In furtherance of giving the utmost service to the public, the New YorkCentral Lines asked the editors of the Encyclopædia Britannica toprepare this booklet descriptive of and vivifying the historicaldevelopment of what has been termed "The Greatest Highway in the World."It is presented to you in the hope that it may prove a pleasantcompanion on a journey over our Lines. The information will afford a newappreciation of the historical significance and industrial importance ofthe cities, towns and country which the New York Central Lines serve.The New York Central Lines enter twelve states and serve territorycontaining 51,530,784 inhabitants or 50.3 per cent of the nation'spopulation. This rich and busy territory produces 64 per cent of thecountry's manufactured products and mines a similar proportion of itscoal.This system does approximately 10 per cent of the railroadtransportation business of the United States, although its main-trackmileage is only 6 per cent. In other words the business it handlesexceeds that of the average railroad, mile for mile, by nearly 100 percent. The New York Central carries 52 per cent of all through passengersbetween New York and Chicago, the remaining 48 per cent being dividedamong five other lines. The freight traffic of the New York CentralLines in 1920 was greater than that carried by all the railroads ofFrance and England combined.