the community from being developed in any way contrary to how the Van Sweringens intended, including barring African Americans. Standards limited commercial development, rental property development, and residence style and size. Standards set roof slope angles, materials, finishes, and garage placement. All residences were required to be unique and designed by an architect. Duplex residences in the community were restricted to designated areas and were required to follow guidelines designed to give the impression that a structure was a single-family home. By 1920, the Van Sweringens controlled more than 4,000 acres (16 km2) in the community, which reached city status in 1931. Since lots sold slowly, the brothers concluded that Shaker Heights needed a transportation system between the suburb and downtown. Railroad projects In 1913, the Van Sweringens established the Cleveland Interurban Railroad, which managed the operation of their streetcar lines in what is now Cleveland Heights, Ohio. In order to provide convenience to residents of Shaker Heights, the Van Sweringens planned a high-speed interurban styled electric rail line, which was christened Shaker Heights Rapid Transit and commonly known as the Rapid. This prompted the Van Sweringens to purchase land in the vicinity of Public Square in downtown Cleveland as early as 1909 to provide a terminus for their rapid transit line. Their Rapids could travel at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), but the line could not be moved farther west than 34th Street. In order to meet the Van Sweringens' guidelines that the Rapid would not travel in street traffic, the brothers bought a 51% interest in the 523-mile (842-km) New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road) in 1915 from the New York Central Railroad. The route gave the Van Sweringens an unobstructed path to downtown Cleveland. From this acquisition, the Van Sweringens formed the Nickel Plate Securities Corporation, from which they would use investor money to buy a controlling interest in other major United States rail companies. At their zenith in 1928, the Van Sweringens controlled 30,000 miles (50,000 km) of rail worth $3 billion, nearly all of it purchased through credit. Lines under their control included the Erie Railroad, Pere Marquette Railway, Hocking Valley Railway, and Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. They managed to control this huge (for the time) system by a maze of holding companies (including the Alleghany Corporation) and interlocking directorships. To solve the problem of the