Chicago's position at the head of the most southwestern of the Great Lakes was the primary factor in determining its remarkable growth and prosperity. But with the decline of water transportation the city has not suffered, for it stands at one of the natural cross roads of trade and travel. Today it is the chief railroad centre not only in the U.S. but in the world. Not counting subsidiary divisions there are 27 railroads entering Chicago, which is the western terminus of the great New York Central System. Chicago is thus the focus of the activities of half a continent. It is the financial centre of the west and the metropolis of the richest agricultural section in the country. These circumstances have contributed to make it the greatest grain and live stock market in the world. But its accessibility to the raw materials of industrial development has also made it a great manufacturing city. Chicago has more than 10,000 factories and the output of its manufacturing zone is probably more than $3,000,000,000 annually. The principal industries and manufactures are meat packing, foundry and machine shop products, clothing, cars and railway construction, agricultural implements, furniture, and (formerly) malt liquors. FACTS ABOUT THE NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY The New York Central Lines comprise 14,242 miles of track. As part of the track equipment, there are 40,000,000 wooden ties, worth about $1 each. On these ties are 1,727,000 tons of steel rail, worth $96,000,000. There are 32 tunnels, costing $10,000,000, and 19,000 bridges and culverts, costing $60,000,000. In the principal cities the New York Central's terminals cover about 4,800 acres, assessed at more than $100,000,000. The deeds for right-of-way for the section east of Buffalo alone number more than 30,000.