Trivia: Which family once owned New York, NY Central, and Hudson railroads?
Rockefeller
Vanderbilt
Hilton
Hearst
The correct answer is Vanderbilt
So why is this answer correct? : Controlling the railways during the boom of the late 1800s and early 1900s was how a number of robber barons built their fortunes, and Cornelius Vanderbilt made that strategy central to his empire. Vanderbilt owned the New York Railroad, NY Central Railroad, Hudson Railroad, Canada Southern Railway, Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, and several others. In total, Vanderbilt controlled 40% of the nation’s railways at his peak.