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West Shore Railroad Company

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The West Shore Railroad was organized by J. P. Morgan, Chauncey M. Depew, and Ashbel Green on December 5 1885 after the New York, West Shore, and Buffalo Railway Company was purchased at public auction. On the same day of organization the West Shore Railroad Company was leased to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Company.

The West Shore was constructed from New York to Buffalo along the west shore of the Hudson and was intended to compete with Henry Vanderbilt's New York Central. In retaliation, Vanderbilt cut rates and commenced construction of a railroad in Pennsylvania to compete with the West Shore's parent the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is likely that it was the ruinous rate cuts by Vanderbilt that bankrupted the West Shore, which was then acquired by the New York Central on June 30, 1952. The NYC continued to issue bonds under the West Shore name until they too reached their ultimate demise.

We are currently offering the following pieces from the West Shore Railroad Company:





All certificates are sold only as collectible pieces, as they are either canceled or obsolete. Certificates carry no value on any of today's financial indexes and no transfer of ownership is implied. Unless otherwise indicated, images are representative of the piece(s) you will receive.