Accessory Transit Company
The Accessory Transit Company was a company set up by Cornelius Vanderbilt and others during the California Gold Rush in the 1850s, to transport would-be prospectors from the east coast of the United States to the west coast.

At the time, an overland journey across the US was an arduous undertaking and could last many weeks. The Accessory Transit Company instead took passengers by steamer from New York to San Juan del Norte on the Caribbean or Mosquito Coast of Nicaragua. From there, they travelled up the Rio San Juan to Lake Nicaragua, crossing the lake to the town of Rivas. A stagecoach then crossed the narrow isthmus to San Juan del Sur, where another steamer travelled to San Francisco.

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, 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. Having regained control of the ATC, Vanderbilt approached the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and the United States Mail Steamship Company , which operated routes across Panama, and offered to stop running the Nicaragua route in return for a $40,000 monthly stipend. The companies accepted this offer, and a year later increased the stipend to $56,000 when Vanderbilt threatened to reopen the Transit line, but the ATC did not run again.

Vanderbilt's original contract with the Nicaraguan government allowing him to operate the ATC also gave him exclusive rights to construct a Nicaragua Canal until 1861. 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.
Q313721
Cornelius Vanderbilt
PER
Q17550
California Gold Rush
MEDIA
Q1650350
prospectors
UNK
Q30
United States
LOC
Q178193
steamer
Concept
Q60
New York
LOC
Q2063725
San Juan del Norte
LOC
Q664609
Caribbean
LOC
Q1165546
Mosquito Coast
LOC
Q811
Nicaragua
LOC
Q1161204
Rio San Juan
LOC
Q173862
Lake Nicaragua
LOC
Q1757609
Rivas
LOC
Q339249
stagecoach
Concept
Q93267
isthmus
Concept
Q240247
San Juan del Sur
LOC
Q62
San Francisco
LOC
Q4917
$
Concept
Q11220
US Navy
Concept
Q3073738
filibuster
Concept
Q196401
William Walker
PER
Q852448
President of Nicaragua
PER
Q2045550
Pacific Mail Steamship Company
ORG
Q7863218
United States Mail Steamship Company
ORG
Q804
Panama
LOC
Q1252068
Nicaragua Canal
LOC
Q7692360
volcanic eruption
Concept
Q27611
Central America
LOC
Q4672525
Accessory Transit Company
ORG
Q4672525
Accessory Transit Company
ORG
1850-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1850
DATE
1854-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1854
DATE
1855-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1855
DATE
1857-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1857
DATE
1861-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1861
DATE
+300^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
300
NUMBER
+150^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
150
NUMBER
+40.000^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
40,000
NUMBER
+56.000^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
56,000
NUMBER
country of citizenship
country
country
country
lakes on river
position held