Gould transcontinental system

The Gould transcontinental system was a system of railroads assembled by George Jay Gould I and the Fuller Syndicate in the early 1900s. This was Gould's attempt to fulfill a goal of his late father, financier Jay Gould. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Due to financial troubles following the Panic of 1907, the system was never completed as a fully transcontinental line. ^{[1] [2]}

The system competed with systems similarly amalgamated and controlled by other railroad magnates including that of E. H. Harriman ^{[4] [5] [6]} (who controlled the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific and B&O lines ^{[7] [8]} ) and James J. Hill (who controlled Great Northern). ^[9] Both Harriman and Hill were involved in the Northern Securities Company antitrust litigation during this time. Gould sought to avoid similar litigation by acquiring control of railroads that could be chained together at their endpoints to make a longer system; under Gould's plan, Missouri Pacific Railroad would become a holding company owning the other lines in the system. ^[10] After the 1907 financial panic, there were rumors of a merger of the Harriman and Gould systems. ^[11] But as many of the eastern roads controlled by Gould entered receivership after 1907 despite receiving investment funds from John D. Rockefeller, ^{[12] [13] [14]} and Gould's ouster from Missouri Pacific leadership in 1915, ^{[15] [16]} the complete transcontinental plan fell apart.

At its peak the system stretched from San Francisco to Pittsburgh, and comprised the following railroads:

• Western Pacific Railway ^{[13] [17]}
• Rio Grande Western Railway
• Denver and Rio Grande Railroad ^{[13] [18]}
• Missouri Pacific Railroad ^{[13] [17] [16] [18]}
• Wabash Railroad ^{[13] [17]}
• Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad ^[17]
• Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway
• A 150-mile (240 km)gap was left to complete the transcontinental route, including the gap between Pittsburgh and Connellsville, Pennsylvania) ^[19] The State Line and Southern Railroad was chartered in 1910 to bridge the gap, ^[20] and later the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad was also intended to bridge the gap. ^[21]
• Western Maryland Railroad ^[22]

See also

• First transcontinental railroad
• History of rail transport in the United States

References

1. Treese, Lorett (2003). "Section Seven. Pittsburgh Area". Railroads of Pennsylvania: Fragments of the Past in the Keystone Landscape. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. p. 229. ISBN   978-0-8117-2622-1 . Retrieved September 6, 2009– via Google Books.
2. Schafer, Mike (2000). More Classic American Railroads. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing Co. p. 141. ISBN   978-0-7603-0758-8. OCLC   44089438.
3. "George Gould's Plans". The Houston Post. August 18, 1901. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Harriman Has A Through Line". Marysville Evening Democrat. September 20, 1906. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Harriman and Gould Begin Strenuous Race". The San Francisco Call. June 30, 1907. p. 43 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "What The Deal Is to St. Louis". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 11, 1906. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Confirms Report of Harriman's Big Deal". San Francisco Chronicle. September 18, 1906. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Western Pacific Threatened By Deal". Oroville Daily Register. September 19, 1906. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Harriman Lines Rivaled By The Gould Holdings". El Paso Herald. November 25, 1905. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Ocean To Ocean By 1908". Deseret News. March 18, 1904. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Peaceful Trade Conquest". Omaha Daily Bee. August 12, 1908. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Final Steps in New York". The Baltimore Sun. June 9, 1908. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Is Rockefeller The Backer". Stockton Daily Evening Record. August 28, 1903. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Rockefeller Will Soon Have No Rival". The Indianapolis News. August 12, 1903. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Oust Goulds from M.P." The Washington Post. March 10, 1915. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Goulds Are Ousted From Mo. P. Control". Daily Arkansas Gazette. March 10, 1915. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Old Jay Gould's Grip Is Pried Loose at Last". The Pittsburgh Press. February 26, 1911. p. 55 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Goulds To The Pacific". The Baltimore Sun. November 23, 1902. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Railroad News - Only 150 Miles To Complete Gould Transcontinental Line". The Topeka Daily Herald . March 14, 1906. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Link in Gould Transcontinental System". The Raleigh Herald. June 9, 1910. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Valley and Central Important Factors in Railway 'War'". The Morning Call. Allentown, PA. May 4, 1929. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "Rockefeller Said to Control W. M. R. R." The Baltimore Sun. May 20, 1908. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.