USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Cornelius Vanderbilt initially made his money in the steamships business before investing in railroads. In 1817, Vanderbilt went to work as a ferry captain for a wealthy businessman, Thomas Gibbons, who owned a commercial steamboat service that operated between New Jersey and New York.

Detailed explanation-2: -Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed “the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping.

Detailed explanation-3: -By the 1850s he had turned his attention to railroads, buying up so much stock in the New York and Harlem Railroad that by 1863 he owned the line. He later acquired the Hudson River Railroad and the New York Central Railroad and consolidated them in 1869.

Detailed explanation-4: -The railroad was not an invention of Cornelius Vanderbilt, but he made major strides in the industry. The first railroad was opened in New York in 1831. By the 1860s there were competing lines owned by private business up the Hudson Valley and along the Erie Canal.

Detailed explanation-5: -Cornelius Vanderbilt began a passenger ferry business in New York harbor with one boat, then started his own steamship company, eventually controlling Hudson River traffic. He also provided the first rail service between New York and Chicago.