Old New York

Love this pic of Astoria

Really like this thread! I know diddly squat about NY, but I do love history.

Bens photos illustrate the magnanimity of the Grand Central Project. It went on for about 10 years and construction was undertaken while trains continued to operate and use the terminal. When enough of the new depressed station facility was completed, it was put into operation and the construction actibity moved westward on the site. It was indeed a remarkable engineering and construction feat of Modern times. The last photo is interesting as it shows the Park Ave roadways and the bridges used for the crosstown streets .These are still in place today even though the entire terminal area is below ground and covered over.

Construction photo

Some R46's being delivered at Erie Lackawanna's Hoboken Yard

And some old pics of East New York Yard.  That R11 all by itself is probably gapped and waiting for third rail jumpers

And this is a brand spanking new Situation Board at Euclid Ave in 1948

LeavE it to Ben to come up with the Gems.

Interesting view of the entrance to the yard. The train is a set of BRT convertible gate cars most likely in service on the Lexington ave El. This would date the photo to 1950 or earlier. The Lexington ave route started at Eastern Parkway and operated on the Jamaica E; to about Gates ave. It tirned of onto its namesake El line down to Grand Street where it tuned onto the Myrtle ave Line to Brifge and Jay street. Before 1944 this train would run over the Brooklyn Bridge to Park Row.

Thats quite a collection of Equipment in the yard. There are standards, R-10s? , R-16s probably near new here, some more gate cars and the R-11 Ben Mentioned. This is [rpba;y about 1957 and those Gate cars were probaby once at work on the Myrtle Ave line but now replaced by the Q cars.

interesting early photo. The Dime savings Bank was yet to rise on the right hand side of the plaza which itself is yet to be completed. Washington Plaza to the right is still waiting the statue of General Washington on his mount'.

Here is the construction photo on the Manhattan side at Delancey Street. I love the horse drawn vehicle on the roadway heading to brooklyn. Weren't many motorized vehicles back about 1906. Construction is underway for the rapid transit facilities. There were two trolley lines and the BRT EL now Jamaica Line. Looks like an El car is in the construction area. When I look at the framework above the construction, i cant help wonder if the BRT originally contemplated an El in Manhattan.

This photo shows the Brooklyn side of the Bridge. Both Bridge Plaza and Washington Plaza are complete. The Bridge roadways are operational as well as trolleys of the BRT on the left and the New York railway ( Green Line). This one was closed in the early 1930s . The company was taken over by what became a New York City Icon, The Fifth Ave Coach company. The slogan was " Go the Motor Coach Way". This company itself is long gone from the New York City Transit scene.

I really love all the old pictures even though I know nothing about the history of the particular area.

Thanks to all who have posted here.

A Little Christmas in New York

The R-1 R-9 set was out and about 

The Tree at Rockefeller Center would be a destination if you are riding the <useum Train

Heres a New York thing!! Bringing the tree home on the Subway

Some Santas on the way in the Subway

Sometimes the Grafitti carried a festive message

And at the end of the day , the Santas arrived Safe and Sound on New York's Subway System

Wishing all on the Forum a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Here are two that are hard to identify

Thanks to all the contributors for the wonderful photos and memories of how it was.

Scotie

One of my favorite threads....love these old pictures!

Alan

HiBen

Merry Christmas !

Ill take a shot at the photos, either the Fulton St EL or Mrtyle Ave EL

86th street in Bensonhurst?

Nope 86 street has three tracks, the support posts are in the street and the support posts aren't lattice.

Nope  It is Brooklyn though

Brighton Beach Line

A few more from the same El   Love the wood platforms and unprotected third rail

Ok Forum Detectives. You haven't cracked the case yet but Ben has given you several clues.

1. Its Bens favorite El line in Brooklyn, close to home.

2. In the pictures posted in the second post, Ben has showed us locations at both the North end and the South end of the area of interest. The photos can also identify the line as well

3. The El in question had center platforms.

4. The locations identified are stops on this El in the area of interest

Can you guess Now? I think I know the locations but lets see if any of the forumites know the locations with all the hints

Hello Ben F  !!

I KNOW that YOU already know the answers - heh - and so do I. 

Those first two photos are of the 5th Avenue EL in Brooklyn.  I have them in my collection and KNOW what the intersections are.

