New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad
Encyclopedia
The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, 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
, Chicago
, Cleveland, Indianapolis
, St. Louis
, and Toledo
.
The Nickel Plate Railroad was constructed in 1881 along the South Shore of the Great Lakes
connecting Buffalo
and Chicago
to compete with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
. In 1964, the Nickel Plate Road and several other mid-western carriers were merged into the larger Norfolk and Western Railway
(N&W). The goal of the N&W expansion was to form a more competitive and successful system serving 14 states and the Canadian
province of Ontario
on more than 7,000 miles (11,000 km) of railroad. The profitable N&W was itself combined with the Southern Railway
, another profitable carrier, to form Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) in 1982.
more than doubled the existing American railroad track miles, changing the face of America forever. American railroads allowed products made in the East to be shipped to the expanding West less expensively than in previous years. This allowed for an economy of scale - larger, more efficient factories. The agricultural heartland of America was no longer confined to a market of single day's 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 United States was either employed by a railroad or engaged in railroad construction.
Starting about 1877, two great railroad developers, William H. Vanderbilt
and Jay Gould
, began competing 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
, because he owned the only railroad between those cities - the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
. In addition, he was the richest man in America at that time. By 1881 Jay Gould controlled about 15% of all U.S. railroad mileage, most of it west of the Mississippi River
and he was considered the most ruthless financial operator in America. Gould's major railroad east of the Mississippi River was the 335 mile (540 km) Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway (Wabash). The Wabash mainline ran from St. Louis, Missouri
to Toledo, Ohio
where it was forced to deliver its railroad traffic to William H. Vanderbilt's Lake Shore Railroad for delivery to the eastern United States.
Jay Gould and William Vanderbilt together oversaw all east-west rail traffic in the mid-west. The Seney Syndicate
, owners of a 350-mile (560 km) railroad, the Lake Erie and Western Railroad
, were interested in tapping new sources of revenue. The stage was set for the creation of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.
bank and organized the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company on 3 February 1881. The original proposal for the NYC&StL was a 340-mile (550 km) railroad west from Cleveland, Ohio to Chicago, Illinois with a 325-mile (525 km) branch to St. Louis, Missouri
.
On April 13, 1881, the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company bought the Buffalo, Cleveland and Chicago Railway
, a railroad that been surveyed from the west side of Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo, New York running parallel to Vanderbilt
's Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
.
The idea of an east-west railroad across northern Ohio
was very popular with the people of Ohio. They wanted to break the high freight rates charged by Jay Gould
and William Henry Vanderbilt
. No one was less popular in Ohio than William Vanderbilt since the December 29, 1876 collapse of Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway's Ashtabula River trestle
, where 64 people had been injured and 92 were killed or died later from injuries.
Another reason for the popularity of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway was the positive economic impact on cities that any new railroad went through at that time. During a newspaper war to attract the New York, Chicago and St. Louis the Norwalk, Ohio
Chronicle Newspaper referred to the New York, Chicago and St. Louis as "... double-track nickel-plated railroad." The New York, Chicago and St. Louis adopted the nickname and it became better known as the Nickel Plate Road.
It was decided to start building along the surveyed route between Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York rather than build the branch to St. Louis, Missouri. Five hundred days later the Nickel Plate's 513-mile (825 km) single-track mainline from Buffalo, New York to Chicago was complete. The railroad was estimated to require 90,000 long tons (80,000 metric tons) of steel rails, each weighing sixty pounds per yard (30 kg/m) 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 its first trains over the entire system on October 16, 1882.
During construction, Vanderbilt and Gould had watched with great interest. If either of them could acquire the Nickel Plate, they could end the threat to their railroads. If the Nickel Plate remained independent it would be able to create a substantial dent in both entrepreneurs' railroad earnings.
Vanderbilt tried to lower the value of the Nickel Plate by organizing a campaign to smear its reputation before a train ever ran on its tracks. If Vanderbilt was successful he could scare the Seney Syndicate into selling to him or drive the railroad 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 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 it 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 than expected and the Seney Syndicate began to negotiate with 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.
- east would be broken. He decided he would do anything to keep the Nickel Plate out of Gould's hands.
