four years the earnings of the Hudson River property had nearly
doubled.

One of the first properties to be placed at Vanderbilt's feet was
the New York Central, and the control passed into his hands in
the winter of 1866-67. He was now in a powerful position and
immediately began to lay his plans for obtaining control of the
Erie Railroad in the following year. In the latter effort he did
not succeed, however, and after a protracted and dramatic contest
he was defeated by his great adversary, "Uncle" Daniel Drew. The
story of this contest need not be detailed here, as it is given
in full in the chapter on the Erie Railroad.

In the fall of 1869 the Commodore, having secured everything in
the railroad field he had sought except the Erie, put through his
scheme for consolidation. The New York Central and Hudson River
Railroad was incorporated. It included the old New York Central
and also the Hudson River Railroad but not the Harlem. The
capital of the consolidated company was placed at ninety million
dollars, a figure of such magnitude in those days that the world
was startled. The system embraced in all nearly 850 miles of
railroad lines. A few years later the Harlem Railroad was leased
to the property at a high valuation and a large dividend was
guaranteed on the stock, the ownership of which was retained by
the Vanderbilt family.

The Vanderbilt system as it is now understood really began with
these transactions. From this time on, its history has been
similar in many respects to that of other large systems which
were the outgrowth of merger or manipulation in these early days.