The 3rd photo  is a Turtle Roof 1000 series BMT EL Car at the 36th St Station next to the abandoned former steam-era massive Elevated Yard and its abandoned multi-track elevated structures seen at left --- the car or train is heading outbound to leave the 5th ave EL at the nearby Y junction -  and turn and head east to go over to the Brooklyn 3rd Ave EL...where it turns left - or south,  to eventually go to the 65th St Terminal of that EL, and connect with the BRT Trolley there.

The next (4th) picture is looking inbound from the end of the single center island  platform of the Atlantic Avenue EL Station on the BMT Fifth Ave EL with the train heading inbound toward  where the 5th Ave EL a few blocks away crosses under the higher Fulton St EL (seen in distance) and does the slight S curve there into Hansen Place and eventually merges a couple of blocks further into the Myrtle Ave EL near that EL's Navy St Station.

I already have all these displayed photos in my BMT EL print photos collection for many decades time now.

Happy Holidays !  -  Joe F

That's no fair Joe   Would love to see some of those pics from your archives

The great pics continue!!!!

Peter

Fort Lee and Edgewater were very much a part of the New York railroad scene  A little further south of there was the New York Centrals Weehawken terminal.  It was also serviced by NJ Public Service trolleys that had to climb a huge trestle.  I worked in the buildings that were built in the location after the railroads were abandoned  The Hudson Bergen Light rail services the area now over ex Erie trackage

Though, as only a casual visitor and mostly unfamiliar with the geography, this thread has become one of my favorites. The photographs and commentary have been outstanding and highly informative. Thanks much to all that have contributed.

Hi Bob   The Binghamtom was a beautiful boat  I ate there a number of times when it was open    Here are some shots from your link of the interior

While in service

Here are the ones from restaurant days  One thing I didn't know was that there was seating in the engine room

Results of Hurricane's Sandy and Irene

Hello,

I found these pictures in an issue of Traction Heritage (Vol 4 No 2, Selections from 1907 Electric Railway Journal)

I think I want one of these.

Regards,

Calvin

Thanks, Calvin.

That's the first time I've ever seen the interior of an S motor electric - my favorite loco. Lot's of empty space!

Jim

GREAT PHOTOS of happier times!  Unfortunately also illustrating the capricious vagaries of fate! 

Everything progresses towards a state of entropy and decay! 

Jim,

Thanks for telling me what type of engine that is.

I was flipping through some Traction Model and Traction Heritage issues that my wife found at work. These pictures caught my attention.

Calvin,

The engines in the first photos are officially called the NYC S-1 electric. It still has the original single axle lead and trail trucks.

They found that it didn't track properly and soon substituted 4 wheel trucks on the front and rear. These are the engines that I used to watch in the south Bronx at the Mott Haven yards as a kid.

Lionel made models of two versions of this engine several years ago.

Jim

Would this pass for Sunnyside Yard?  

Peter

Art:

I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you.

Bob

This photo (circa about 1900) shows the view of Hunter’s Point in Long Island City from Sunnyside, Queens, which is just across from Greenpoint on the north side of the Newtown Creek.

Photo from the book, 300 Years of Long Island City; in memoriam of Vincent Seyfried, prolific historian and author.

Seeing that view of Hunters point from Sunnyside and the cow, recalls the early history of this land as dairy farms , What was not usable was marshland in the same area. At the turn of the century, these lands were largely undeveloped as shown in the photo . The PRR acquired these properties in preparation for the Sunnyside yard project which was a necessary adjunct to the Pennsylvania station project. In short, the land was too expensive in Manhattan for train storage and service and so Sunnyside came to be. The opening of the Quuensboro Bridge accelerated the urbanization of the area and it was just a few years later with the dual contracts that Flushing and Astoria Eles were constructed and placed into operation by the IRT and BMT . Thes companies operated the Elevated lines jointly until 1949. 

We have a few views of the area to relate it to modern times. 

The Track map presented in this image conveys the immenseness of the PRR and LIRR yard projects in Sunnyside and Hunters point as of 1956. 

These railcars and trains at Sunnyside might be standing here where the cow was grazing in the 1900 photo. 