On October 25, 1882, (a few days after the first trains ran) the Seney Syndicate sold the Nickel Plate to Vanderbilt for 7.2 million dollars. Vanderbilt transferred it to his Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. However, 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, but 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 and Michigan Southern prospered and expanded.
Vanderbilt kept most of the rail traffic on his Lake Shore and Michigan Southern. Fewer trains on the Nickel Plate meant that they could move faster, so that is the railroad 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
. Over time, the Nickel Plate was reduced as a serious threat to the New York Central and other competing lines.
of Cleveland, Ohio
were the next owners of the Nickel Plate. Oris Paxton Van Sweringen and his younger brother Mantis James Van Sweringen were real estate developers who constructed a rapid transit line 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 a 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 fourfold increase in population. Civic and political leaders wanted to clean up the city and started many projects. One was a desire to consolidate all of Cleveland's railroad stations. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
, Pennsylvania Railroad
, and the Big Four Railroad shared a crowded lakefront Union Station. The Erie Railroad
, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
, Nickel Plate Road, and the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad all occupied separate stations on the north bluff of the Cuyahoga River, just 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 and Michigan Southern Railway was controlled by the New York Central Railroad's Alfred Holland Smith
, a close friend of the Van Sweringens. He had guided the Van Sweringens and even financed their rapid transit to Shaker Heights. In late 1915, the Attorney General of the United States
advised the New York Central that its control of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern and the Nickel Plate was in violation of the Federal antitrust laws. Alfred Smith called his friends, the Van Sweringens on February 1, 1916 and offered them the Nickel Plate. They bought it for 8.5 million dollars on April 13, 1916. In return for operating concessions and access to certain stations, 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 a vice-president of the New York Central, John J. Bernet
, 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.
, giving it access to Sandusky, Ohio
and Peoria, Illinois
. Later that year, on December 28, the Nickel Plate purchased the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad
, also known as the "Clover Leaf Route", finally giving the Nickel Plate access to the St. Louis area
, as well as to the port in Toledo, Ohio
.
Bernet also doubled the railroad's total freight tonnage and average speeds system wide, while cutting fuel consumption in half. Bernet left the Nickel Plate in late 1926.
Bernet returned to the Nickel Plate in 1933. In 1934, Bernet ordered 15 Berkshire
Locomotives, which would become legendary with the Nickel Plate. Bernet remained as the president of the company until his death in 1935.
On December 29, 1937, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
gained control of the Nickel Plate.
One major factor was Frank Allen Brown who was the assistant superintendent at this time. Frank held this position from 1937-1944
, the Nickel Plate, like all other American railroads, found itself helping with the war effort. The Nickel Plate ordered an additional 55 Berkshires during the war.
After the war, in 1947, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway ended its control of the Nickel Plate, when it sold off its remaining shares. That year, the Nickel Plate also ordered 11 ALCO PA
diesel-electric locomotives, named the "Bluebirds." These were the first locomotives for the Nickel Plate that were not painted black since the early 1900s.
In 1949, the Nickel Plate received its last Berkshire, #779, also the last steam locomotive built by the Lima Locomotive Works
. Later that year, on December 1, the Nickel Plate leased the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway
.
In 1960, the last steam locomotive was retired from service, officially "dieselizing" the Nickel Plate.
and several smaller carriers merged with the profitable Norfolk and Western (N&W) on October 16, 1964.
N&W had merged with long-time rival Virginian Railway
in the Pocahontas coal region in 1959, and grew through the mergers with other rail carriers including the Nickel Plate and Wabash railroads with operations in adjacent areas of the eastern United States to form a more competitive and successful system serving 14 states and a province of Canada
on more than 7000 miles (11,265.4 km) of road.
The profitable N&W was itself combined with the Southern Railway
, another profitable carrier, to form Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) in 1982.
over the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
from Grand Crossing to its own terminal
on the east side of the LS&MS line to LaSalle Street Station
, just north of 12th Street (now Roosevelt Road
). By 1928 it used LaSalle.
, held in the ballroom of the Hotel Lawrence, Erie, Pa., November 11, 1954. Mr. White was guest of honor at this "1954 Lake Erie Dinner".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Its primary connections included Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Cleveland, Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, and Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
.
The Nickel Plate Railroad was constructed in 1881 along the South Shore of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
connecting Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to compete with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, NY to Chicago, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana...
