Across the way is the stately old Consolidated EdisonIRT powerhouse, whose distinguished architectural pedigree (McKim, Mead and White) may protect it from demolition. At West 59th Street and the Hudson River, you may also enter the new waterfront park, Riverside South. This piece of land, stretching from here to 72nd Street, was until fairly recently the West Side Rail Yards of the New York Central. Cornelius Vanderbilt, the "Commodore," had created that powerful railroad by merging several weaker lines in the nineteenth century. Not only did the New York Central offer passage north on both sides of the Hudson River, and westward following the Erie Canal route, it was the only railroad line actually to enter the island of Manhattan. The other lines, including New York Central's mighty competitor, the Pennsylvania Railroad, stopped short at the continental, New Jersey side of the Hudson River, and had to ferry passengers across, while loading freight onto barges pulled by tugboats. it was New York Central's idea to split its Manhattan lines in two: one, e passenger line, would cross over eastward and terminate in Midtown, at Grand Central Station; the other, devoted strictly to freight, would continue downtown along the West Side's perimeter, eventually concluding in St. John's Park Freight Terminal (which still exists), at Houston and Hudson Streets in Greenwich Village. In order to alert cars and pedestrians on Tenth Avenue of an approaching freight train, men on horseback would precede the train, galloping along the tracks. One reason the practice was discontinued was that the trains occasionally struck an inattentive pedestrian or car driver, causing the route to be nicknamed "Death Avenue." The freight delivery system that replaced the open tracks was a viaduct built between the West 33rd Street train yards and St. John's Park Terminal, passing wondrously through and between buildings, known as the High Line. (There is now a worthwhile effort to preserve it from demolition and turn it into an elevated park.) Even after the city ordered the removal of all railroad tracks at grade below 59th Street, the West Side Rail Yards continued in full operation. It was one of three major yards along the West Side, the other two being at West 33rd Street and West 130th Street (Manhattanville). The New York Central built all three between 1877 and 1882, shortly after it had erected its first version of Grand Central Station on 42nd Street. The West Side Rail Yards contained a roundhouse, a grain elevator, stockyards, sections to make up trains, an engine service terminal, and eight piers for barges and ships. The piers testified to the importance of the Rail Yards as a marinerail transfer zone. Although the New York Central's monopoly ot rail access into Manhattan at first gave it an enormous advantage in securing freight, the company found that rail freight was still costlier than barge (since water is cheaper to maintain than railroad track), and that its freight lines would also be difficult to expand in the routes available.