LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Apr Books, Manuscripts & Autographs #658  / 

25252

Cornelius Vanderbilt Railroad Document Signed

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:500.00 USD Estimated At:2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD
Cornelius Vanderbilt Railroad Document Signed
<B>Cornelius Vanderbilt Document Signed.</B></I> Seven pages, June 12, 1865, concerning the Hudson River Railroad. A declaration of trust between Vanderbilt and John M. Tobin, of one part, and The Hudson River Rail Road Co., of the other part. Much of the lengthy text describes the boundaries of several tracts of land, adjacent to Harlem River Rail Road property between Albany and Poughkeepsie purchased by Vanderbilt and Tobin from several different parties. The tracts are part of a farm in the vicinity of Stuyvesant and Coxsackie Ferry, and lands in the towns of Stuyvesant and East Greenbush. The final section of the text explains that Vanderbilt and Tobin were paid one dollar each by the HRR and the lands were conveyed to them to be held in trust for the use of the railroad. Signed on page seven by Vanderbilt, Tobin, and Edwin Quackenbush. After being primarily involved in shipping for years, later in his life, Vanderbilt became involved in railroads. Gaining control of The Hudson River Rail Road was his second project in this industry, after he took over its competitor, The New York and Harlem. The transactions documented here must have been part of Vanderbilt's master plan to control the Hudson Valley railroads and consolidate three inefficient operations into a single well-run system. Vanderbilt took control of the third line, the New York Central in 1867; by the early 1870s he had accomplished his goal. <BR><BR>Known as Commodore Vanderbilt, by age 40, he had become owner of steamers running from Boston and up the Hudson River. In 1849, during the Gold Rush, he established a route by Nicaragua to California and during the Crimean War a line of steamships to Havre. In 1862, he sold his ships and entered a great career of railroad financing, gradually obtaining a controlling interest in a large number of railways. He had built Grand Central Station in New York City. Good condition, with considerable fold repair. The paper and writing are otherwise fine.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Books & Catalogs (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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