The New York and Harlem Railroad was first built from the original Grand Central Terminal on 23rd Street in New York City to suburban Harlem. Opposition to the charter was voiced by steamboat proprietors, whose service was successfully competed against by the new railroad. It was extended a further 125 miles northward, reaching Chatham, New York in 1852.[6][7] When the railroad was extended further, it provided a rail route for people and commerce northward to Albany, Boston, and other towns in Vermont and Canada.[7] The completion of the Harlem Valley Railroad also resulted in the availability of products transported by rail directly to New York City, rather than depending on river transport via Poughkeepsie.[7]
In 1864, the railroad was purchased by Cornelius Vanderbilt, who consolidated it five years later with the Hudson River Railroad to form the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad: a precursor of the much larger New York Central Railroad.[16]