Western Transit Company stock certificate circa 1884 (New York)

Awesome shipping stock certificate!  Classic sailing ship vignette. Very clean. Unissued and not cancelled. Dated 188_. Circa 1884 from corporate records and issued examples. Incorporated in New York.  Measures approximately 10.75 x 7 inches.

The Western Transit Company was a subsidiary of the New York Central Railroad, primarily operating a fleet of ships on the Great Lakes to extend the railroad's freight-hauling reach. Its history in New York is therefore tied to the New York Central's rail operations, particularly those that connected New York City to Buffalo and other Midwestern hubs via a "Water Level Route" along the Erie Canal. 

The Western Transit Company was incorporated in 1884 but originally incorporated in New York in 1855 as the Western Transportation Company. It was involved in the package freight trade on the Great Lakes, operating between Chicago and Buffalo and between Duluth and Buffalo. 

The company had a full line of boats running both on the Great Lakes and on the Erie Canal. They had twenty propellers, six sailing vessels and 200 canal boats. The company was engaged in carrying freight and passengers on the lakes, and freight upon the Erie Canal, its vessels running in connection with the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad. In 1864 it had the following vessels: Empire State, Badger State, Oneida, Mohawk, Plymouth, Tonawanda, Free State, Potomac, Racine, Neptune, Mayflower. The steel steamer HUDSON was built in 1888 for this company.

The boats of the company left Buffalo, New York daily through the season of navigation, for Milwaukee, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Port Huron, Mackinac, Port St. Ignace, Sheboygan and all other principal points on the lakes.

The Western Transit Company disappeared as a corporate entity after it sold its floating equipment in 1916 and went into dissolution in 1924. With the decline of railroads, the era created the Penn Central merger in 1968, which absorbed the New York Central system. The original New York Central lines were eventually split between Norfolk Southern and CSX in 1999. 

Product descriptions and images
Please note that some pictures may only be representative of the inventory available.  If we have more than one piece, we are unable to scan and display every piece.  Unless otherwise noted, that there are variations for signatures, cancellation marks/holes, serial number, and dates.  Colors will be as noted and pictured.