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Grand Central's Engineer:

William J. Wilgus and the Planning of Modern Manhattan
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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, the city's magnificent monument to America's Railway Age. Kurt C. Schlichting here examines the remarkable career of this innovator, revealing how his tireless work moving people and goods over and under Manhattan Island's surrounding waterways forever changed New York's bustling transportation system.After his herculean efforts on behalf of Grand Central, the most complicated construction project in New York's history, Wilgus turned to solving the city's transportation quandary: Manhattan-the financial, commercial, and cultural hub of the United States in 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 answer to New York City's complicated geography. His ingenious ideas included a freight subway linking rail facilities in New Jersey with manufacturers and shippers in Manhattan, a freight and passenger tunnel connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn, and a belt railway interconnecting sixteen private railroads serving the metropolitan area. Schlichting's deep passion for Wilgus and his engineering achievements are evident in the pages of this fascinating work. Wilgus was a true pioneer, and Schlichting ensures that his brilliant contributions to New York City's transportation system will not be forgotten.

Preface
Introduction
1. New York City's Geography and Transportation Challenges
2. The Brilliance of Grand Central
3. New York's Freight Problem
4. Expanding the Subway in Manhattan
5. World War and Ideas for a New York–New Jersey ""Port Authority""
6. Making Room for the Automobile: The Holland Tunnel
7. Joining Staten Island to New York City: The Narrows Tunnel
Conclusion
Notes
Index

""Schlichting does more than revive the reputation and importance of William Wilgus; he also provides a fascinating, well-researched, and important case study for how expertise and rational, comprehensive planning was necessary to solve the problems of the modern City.""

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