I was looking at this map at wikipedia:
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And, it looks to me as though there are more miles in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan than in the rest of the system combined…anyone got a state-by-state breakdown?
Interesting question. I dunno, but would guess that New York had the most mileage, as an individual state. The ‘Wikipedia’ map is misleading and incomplete. It shows the Rutland as part of NYC and misses some lines, like the U&D. NYC did have some trackage rights on the RUT, but it was never totally part of the system, even if Dr. Webb supplied the dining cars with Shelburne Farms butter out of Vermont. I’d be interested in hearing some responses.
Bill
The best source for mileage info is from the Annual Form A Report to the Interstate Commerce Commission that each Class 1 carrier had to file. Just pick the year you want before ICC ceased.
The mileage is broken down into owned & operated, operated by trackage rights, and owned but not operated. It is also analyzed by each State in which the carrier operated. It also catagorizes 2nd, 3rd & 4th mains as well as yard tracks and sidings.
I have the figures for PC, if that is of interest-
PA 4,283.3
OH 3,731.1
IN 2,968.9
NY 2,862.1
MI 1,898.2
IL 1,348.0
MA 817.7
CT 627.5
MD 455.7
WV 373.3
NJ 364.2
ON 284.2
DE 232.1
RI 136.9
VA 81.2
PQ 70.7
MO 18.1
DC 13.0
KY 5.0
Total 20,570.3
(This would not include PRSL, P&LE, IHB, AA, DT&I and TP&W)
Well, I can answer the Indiana and Ohio piece of your question.
In 1918, the New York Central controlled the Lake Erie & Western which in 1922 became an integral part of the Nickel Plate Road. (See the following exerpt extracted from the Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society)
Lake Erie & Western
"The acquisition of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad in 1922 united Nickel Plate with the railroad it had been built to complement forty years earlier.
The Lake Erie & Western’s Sandusky to Peoria mainline started in Ohio with the Fremont & Indiana Railroad Company on April 22, 1853. The Fremont & Indiana was incorporated to build a line from Fremont southwest towards the Indiana State line. As years passed, more trackage was laid and through acquisitions the line was completed in 1888.
Crossing the LE&W at Tipton, Indiana was a line that extended from Indianapolis to Michigan City, Indiana. This line became part of the LE&W on April 8, 1887. Built by the Peru & Indianapolis, which was incorporated in Indiana on January 19, 1846, this was the first and oldest trackage on the Nickel Plate System.
Another LE&W branch was a line that extended from Fort Wayne, through Muncie to Connorsville. At New Castle a line split off to Rushville. This trackage was acquired by the LE&W in 1890.
In 1895, the LE&W leased the Northern Ohio, a line that extended from Akron to Delphos, Ohio. This line, which eventually became the Akron, Canton &am
The map also includes the Akron, Canton & Youngstown.
Yes it does. But, from 1895, what later became the ACY was part of the LE&W and therefore included in the map.
I am looking at my Official Guide and it appears that Ohio is the winner. I am including all NYC trackage including Big Four, Michigan Central and P&LE. NYC operated in the following states in 1964; New York,New Jersey,Massachusetts(Boston & Albany ), Pennsylvania,West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan,Illinois, and Missouri.They also served the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
That’s quite a tangle of railroads in lower Michigan, but there are a bunch of lines I don’t recognize, particularly that one branch up north toward Lake Michigan. In the lower portion of the state, you had lines from LS&MS, MC, and the Big Four. The LE&W must be responsible for the surplus line up to Michigan City, as well as the second line to Peoria.
I’m also trying to figure out the purple line between Grand Rapids and Muskegon (only PRR operated that route back then), and the one between Chicago (or thereabouts) and Joliet.
You are right. The line from Indianapolis to Michigan City was the Indianapolis Division of the LE&W District (Nickel Plate organizational structure). Likewise the second line to Peoria from Frankfort, IN was the Peoria Division of the LE&W District.
I was surprised where thewent to and how many miles it really had, most lot of it run by Mikadoes
The Lake Erie and Western was run like a very poor stepchild of the New York Central System. As for the Northern Ohio, later to become the AC&Y, most of it was superfluous rail and it only came into its own with the growth of the tire industry in Akron.
Without establishing a criterion date, the “Wiki-Map” is not of much use. I have a 1908 NYS PSC map of New York that doesn’t show some later acquisitions of the NYC. Of course, a map of 1950, or 1960, would be much changed. Lots of the “Wiki-Map” lines are blurred, due to the proximity of different lines. It would be neat to see an ‘interactive’ map of NYC routes, changing with the years. One can wish…
What is the date of this info? NYC had a LOT of mileage in PA. PRR didn’t have much in NY. Of course, the late, un-lamented PC dropped a lot.
Hays – “Of the Green Team”
You can find an excellent set of NYC division maps from the 1920s at canadasouthern.com, a generally well done and useful site.
The Wiki-Map is dated 1918. If it was 20 years later, 1938, the LE&W and the Rutland would be gone, but it probably would have included the Lackawanna.
If you exclude the P&LE, NYC’s PA mileage would have been close to the PRR’s NY mileage. The Pennsylvania had two lines to Buffalo, another to Rochester, and a 4th line through Elmira to Lake Ontario.
The figures I posted for Penn Central were probably 1968 or 1971. I don’t think PC abandoned much trackage during that period, with most of the mileage abandoned during 1976.
Okay. The NYC did control the Rutland in the early days of the 20th century. They even painted their herald on some Rutland cars and lettered them “New York Central Lines”. I don’t know how long that lasted, but will do some research. The Rutland lasted until 1963, when the unions cut their own throats. RIP. I don’t understand your “Lackawanna” connection. I can’t recall the NYC ever having anything to do with it.
Hays
Actually the map is a pretty good discription of the NYC in 1918. The U&D was an independent road and did not come into the fold until the 20’s. As for the Lackawanna connection, there really was none that was physical. But the Central did have a number of its board members on the DL&W Board but not controlling interest. However, that being said, the story goes that the DL&W did run trains Hoboken to Buffalo carded in less than 9 hours with a 20 minute minimum stop in Scranton ostensibly to change engines, etc. It was whispered back when that this was actually so as not to show up the NYC GCT to Buffalo performance at the behest of NYC members of the DL&W Board. NYC also had a similar influence on the O&W although the NYNH&H had more.
Kalmbach’s Historical Guide to North American Railroads mentions that during the late 1930s the NYC owned about 25% of the DL&W’s stock, which would have been enough to control the road if they wanted to. I’m just guessing that the Wiki mapmaker would have included those lines on a 1938 NYC System map.
Owning stock and exerting control are two different things. PRR, SF, and others owned much of the stock of the LV but never exterted control for instnce. Influence? I’m sure. Control? I doubt.