On the 17th of April, 1832, the Legislature by act incorporated the New York and Albany Railroad, with a charter authorizing the construction of a road, commencing on the island of New York, where the Fourth Avenue terminates and extending to the city of Albany. This Company not being able to avail itself of its privileges, " after six years of vicissitude and vain effort " surrendered its rights in Westchester County to the New York and Harlem Railroad. The compact made between the two companies, the Legislature in May 1840 affirmed, empowering the Harlem Company to construct a bridge over the Harlem River and a railroad through Westchester County to an intersection with the New York and Albany's line of road which would be at the southern boundary of Putnam County. The first portion of the road which it was determined to build, was as far up as White Plains, and amusing enough are the limited calculations made by the engineers of the day, to meet the question as to the ability of Westchester County to support a railroad. The passengers and freight from five supposed points at which they would come on the road, are figured out by one of the engineers on the basis of stage fares and tonnage prices, and the result is that $47,788 would be received from passengers and

«!60.980 from freight or a total of $108,768, which it was said would fully meet all expenditures and yield a profit of at least 25 per cent, on the capital invested. Another engineer calculates upon an immediate income of $60,000, $950 of which is to come from the Catholic School at Fordham and Powell's School at Westchester. The following is another statement ventured by the President of the New York and Albany Railroad in 1838.