. In 1964, the Nickel Plate Road and several other mid-western carriers were merged into the larger Norfolk and Western Railway
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
(N&W). The goal of the N&W expansion was to form a more competitive and successful system serving 14 states and the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
on more than 7,000 miles (11,000 km) of railroad. The profitable N&W was itself combined with the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (US)
The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
, another profitable carrier, to form Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) in 1982.
Background
The 25 years after the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
more than doubled the existing American railroad track miles, changing the face of America forever. American railroads allowed products made in the East to be shipped to the expanding West less expensively than in previous years. This allowed for an economy of scale - larger, more efficient factories. The agricultural heartland of America was no longer confined to a market of single day's 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 United States was either employed by a railroad or engaged in railroad construction.
Starting about 1877, two great railroad developers, William H. Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt I was an American businessman and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family.-Childhood:William Vanderbilt was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1821...
and Jay Gould
Jay Gould
Jason "Jay" Gould was a leading American railroad developer and speculator. He has long been vilified as an archetypal robber baron, whose successes made him the ninth richest American in history. Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Gould as the 8th worst American CEO of all time...
, began competing for the railroad traffic along the south shore of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. By 1878 William Vanderbilt had a monopoly on rail traffic between Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
; Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
; Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
; and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, because he owned the only railroad between those cities - the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, NY to Chicago, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana...
. In addition, he was the richest man in America at that time. By 1881 Jay Gould controlled about 15% of all U.S. railroad mileage, most of it west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and he was considered the most ruthless financial operator in America. Gould's major railroad east of the Mississippi River was the 335 mile (540 km) Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway (Wabash). The Wabash mainline ran from St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
to Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
where it was forced to deliver its railroad traffic to William H. Vanderbilt's Lake Shore Railroad for delivery to the eastern United States.
Jay Gould and William Vanderbilt together oversaw all east-west rail traffic in the mid-west. The Seney Syndicate
Seney Syndicate
During 1879 and 1880, the Seney Syndicate linked together several short railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to form the Lake Erie and Western Railroad....
, owners of a 350-mile (560 km) railroad, the Lake Erie and Western Railroad
Lake Erie and Western Railroad
The Lake Erie and Western Railroad was a railroad that operated in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.-The beginning:The Seney Syndicate linked several short railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to form the Lake Erie and Western Railroad in 1879 and 1880...
, were interested in tapping new sources of revenue. The stage was set for the creation of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.
Early years
The Seney Syndicate, headed by George I. Seney, met at Seney's New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
bank and organized the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company on 3 February 1881. The original proposal for the NYC&StL was a 340-mile (550 km) railroad west from Cleveland, Ohio to Chicago, Illinois with a 325-mile (525 km) branch to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
On April 13, 1881, the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company bought the Buffalo, Cleveland and Chicago Railway
Buffalo, Cleveland and Chicago Railway
The Buffalo, Cleveland and Chicago Railway was a proposed railroad in the United States during the late 19th Century. The company was incorporated in the states of New York and Pennsylvania in January 1881 by three New York bankers: Clark, Post, and Martin.The railroad was to be parallel to...
, a railroad that been surveyed from the west side of Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo, New York running parallel to Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt I was an American businessman and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family.-Childhood:William Vanderbilt was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1821...
's Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, NY to Chicago, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana...
.
The idea of an east-west railroad across northern Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
was very popular with the people of Ohio. They wanted to break the high freight rates charged by Jay Gould
Jay Gould
Jason "Jay" Gould was a leading American railroad developer and speculator. He has long been vilified as an archetypal robber baron, whose successes made him the ninth richest American in history. Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Gould as the 8th worst American CEO of all time...
and William Henry Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt I was an American businessman and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family.-Childhood:William Vanderbilt was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1821...
. No one was less popular in Ohio than William Vanderbilt since the December 29, 1876 collapse of Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway's Ashtabula River trestle
Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster
The Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster was a train disaster caused by bridge failure...
, where 64 people had been injured and 92 were killed or died later from injuries.
Another reason for the popularity of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway was the positive economic impact on cities that any new railroad went through at that time. During a newspaper war to attract the New York, Chicago and St. Louis the Norwalk, Ohio
Norwalk, Ohio
At the 2000 census, there were 16,238 people, 6,377 households and 4,234 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,950.3 per square mile . There were 6,687 housing units at an average density of 803.1 per square mile...