LIRR S class Alco was working over near Yard A. The Snshine Biscuits sign and building was a landmark. The building us still there but the sign is not. The LIRR Alcos were originally ordered by the PRR for the LIRR before the PRR placed the LIRR in Bankruptcy in 1949. These locos were delivered in the Brunswick Green with Dulux lettering ala PRR . The LIRR painted the pilots white. They wore these colors for a decade or so before being repainted into Goodfellow colors. 

here is an  aerial view of the area . You can see the Flushing Line exiting the Hunters Point Ave station and curving to the top of the photo heading towards Queensboro Plaza. Just East of there, the Montauk LIRR branch curves onto the Main line leading to the Sunnyside yard and to the East on the LIRR

Ok Back on the Ground so to speak, we can see the yards looking east from the Flushing Line just as it turns north.

Still on the Flushing El, not quite one block north of the prior photo with a Nanhattan bound no.7 coming at us. The Tunnels under the east river were originally known as the Steinway tunnels. They were used by the Steinway trolleys before being bought for the IRT service. Low Vs once ran on these tracks into the late 1940s. 

I think that cow would not recognize the place judging by these photos. Enjoy the visit.

Just came across this pic.....not sure it's been here before.....

I think I see:

The EL and ajacent yard by the Polo Grounds.

The New York Central Hudson Division ( and maybe the area of the Putnam Division yard)

The Jerome Ave EL/Subway #4

The New York Central Harlem Division  with what looks like the car yard near Cardinal Hayes HS.

Peter

Here's another neat one.....taken in 1961.....look at the New York Titans logo!

Peter

Let's not forget one of the greatest locomotive stunts in history.

Moving the Brighton Beach Hotel in 1888!  They knew how to deal with global warming.

Hello Peter (Putnam)

Thats a nice photo taken from the Bronx shoreline to the Polo Grounds Stadium.  Also note that it is also showing the ex-IRT 9th Avenue EL remnant "Polo Ground Shuttle" in the foreground....

However - PHOTO DATE OF 1961 IS WRONG -- the shuttle line closed in August 1958 and was removed by mid 1959 on the Manhattan Side. I would date that photo between late 1958 and earlier. I rode that shuttle many times and took photos of and on it about one month after it closed and abandoned- in August 1958. 

Here are a few of the hundred or so photos I have in my Polo Ground Shuttle collection file.

And I am enjoying this long photos thread and the various commentaries !

Regards - Joe F

Looking at the arial shot of the area here are my comments.

The 9th ave el is up and running. You can see trains south of 155th St. Station. The Green lines yard North of the Macombs Dam Bridge viaduct and West of the el station is intact as the transfer table is visible. The area South of the Polo Grounds showing the diagonal area with no vegetation is the construction remains of the Ind Concourse line The Nassau houseboat that was present at the Bronx shoreline at Putnam bridge is not there yet. Sedgwick Ave. station is still intact with the NYC Putnam portion and the yard along Sedgwick Ave. Also visable. No Major Deegan highway yet. NYC. Highbridge yard has been reduced in size. (That area between the yard leads was where the Composites were stripped of their original trucks and had the Maximum traction tracks install for elevated operation. The Flivvers were also delivered there and had the Composite trucks installed. The yard remained like that for many years after the conversion was completed) The 3rd Ave. Railway yard North of the Bronx side of the Macombs bridge viaduct and West of Ogden Ave. has been removed. The Yankee Stadium is up and so is the Bronx County Courthouse. There are little To no automobiles in the photo. My best guess is the photo was taken in the early Thirties.

Nate

Hello all

As long as we are on the ex-9th Ave EL POLO Grounds Shuttle line and area - here is what I have to offer - in a few sets of Before and After scenes -- including an architect's proposed new development planned to re-claim to entire Shuttle Line R-o-W and real estate Between Anderson Avenue and Jerome Avenue - of which I have photos of.  I will later post photos of the Anderson Avenue side of this proposed complex. 

I have provided LOCATION Captions under each photo.

For those interested in this long abandoned EL line, and who may be personally family-connected to it and the neighborhood as I was in the 1950's thru late 1960's, Enjoy !

