderbilt transfered it to his Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. Vanderbilt had a problem, he could not run the business into the ground or it would fall into receivership and someone else would buy it. He could not close the Nickel Plate either because it cost a fortune to buy. So, the Nickel Plate Road did business, just enough to keep it solvent. By the advent of the 1920s the Nickel Plate was an obscure line that earned its keep through the transfer of freight from other rail connections. During the same period Vanderbilt's Lake Shore & Michigan Southern prospered and expanded.
Vanderbilt kept most of the rail traffic on his Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. Fewer trains on the Nickel Plate meant that they could move faster, so that is the rail traffic they went after. By 1888 the Nickel Plate had been dubbed "The Meat Express Line." Observers at Fort Wayne, Indiana reported six long meat trains every night and a couple of fruit trains during the day.
Vanderbilt consolidated many of his railroads into the New York Central Railroad. In 1915 Vanderbilt was found to be in violation of the federal antitrust laws because the New York Central had a controlling interest in the Nickel Plate. Over time the Nickel Plate had been reduced as a serious threat to competing lines and in return for operating concessions and access to certain stations, the New York Central sold the Nickel Plate to the Van Sweringen brothers of Cleveland, Ohio.
The Van Sweringen Era
Orris Paxton Van Sweringen and his younger brother Mantis James Van Sweringen were real estate developers who constructed a rapid transit from their development at Shaker Heights, Ohio to downtown Cleveland. As early as 1909 the Van Sweringen brothers proposed a stub-end terminal on Public Square in downtown Cleveland. The Cleveland interurbans and traction companies were in favor of the new terminal and right-of-ways leading to it.
The Nickel Plate was the key. It transversed Cleveland from east to west, had a high level crossing of the Cuyahoga River Valley, and it was adjacent to the proposed terminal. The Nickel Plate also provided natural route to the proposed terminal for the Van Sweringen's rapid transit and the other traction lines.
Between 1890 and 1913 Cleveland had a four fold increase in population. Cleveland wanted to clean up the city and started many civic projects. Cleveland wanted to consolidate all of it's railroad stations. The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, Pennsylvania, and Big Four Railroad shared a crowed lakefront Union Station. The Erie, Baltimore & Ohio, Nickel Plate Road, and Lake Erie & Western all occupied separate stations on the north bluff of the Cuyahoga River, south of downtown. The city also encouraged the railroads to build grade separation throughout the city. The Nickel Plate started a grade separation project on the East Side of Cleveland in 1909 and finished in 1913. Cleveland approved a bond issue in 1910 to "depress" the Nickel Plate through the most congested part of the West Side.
The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern was controlled by the New York Central's Alfred H. Smith, a close friend of the Van Sweringens. He had guided the Van Sweringens and even financed their rapid transit to Shaker Heights. The Attorney General of the United States advised the New York Central's control of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and the Nickel Plate to be in violation of the Federal antitrust laws in late 1915. Alfred Smith called his friends, the Van Sweringens on 1 February 1916 and offered them the Nickel Plate. They bought it for 8.5 million dollars on 13 April 1916. They only put up a little over half a million dollars but they controlled 75% of Nickel Plate's voting stock.
The Van Sweringens had no intention of running the Nickel Plate. Alfred Smith was happy to give the Van Sweringens John Bernet, a vice-president of the New York Central, and some of his top men. Smith wanted to show that the Van Sweringens were not New York Central puppets, and the Nickel Plate needed to earn money to retire the $6.5 million in notes owed to the New York Central.
NKP President John Bernet Era
The End of an Era
As the financial situation of American railroading continued to decline after World War II, the Nickel Plate Road together with the Wabash merged with the Norfolk & Western on October 16, 1963.
References
- Hampton, Taylor (2001). The Nickel Plate Road: The history of a great railroad. Circulation Publishing and Marketing. ISBN 1928551173.
- Holland, Kevin J. (1999). Berkshires of the Nickel Plate Road. TLC Publishing, Virginia. ISBN 1883089395.
- Rehor, John A. (1994). The Nickel Plate story. Kalmbach Publishing Co., Waukesha, WI. ASIN 0890240124.
External links
- The Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society (http://www.nkphts.org/)
Categories: Railway companies of the United States | Defunct companies | Defunct railroads