In 1847, the City of New York authorized the construction of railroad tracks along Tenth and Eleventh Avenues on Manhattan's West Side.
The street-level tracks were used by the New York Central Railroad's freight trains, which shipped commodities such as coal, dairy products and beef.
[1][2] For safety the railroad hired "West Side cowboys", men who rode horses and waved flags in front of the trains.
[6] In 1929, the city, the state, and New York Central agreed on the West Side Improvement Project,[2] conceived by Robert Moses.
[7] The 13-mile (21 km) project eliminated 105 street-level railroad crossings and added 32 acres (13 ha) to Riverside Park; it also included construction of the West Side Elevated Highway and the West Side Line elevated viaduct.