Chronicle Newspaper referred to the New York, Chicago and St. Louis as "... double-track nickel-plated railroad." The New York, Chicago and St. Louis adopted the nickname and it became better known as the Nickel Plate Road.
It was decided to start building along the surveyed route between Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York rather than build the branch to St. Louis, Missouri. Five hundred days later the Nickel Plate's 513-mile (825 km) single-track mainline from Buffalo, New York to Chicago was complete. The railroad was estimated to require 90,000 long tons (80,000 metric tons) of steel rails, each weighing sixty pounds per yard (30 kg/m) 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 its first trains over the entire system on October 16, 1882.
During construction, Vanderbilt and Gould had watched with great interest. If either of them could acquire the Nickel Plate, they could end the threat to their railroads. If the Nickel Plate remained independent it would be able to create a substantial dent in both entrepreneurs' railroad earnings.
Vanderbilt tried to lower the value of the Nickel Plate by organizing a campaign to smear its reputation before a train ever ran on its tracks. If Vanderbilt was successful he could scare the Seney Syndicate into selling to him or drive the railroad 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 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 it 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 than expected and the Seney Syndicate began to negotiate with 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 and Michigan Southern era
In early 1881, William Henry Vanderbilt could have had the Nickel Plate for one million dollars. He realized if he allowed Jay Gould to gain control of the Nickel Plate his monopoly on rail traffic from Toledo, OhioToledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
- east would be broken. He decided he would do anything to keep the Nickel Plate out of Gould's hands.
On October 25, 1882, (a few days after the first trains ran) the Seney Syndicate sold the Nickel Plate to Vanderbilt for 7.2 million dollars. Vanderbilt transferred it to his Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. However, 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, but 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 and Michigan Southern prospered and expanded.
Vanderbilt kept most of the rail traffic on his Lake Shore and Michigan Southern. Fewer trains on the Nickel Plate meant that they could move faster, so that is the railroad traffic they went after. By 1888 the Nickel Plate had been dubbed "The Meat Express Line." Observers at Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in 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
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
. Over time, the Nickel Plate was reduced as a serious threat to the New York Central and other competing lines.
The Van Sweringen era
The Van Sweringen brothersVan Sweringen brothers
Oris Paxton Van Sweringen and Mantis James Van Sweringen were brothers who became railroad barons in order to develop Shaker Heights, Ohio. They are better known as O.P. Van Sweringen and M.J. Van Sweringen, or by their collective nickname, the Vans...
of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
were the next owners of the Nickel Plate. Oris Paxton Van Sweringen and his younger brother Mantis James Van Sweringen were real estate developers who constructed a rapid transit line from their development at Shaker Heights, Ohio
Shaker Heights, Ohio
Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 28,448. It is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland that abuts the city on its eastern side.-Topography:Shaker Heights is located at...
to downtown Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. As early as 1909 the Van Sweringen brothers
Van Sweringen brothers
Oris Paxton Van Sweringen and Mantis James Van Sweringen were brothers who became railroad barons in order to develop Shaker Heights, Ohio. They are better known as O.P. Van Sweringen and M.J. Van Sweringen, or by their collective nickname, the Vans...
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
Cuyahoga River
The Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Outside of Ohio, the river is most famous for being "the river that caught fire", helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s...
, and it was adjacent to the proposed terminal. The Nickel Plate also provided a 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 fourfold increase in population. Civic and political leaders wanted to clean up the city and started many projects. One was a desire to consolidate all of Cleveland's railroad stations. The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, NY to Chicago, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana...
, Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, and the Big Four Railroad shared a crowded lakefront Union Station. The Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
, Nickel Plate Road, and the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad all occupied separate stations on the north bluff of the Cuyahoga River, just 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 and Michigan Southern Railway was controlled by the New York Central Railroad's Alfred Holland Smith
Alfred Holland Smith
Alfred Holland Smith was the President of New York Central Railroad from January 1914 to May 1918 and from June 1919 until his death. The entirety of Smith's forty-five year career was dedicated to the railroads...
