It had been decided to start building the Nickel Plate line along the surveyed route between Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York rather than build the branch to St. Louis, Missouri.
Five hundred days later, the Nickel Plate's five hundred and thirteen mile-mile (eight hundred and twenty-five kilometer) single-track mainline from Buffalo, New York to Chicago is complete.
The railroad is estimated to require ninety thousand long tons (eighty thousand metric tons) of steel rails, each weighing sixty pounds per linear yard (thiry kilograms per meter)) and one and a half million oak crossties.
Additionally, the railroad requires forty-nine major bridges.
It is characterized by long sections of straight track, mild grades and impressive bridges.
The Nickel Plate runs its first trains over the entire system on October 16, 1882.
During construction, Vanderbilt and Gould had watched with great interest.
If either of them can acquire the Nickel Plate, they can end the threat to their railroads.
If the Nickel Plate remains independent, it will be able to create a substantial dent in both entrepreneurs' railroad earnings.
Vanderbilt had tried to lower the value of the Nickel Plate by organizing a campaign to smear its reputation before a train ever ran on its tracks.
If Vanderbilt had been successful, he could have scared the Seney Syndicate into selling to him or driven the railroad company into bankruptcy.
However, Vanderbilt's plan had come with two important risks.
If he slandered the line, he risked chasing the Seney Syndicate into an alliance with Gould.
The other risk was that his plan to smear the Nickel Plate's reputation might fail and it could quickly grow.
Vanderbilt had claimed the road was being built with substandard materials and it would use unsafe practices once completed.
He had succeeded in creating long-standing rumors about the line, but had failed to devalue the company or scare the investors.
The cost of construction had been higher than expected and the Seney Syndicate had begun to negotiate with Gould to purchase the railroad, but, unlike Vanderbilt, Gould lacks the capital.
Frustrated at the failing talks, Gould had broken off negotiations and had given up on his attempt to break Vanderbilt.
In early 1881, Vanderbilt could have had the Nickel Plate for one million dollars, equal to $24,082,759 today.
He realized if he allowed Gould to gain control of the Nickel Plate his monopoly on rail traffic from Toledo, Ohio, to the east would be broken.
He had decided he will do anything to keep the Nickel Plate out of Gould's hands.
On October 25, 1882, (a few days after the first trains ran) the Seney Syndicate sells the Nickel Plate to Vanderbilt for 7.2 million dollars, equal to $173,395,862 today.
Vanderbilt transfers it to his Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway.
However, Vanderbilt has a problem: he cannot run the business into the ground or it will fall into receivership and someone else will buy it.
He cannot close the Nickel Plate either, because it had cost a fortune to buy.
So, the Nickel Plate Road does business, but just enough to keep it solvent.
By the advent of the 1920s, the Nickel Plate will be an obscure line that earns its keep through the transfer of freight from other rail connections.
During the same period, Vanderbilt's Lake Shore and Michigan Southern will prosper and expand.
