If you are referring to E.H.Harriman combining the Espee and U.P., he did indeed do so. Although they maintained separate Officers and trackage, Harriman basically operated them both as one system, with Harriman Common Standards for everything from trackwork to signals, rolling stock to locomotives, and operating schemes and rules. President Theodore Roosevelt, using the Sherman Antitrust Act, broke up the 2 railroads. After years of legal arguments, The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with the break - up in 1923.