Accessory Transit Company

The Accessory Transit Company instead took passengers by steamer from New York to San Juan del Norte on the Caribbean or the Mosquito Coast of Nicaragua.

The ATC provided the cheapest route to California from the east coast, and was soon carrying 2,000 passengers a month at a fare of $300 each (equivalent to about $11,000 in modern money), later reduced to $150.

The wealth generated by the route attracted efforts to take it over, and in 1854 the US Navy bombarded San Juan del Norte in response to demands from the town authorities that the company vacate their premises immediately.

In 1855, the filibuster William Walker installed himself as President of Nicaragua, taking over the ATC's assets in the country in the process; he was ousted in 1857 by forces backed by Vanderbilt.

In the event, political instabilities in Nicaragua as well as its frequent volcanic eruptions conspired to make Panama a more attractive location for a trans-Central American canal.