In a sober official report it was declared that the chief value of a river route would be its " novelty," whereas the already chartered road "leading from the City of New York through the heart of Westchester County, at nearly equal distances from the waters of the Hudson on the one hand and of the East River and Long Island Sound on the other, and extending from thence through the upper valley of the Croton River near to the eastern border of the State," was the only satisfactory project for bringing the whole country as far as Albany into communication with the commercial metropolis. It was also argued that the same central route would serve the purpose of railwav intercourse with New England, a road from Boston to

574:

HISTORY

WESTCHESTER

COUNTY

Albany having previously been built, which, by the way, was a grievous thorn in the side of New York, as that thoroughfare had operated to divert a heavy volume of the Erie Canal commerce to Boston. Capitalists were slow to formulate new plans of railway development centering in New York; but during the first half of the decade 1840-50 both the Hudson River and the New York and New Haven undertakings began to take shape. The New York and Hudson River road was chartered by the legislature in May, 1846, and the company was soon after organized, Mr. John B. Jervis, the engineer of the Croton Aqueduct, being employed as chief engineer. Work was begun toward the middle of 1847, the entire line being placed under contract by sections, and the work was prosecuted so diligently that by the 29th of September, 1840, passenger travel was commenced between New York and Peekskill. " The average number of passengers per day for the first month (October) was 830, and the total number 21,593. ...