, a close friend of the Van Sweringens. He had guided the Van Sweringens and even financed their rapid transit to Shaker Heights. In late 1915, the Attorney General of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
advised the New York Central that its control of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern and the Nickel Plate was in violation of the Federal antitrust laws. Alfred Smith called his friends, the Van Sweringens on February 1, 1916 and offered them the Nickel Plate. They bought it for 8.5 million dollars on April 13, 1916. In return for operating concessions and access to certain stations, 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 a vice-president of the New York Central, John J. Bernet
John J. Bernet
John Joseph Bernet was president of the Nickel Plate Road, Erie Railroad, Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and Pere Marquette Railroad in the United States...
, 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
During Bernet's reign, the Nickel Plate grew substantially. In 1922, the Nickel Plate purchased the Lake Erie and Western RailroadLake Erie and Western Railroad
The Lake Erie and Western Railroad was a railroad that operated in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.-The beginning:The Seney Syndicate linked several short railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to form the Lake Erie and Western Railroad in 1879 and 1880...
, giving it access to Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
and Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
. Later that year, on December 28, the Nickel Plate purchased the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad
Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad
The Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, often abbreviated TStL&W and commonly known as the Clover Leaf, was a railroad company that operated in northwestern Ohio, north central Indiana, and south central Illinois during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.-History:The TStL&W originated with...
, also known as the "Clover Leaf Route", finally giving the Nickel Plate access to the St. Louis area
East St. Louis, Illinois
East St. Louis is a city located in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 27,006, less than one-third of its peak of 82,366 in 1950...
, as well as to the port in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
.
Bernet also doubled the railroad's total freight tonnage and average speeds system wide, while cutting fuel consumption in half. Bernet left the Nickel Plate in late 1926.
Bernet returned to the Nickel Plate in 1933. In 1934, Bernet ordered 15 Berkshire
2-8-4
In the Whyte notation, a 2-8-4 is a railroad steam locomotive that has one unpowered leading axle followed by four powered driving axles and two unpowered trailing axles. This locomotive type is most often referred to as a Berkshire, though the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway used the name Kanawha for...
Locomotives, which would become legendary with the Nickel Plate. Bernet remained as the president of the company until his death in 1935.
On December 29, 1937, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
gained control of the Nickel Plate.
One major factor was Frank Allen Brown who was the assistant superintendent at this time. Frank held this position from 1937-1944
The War and Post-War era
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Nickel Plate, like all other American railroads, found itself helping with the war effort. The Nickel Plate ordered an additional 55 Berkshires during the war.
After the war, in 1947, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway ended its control of the Nickel Plate, when it sold off its remaining shares. That year, the Nickel Plate also ordered 11 ALCO PA
ALCO PA
ALCO PA refers to a family of A1A-A1A diesel locomotives built to haul passenger trains that were built in Schenectady, New York in the United States by a partnership of the American Locomotive Company and General Electric between June, 1946 and December, 1953...
diesel-electric locomotives, named the "Bluebirds." These were the first locomotives for the Nickel Plate that were not painted black since the early 1900s.
In 1949, the Nickel Plate received its last Berkshire, #779, also the last steam locomotive built by the Lima Locomotive Works
Lima Locomotive Works
Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...
. Later that year, on December 1, the Nickel Plate leased the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway
Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway (1916-1988)
The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway was a Class I railroad mostly within the U.S. state of Ohio. It was leased to the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad in 1949, and merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1988...
.
In 1960, the last steam locomotive was retired from service, officially "dieselizing" the Nickel Plate.
The end of an era: merger with N&W, Norfolk Southern
As the financial situation of American railroading continued to decline after World War II, the Nickel Plate Road together with the WabashWabash Railroad
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit,...
and several smaller carriers merged with the profitable Norfolk and Western (N&W) on October 16, 1964.
N&W had merged with long-time rival Virginian Railway
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
in the Pocahontas coal region in 1959, and grew through the mergers with other rail carriers including the Nickel Plate and Wabash railroads with operations in adjacent areas of the eastern United States to form a more competitive and successful system serving 14 states and a province of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on more than 7000 miles (11,265.4 km) of road.
The profitable N&W was itself combined with the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (US)
The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
, another profitable carrier, to form Norfolk Southern Corporation (NS) in 1982.