Regards - Joe F

ABOVE - 01a-N on Jerome Av to Anderson STA-9AV EL-1920's-

ABOVE - 01b-N on Jerome Ave to ex-9AVE EL Anderson STA crossing-2011

ABOVE - 01c-N on Jerome Ave at Ex-IRT Anderson Ave EL STA-2013

ABOVE - 02a-N. on Jerome Ave to Anderson AV STA-9AV EL-1920's

ABOVE - 02b-N. at Jerome Ave to site of ex-IRT Anderson STA-2013

ABOVE - 03a-W on NB Track to Anderson STA-9AV EL-1939

ABOVE - 03b-Proposed redevelopment-West to Ex-IRT Anderson Av abandoned Station

property and location

ABOVE - 04a-SW to Wall-end remains-Anderson STA-9AV EL-2004

ABOVE - 04b-S on Jerome Ave At ex-Anderson Ave IRT EL STA-2013

ABOVE - 04c-Proposed Redevelopment-SW on Jerome Ave to former location Anderson AV STATION

ABOVE - 05a-Old ex-9AV EL-Polo Grounds Shuttle W.162 St route

ABOVE - 05b-New Yankee Stadium now sits on Polo 9AV EL R-o-W-2012

ABOVE - 05c-Proposed Redevelopment-aerial showing new  one block constr. on ex-IRT Anderson Av Station

ABOVE - 06a-N.E. on Jerome AV to Anderson AV STA-IRT Polo Shuttle-1955

ABOVE - 06b-N.E. on Jerome AV to where  IRT Anderson AV STA crossed-2013

Nate & Joe......thank you so much...great information...in 2009, my son and I had our 1st trip to the new stadium.....I will did up my pics of the remains of the shuttle take off from the #4 and post them.

Peter

The remnants of the el at Yankee stadium makes it  looks like the tracks were part of the stadium.  As joes map shows the route goes right through what is now the stadium   This is River ave where the 9th ave el tracks would be on the lower level and curving toward the river.  This pic was taken before the new stadium was built  Have to get an updated one

This picture shows how deep center field was at the polo grounds   Imagine todays primadonna hitters dealing with 455 foot center field wall  It was short down the lines though.   Also the coach yard just to the north of the Polo grounds was huge   The yard was elevated and there was a ramp down to a few tracks beneath it that was used for MOW.  These two pics were borrowed from the ERA book entitled The Elevated Railways of Manhattan

Here are my pics from the spur next to the new Stadium:

Peter

Peter, 

  Great picture! Across the river, there is some sort of housing project that has around 10 or 11 or so towers as part of the structure. Just west of that there is a lower, long building. Could that be The Put's engine house, with the north side showing evidence of sand along the ground where the steam engine's were serviced?

 Tom

Could be, Tom.......maybe Skip will weigh in.

Peter

Pretty sure that is it. To the west of the engine shed would be the tower. If you have Joe Schiavone's The Last of "The Old Put," on page 6 it shows the track diagram (I think that I gave or sold that to him!) and the picture on page 7 shows the tower and the engine shed. The picture on page 7 also shows a much smaller shed-type of structure just north of the tower and still alongside the shed, which seems to match the aerial photo.

Tom

Tom,

As I recall the tower was located on the curve from the structure East of Putnam bridge on the curve into the Putnam right of Way on the North West side of Sedgwick ave station. The steel work remained there until the end of IRT shuttle service. The tower was a brick structure. The engine house was on the West side of the Put's tracks parallel with Sedgwick Ave. It was removed during the construction of the Magor Deegan Highway and the reconfiguration of the Station. I remember riding my bike on the Deegan before it opened. Then riding across Depot Place.(Highbridge Station) , then down the ramp into the vacant lot that was once Highbridge yard. We went South along the shore until we came to the tower which was behind the Nassau house boat. There were pilings that were remains of piers all along the shore and south of Macombs Bridge. At one time that area was a resort area with hotels, boating and fishing as well. Kids would go swimming and dive off the absolute sidof Putnam bridge. Some would get fatally injured  by hitting their heads on the underwater remains. My mother told me never but never  go swimming in the Harlem River. When I saw the sewer pipes spewing out the waste into the water I would not even go near the water for the smell alone. Talk about pollution!

Nate

Good evening Nate,

 The Schiavone book shows a wooden tower identified as the "High Bridge signal tower B" directly next to the engine shed.

Tom

PS- Probably good to still follow your mom's advise to not swim in the Harlem River nowadays either!

