West Shore Railroad
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | New Jersey and New York |
| Dates of operation | 1885–1952 |
| Predecessor | New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway |
| Successor | New York Central Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
The West Shore Railroad was a U.S. railway company active in the states of New York and New Jersey between 1885 and 1952. It was incorporated in 1885 to reorganize the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway, which had originally been intended as a competitor to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad.
The oldest original component of the line traced to 1866, with other lines and trackage rights acquired into the 1880s. Its main line ran from Weehawken, New Jersey, on the west bank of the Hudson River opposite New York City, north to Albany, New York, and then west to Buffalo.
An effort by the powerful Pennsylvania Railroad to acquire the New York West Shore and Buffalo Railway and challenge the New York Central on its home state resulted in a turf war, settled by financier J. P. Morgan, with the NYC taking the line over in return for dropping its South Pennsylvania Railroad incursion into the heart of the Pennsylvania's territory. Within a week of being acquired in late November of 1885, the line it was reincorporated as the West Shore Railroad; it was formally merged into the New York Central Railroad in 1952.