Grand Central's Engineer: William J. Wilgus and the Planning of Modern Manhattan

Grand Central's Engineer: William J. Wilgus and the Planning of Modern Manhattan (The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science) by Kurt C. Schlichting (Author). Few people have had as profound an impact on the history of New York City as William J. Wilgus. As chief engineer of the New York Central Railroad, Wilgus conceived the Grand Central Terminal, town’s magnificent monument to America’s Railway Age. Kurt C. Schlichting right here examines the remarkable profession of this innovative, revealing how his tireless work shifting individuals and goods over and below Manhattan Island’s surrounding waterways perpetually changed New York’s bustling transportation system.

After his Herculean efforts on behalf of Grand Central, the most complicated construction challenge in New York’s history, Wilgus turned to fixing town’s transportation quandary: Manhattan-the money, commercial, and cultural hub of the United States within the twentieth century-was separated from the mainland by two major rivers to the west and east, a deep-water estuary to the south, and the Harlem River to the north.

Wilgus believed that railroads and mass transportation provided the reply to New York Metropolis’s complicated geography. His ingenious ideas included a freight subway linking rail services in New Jersey with manufacturers and shippers in Manhattan, a freight and a passenger tunnel connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn, and a belt railway interconnecting sixteen personal railroads serving the metropolitan area.

Schlichting’s deep passion for Wilgus and his engineering achievements are evident within the pages of this fascinating work. Wilgus was a real pioneer, and Schlichting ensures that his sensible contributions to New York City’s transportation system will not be forgotten.

This guide, which describes the constructing of Grand Central and so much of the NY transit reads like a who's who of the early 20th century. The maps and pictures are really fairly something. As one concerned with NYC transportation it gave me new insights into the historical past of my city and its transport web. That is an EXCEELENT Guide for just about everyone: RailFans&Historians, Transit Agencies, Politicians et. al.!!! Wilgus hasn't solely solved the myriad details with the building of the Grand Central Terminal and Electrification, but confirmed great foresight in suggesting new entryway into NYC that would have eliminated the extraordinary visitor congestion (rail&highway) that the area faces today. His ideas, as outlined in this ebook, have been accepted by the "bosses" of the day-he was unwilling to interact in "PAY-TO-PLAY" as is so usually the case when dealing with the GOVT. (I. e. politicians & cohorts!!). It was very inspiring to learn how, after these disappointments, he went on to great "public service" in serving two to resolve the various problems in this area of the country in the course of the 1930's. It's uncertain that we can see such an honest and moral man reminiscent of Wm. Wilgus in our own day. 

Grand Central's Engineer: William J. Wilgus and the Planning of Modern Manhattan (The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science) 

 Kurt C. Schlichting (Author)

296 pages

The Johns Hopkins University Press (March 14, 2012)

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