Map of the West Shore Railroad and Connections

“The Popular Through Car Line Between the East and West.”

Obtaining its name from the western shore of the Hudson River on which its track ran, the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway was the final iteration of several earlier companies designed to operate rail traffic from New York to Buffalo (though its terminal was in Jersey City). An 1885 bankruptcy led to its acquisition by the primary competitor, the New York Central Railroad owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt, and reorganization as the West Shore Railroad.

This map shows the West Shore route amid the broader network of the New York Central about 2 decades later. Lines extend as far west as Chicago and St. Louis, with an eastern extension serving Boston. The border at the top of the sheet lists ‘a few important points reached by the West Shore Railroad and its connections’, while panels of text on the right side present an interesting variety of advertisements for railways in the British Isles. The verso presents further advertisements, timetables, information for travelers, and a map showing the location of the principal offices of the West Shore Railroad in New York City.