Tom

Tom, Which book of the 3 volumes is related to the Bronx portion of the Put? My interest is in the Manhattan Railway 9th Ave El and the Polo Grounds Shuttle. If you would be so kind to email me the info I can look for the book or books. I will take your advice and stay out of the Harlem River.

Thank You,

Nate

Hi Nate,

 Nate,

   I don't see your email showing. The book that had the engine shed picture and the adjacent wooden tower was the one I mentioned, from Joe Schiavone's The Last of "The Old Put," , which I think was his third book. I probably have his phone number at home if you need it. My email address should show, so feel free to email me.

 Tom

I am very intrigued......I will certainly be pulling out my Schiavone books this weekend!

Peter

Fantastic stuff. Many are of items I've never seen before.  You definitely get a feel for days gone by.

--Greg

Here is my last attempt to show the area of the shed in Peter's picture!

Back on the Polo Grounds Shuttle:

I stumbled onto these three photos on the internet captioned as showing construction on the shuttle route. The first two are on the Sedgwick Ave end of the tunnel and the third is near Anderson Ave. You can see a steam loco on the Putnam line in the background in the second photo

Steam was banned in Manhattan, but was still allowed in the Bronx. It was rare by the time I was old enough to appreciate such things in the early 50s, but I did catch a few glimpses of a passing steam engine.

Jim

Hello Jim P --

The, your, 3rd last photo is actually LOOKING NORTH on the west sidewalk side of ANDERSON Avenue just below where 162nd Street (over the shuttle tunnel) crosses and dead ends in to.  To the right - where 162nd St ends - see the 2 story building under  construction - as it is to be the NEW headhouse for the Anderson Avenue end of the Anderson - Jerome Avenue joint station.

The head house included offices above and stores and shops on the sides of the dorward for the station entrance.  I know this area and the shuttle very well as my father lived in the block and I rode the shuttle many times.  Here are three images looking EAST on 162nd Street towards the former headhouse of the station and Anderson Avenue crossing left to right.  Also note the 4th image;

The ABOVE image is looking NORTH up the hill on Anderson Avenue to the facade of the former station headhouse of the Anderson-Jerome Avenue Station . !62nd St dead ends at the left sid of photo -- and indicated in top 3 photos

Regards - Joe F

Not sure if you have seen any of these as this is the first I have seen this post and its on page 11 but here is just a few of the ones I have I have over 800 pics of real trains a lot are NYC but not all at https://rtssite.shutterfly.com/ any way here is a few 

Jims Photos are interesting. Note that in the second Photo with the Sedgewick Ave station under construction, The Tracks from the Putnam line lead onto to the Harlem River Bridge . These trains were still operating into Manhattan at this time into the Ninth Ave El station I guess. 

Rtraincollector has an interesting sequence of photos at Chatam Square on the third ave el. Photos three and four are in the steam days. No signs of any electrification and neither the tracks of the second ave El. The last Photo is from the very early 1950s. WE can see that the South Ferry Branch has been cutback to Chatham Square with Third Ave trains terminating on the upper level. Lower level tracks once used by the second ave El and Third ave locals have been removed. The City Hall Branch is visible as well. Third Ave Trains still in service to City Hall on the lowere level of the station. The trackways for the second ave El are still in place . Looks like the rail was picked up. Second ave trains went to City Hall on the Upper Level here. The photo is almost a decade after Second Ave Service was eliminated. 

Thanks, guys, for the added info on the shuttle area photos.

From my days in the mid 1950s playing ball in the area, I've always been fascinated by the sight of trains seeming to disappear "into the buildings" above them.

I did a little exploring in the area on the Anderson Ave side in the early 1960s after it closed down. I was never brave enough to venture into the tunnel though.

The entire Highbridge area was great for train watching with the two New York Central divisions as well as the shuttle. It was never more than a few minutes between trains passing through.

It was matched only by our favorite spot off Morris Ave on the access road to the commissary on the east side of the Mott Haven Coach yard. That area had yard switching with S motors as well as the New York Central and New Haven lines headed to and from Grand Central.

Jim

A few more Brooklyn shots

Great photos Ben. Very interesting historical perspective. 

Thinking the first Photo is where the 5th ave El joined the Myrtle ave El on its way to Saqnd street and Park Row in Manhattan. 

