The New York Central System originated from Mohawk and Hudson, the second railroad to operate in the US, which ran the famous De Will Clinton in 1831, it ran between Albany and Schenectady. In 1853 eleven separate railroads in the Upstate New York were consolidated into the New York Central System, which was immediately very successful. After the Civil War Commodore Vanderbilt who had made a fortune in the shipping business, decided that his next fortune should be made in the rail business. He bought up both the Harlem River Railroad that extended through Manhattan, and the Hudson Railroad that extended up the Hudson River Valley to Albany. He soon gained control over the New York Central, and consolidated into one great railroad.

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