New York Central Railroad

The New York Central Railroad was a major American Class I railroad that operated from 1853 to 1968, primarily across the Great Lakes and Mid Atlantic regions, connecting New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St Louis in the Midwest, and serving cities including Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Rochester and Syracuse. It was formed in 1853 through the consolidation of several existing railroads, was headquartered in the New York Central Building beside Grand Central Terminal, and at its peak in 1925 operated about 11,584 miles of track while running famous passenger trains such as the 20th Century Limited. In 1968 it merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad to form Penn Central, which went bankrupt in 1970, after which its system became part of Conrail in 1976 and was later split between CSX and Norfolk Southern in 1999.