R. T. Underhill - Doctor, Winemaker, and Investor in the First New York City Elevated Railway

Richard T. Underhill was an investor in the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway Company, which pioneered the city's first elevated railway system.

Charles T. Harvey, a self-taught engineer, built an experimental cable-powered elevated railway in 1867, starting from Battery Place and extending northward. The company, chartered in 1866, aimed to construct a 25-mile line reaching Yonkers with $100,000 in subscribed capital. The half-mile initial segment became known as "one-legged railroad" due to its single supporting column design.

Underhill "appreciated the desirability of more rapid transit" and became instrumental in advancing Harvey's vision. He advocated for rigorous safety testing before public operations began in 1868. Underhill participated in critical test runs, including one where "centrifugal force" caused track failure. He voluntarily joined another dawn test, afterward declaring the railway safe.