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:

See also

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References

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