In furtherance of giving the utmost service to the public, the New York
Central Lines asked the editors of the Encyclopaedia Britannica to
prepare this booklet descriptive of and vivifying the historical
development of what has been termed "The Greatest Highway in the World."
It is presented to you in the hope that it may prove a pleasant
companion on a journey over our Lines. The information will afford a new
appreciation of the historical significance and industrial importance of
the cities, towns and country which the New York Central Lines serve.
The New York Central Lines enter twelve states and serve territory
containing 51,530,784 inhabitants or 50.3 per cent of the nation's
population. This rich and busy territory produces 64 per cent of the
country's manufactured products and mines a similar proportion of its
coal.
This system does approximately 10 per cent of the railroad
transportation business of the United States, although its main-track
mileage is only 6 per cent. In other words the business it handles
exceeds that of the average railroad, mile for mile, by nearly 100 per
cent. The New York Central carries 52 per cent of all through passengers
between New York and Chicago, the remaining 48 per cent being divided
among five other lines. The freight traffic of the New York Central
Lines in 1920 was greater than that carried by all the railroads of
France and England combined.
The scenes that stretch before the eyes of passengers on these Lines are
rich with historic interest. Few persons know that the second settlement
in the United States was at Albany and that it antedated Plymouth by
several years. Probably fewer persons know that the first United States
flag was carried in battle at Fort Stanwix, now the city of Rome, N.Y.
We hope that the reader will discover in the following pages more than
one historic shrine which he will wish to visit.
It has been said that the history of a country's civilization is the
history of its highways. Certainly the development of a great system
such as the New York Central is an important element in the progress and
prosperity of the country which it serves. This railroad is, in fact, a
public institution, and it will prosper to the extent that it gives
_service_ to the public.
The New York Central Lines have the initial advantage that they follow
the great natural routes along which the first trails were blazed by the
red men, and are almost free from grades, sharp curves and other
hindrances to comfortable and efficient transportation. Thus the road
owes its superiority primarily to the fact that it lends itself to a
maximum degree of efficiency.
But _service_ as it is conceived by the New York Central, involves many
aspects. One is the careful provision for the comfort and convenience of
passengers; another is adequate and efficient facilities for serving the
interests of shippers. In other words, New York Central _service_ means
not only fast and luxurious passenger trains, but also the rapid
handling of freight. To give such service requires the highest class of
equipment--the best rails, the finest cars, the most powerful
locomotives, etc.--but it also requires an operating force of loyal,
highly trained employees. In both respects the New York Central Lines
excel.
The inspiring record of the system's growth through public approval and
patronage is fundamentally a tribute to the _service_ rendered,
constantly advanced and developed in pace with public requirements. The
accompanying booklet is in one sense an expression of past achievement,
but it is also an earnest of greater accomplishment to come.