[Side Track Agreement between General Motors and the New York Central Railroad]

Documenting track agreements between the New York Central and General Motors – two conflicting priorities trying to capture the future of America’s transportation.

This unusual and scarce collection of documents outlines a track usage agreement between the General Motors Corporation and the New York Central Railroad Company. The parcel in question was located in Miamisburg, Ohio, and involves the use of over 1,000 feet of sidetrack to serve a large industrial operation off of Richard Street. Based on the content and the original paper envelope, this was a file copy originally stored as part of the railroad’s archives. The area now appears to be occupied by Gayston Corporation.

The legal packet outlines the origins of the sidetrack agreement, which started in 1923 between the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway (The Big Four) and the General Cigar Company, original owners of the property in question. A two-page side-track agreement is accompanied by a blueprint copy of the original plan, annotated by hand. To this is added a supplemental agreement noting the use of the tracks by the Venetian Blind Company in 1940. General Motors apparently took over in 1944, reflected in an updated manuscript plan of the tract that notes the change of lessees. A blueprint copy and a printed contract, dated 1945, are the final items, superseded by the cover letter, which indicates an eventual termination in 1950. Gayston Corporation