Chicago terminals
By 1897 the Nickel Plate had obtained trackage rightsTrackage rights
Trackage rights , running rights or running powers is an agreement whereby a railway company has the right to run its trains on tracks owned by another railway company....
over the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, NY to Chicago, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana...
from Grand Crossing to its own terminal
Nickel Plate Depot (Chicago)
The passenger depot of the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad in Chicago, Illinois was located at the northwest corner of Roosevelt Road and Clark Street, just east of the main line of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway to its LaSalle Street Station...
on the east side of the LS&MS line to LaSalle Street Station
LaSalle Street Station
LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 S. LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, serving Metra's Rock Island District. It was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968 and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1978. The...
, just north of 12th Street (now Roosevelt Road
Roosevelt Road
Roosevelt Road is a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. It is 1200 South in the city's street numbering system, but only one mile south of Madison Street...
). By 1928 it used LaSalle.
Origin of the Nickel Plate nickname
The following is an excerpt from the book The Nickel Plate Road, A Short History of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis R.R. printed in 1954. The book is a record of an address given by Lynne L. White (a former president of the Nickel Plate) to the Newcomen Society of the United StatesNewcomen Society of the United States
The Newcomen Society of the United States was a non-profit educational foundation for "the study and recognition of achievement in American business and the society it serves." It was responsible for more than 1,600 individual histories of organizations, from corporations to colleges, which were...
, held in the ballroom of the Hotel Lawrence, Erie, Pa., November 11, 1954. Mr. White was guest of honor at this "1954 Lake Erie Dinner".
- Through northern Ohio, already served by four railroads, location of the line developed intense rivalries among cities. Three routes were surveyed and communities along each proposed route vied in the raising of public subscriptions to donate rights-of-way. The road's general offices at Cleveland frequently were besieged by delegations hoping to bring about the routing of the line through their communities. During these inter-city rivalries was born the nickname for the New York, Chicago and St. Louis - The Nickel Plate Road - which rapidly became the name most commonly used.
- Numerous legends have grown about when and how the name "Nickel Plate" was first applied. The accepted version is that it appeared first in an article in the Norwalk, Ohio, Chronicle of March 10, 1881. On that date the Chronicle reported the arrival of a party of engineers to make a survey for the "great New York and St. Louis double track, nickel plated railroad."
- Later, while attempting to induce the company to build the line through Norwalk instead of Bellevue, Ohio, the Chronicle again referred to the road as "nickel plated" - a term regarded as indicative of the project's glittering prospects and substantial financial backing.
- In 1882, the Nickel Plate recognized F.R. Loomis, owner and editor of the Norwalk Chronicle, as originator of the term and issued him Complimentary Pass No. 1.
- Thus Norwalk named the road - but Bellevue finally got it.
See also
- Chagrin Falls and Southern Railroad, sometimes called the Silver Plate, and later a branch of the Nickel Plate to Chagrin Falls, OhioChagrin Falls, OhioChagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland in the Northeast Ohio region, the 14th largest Combined Statistical Area nationwide. The village was established and has grown around a natural waterfall on the Chagrin River. As of the 2010 census,...
- Nickel Plate 190Nickel Plate Road 190Nickel Plate Road #190 is a Morrison-Knudsen PA4 rebuilt from an ALCO PA in 1975. Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway #62L was a PA1, sold to the Delaware and Hudson Railway in December 1967. The D&H renumbered it 18 and sent it to Morrison-Knudsen for rebuilding in 1975.In 1978, this locomotive...
- Nickel Plate 587Nickel Plate 587Nickel Plate Road 587 is a USRA Light 2–8–2 steam locomotive built in September 1918 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Lake Erie and Western Railroad as their number 5541. In 1923 the LE&W was merged into the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, , and allocated 587 as its new number in...
- Nickel Plate 765Nickel Plate 765Nickel Plate Road 765 is a 2-8-4 Berkshire steam locomotive that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-Original career:The 765 was first assigned to Bellevue, Ohio, where it was used primarily on the Nickel Plate's fast freight trains. After the war, she worked primarily out of a...
- Nickel Plate 779Nickel Plate 779Nickel Plate Road 779 is 2-8-4 or "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built for the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad in May 1949, for use on fast freight trains...