The second Photo shows the former station at Atlantic on the Fifth ave El. The LIRR Flatbush Ave. Terminal is to the right. Its after 1940 and the Fifth Ave El is being removed including this station. The LIRR station in the photo is now gone, replaced by a new Building and a shopping Mall. WE are standing about where the Barclays center is , Home of the Brooklyn Nets. 

The Third Photo is on the SeaBeach line. Its an early construction photo. and is where the seabeack crosses over the LIRR Bay Ridge Branch. I love that construction equipment in the photo, Steam Powered of course .

The Fourth Photo brings us back to the Fifth Ave El at a point where it leaves Flatbush Ave to Run South on Fifth Ave. I think the street feeding into Flatbush Ave which forms the triangle that the building sits on is Dean Street. This photo looks like its from Near the turn of the century.

The Last Photo is the Culver Terminal in Coney Island. This is where oen arrived to spend a day at the shore in Coney Island Hey day when it was New York's Resort by the sea. 

Here's the pic again:

Tom.....I have volume III of the Schiavone books....I am open to pages 6&7.

I see the engine shed.....it's right where you said.....and the small structure between the shed and the river is High Bridge signal tower B on the Hudson Division.....

What a great picture!

For those of you who have any interest in the Putnam Division....I highly recommend the Schiavone books!

Peter

on yahoo this afternoon they had this 

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/h...421962140-slideshow/

How related it was 

Peter,

  I know I mentioned this elsewhere, probably not on this thread, but the first Schiavone book, The Old Put, came with a DVD entitled, Walk the Put. On the DVD, Joe did a great job explaining/visiting the station stops and giving some history of them from Van Cortland north to Put Junction. Brian Vangor did the great video work involved. Our friend Skip Natoli appears, too. If you don't already have it, I think you would enjoy it-- if you can find it. I appear in a few of the Yonkers station areas talking about their history...in spite of my appearing, you might still enjoy it!

  Tom

155 st

Putnam division

This is the NY Westchester and Boston at Allerton Ave

Wow, my family built a house that I lived in the late 80's not far from where this was shot and it is amazing to see how unbuilt up the area was (I presume this was the 20's). There is a big public school to the right of the tracks on the other side of Allerton Ave (this was shot likely on Throop Ave), and there are all houses and such where this is. 

Ben,

  Regarding the last picture of the four you posted that you labelled ,"Putnam division," is that Sedgwick Ave.?

 Tom

Yes it is Sedgewick Ave. Tom

Ben..........when the New York Westchester & Boston crossed Allerton Avenue  it was already buried in the ground.....west of Gun Hill Rd.....at the Esplanade.

I believe this this is east of Baychester Avenue and the RR goes over the Boston Post Rd. The overpass is still in use today by the Dyre Ave subway.

Peter

Ben.....I STAND CORRECTED!!!!  I just found my NYO&W books......

I believe I'm mixing up the area between Gun Hill Rd and Baychester Avenue with the area between Gun Hill Rd and Pelham Pkwy.....

 I am going to need to do a road trip back to the Bronx! 

Peter

Hi Peter,

   Where does the O&W come in? Guessing you meant the NY, Westchester & Boston!?

  Tom 

@putnam-

Yep, that is what you are mixing up (doesn't help Gun Hill Road makes kind of a wide curve on its route, and ends up crossing the route at least twice (up near Dyre Ave, and I believe further down it does as well).

The old NYWB (now the #5 Dyre Avenue line) is above ground from 180th street, then after Morris Park, goes underground at Esplanade (which is where Pelham Parkway meets Laconia Ave). After the Esplanade stop it comes out of the ground pretty quickly to being elevated and crosses Allerton Ave elevated where Allerton and Throop Ave cross. 

I lived in that area for a while in the late 80's-early 90's, and I commuted on the 5 train from the Esplanade stop, so I know it pretty well (not to mention I was working nights the first couple of years, so was coming home at 2am

Tom........you are so right....NYW&B!

big kid......that's what I did........I need to go back and ride the route again.......and drive down Allerton from Gun Hill Rd to White Plains Rd......and get the feel for the topography again.....

While I'm at White Plains Rd, I will take a peek under the EL....and see who is occupying the storefront where Honig's Pkwy, the train store I used to frequent as a kid, was.

Peter

Hi Peter,

   Never heard of Honig's but I did find this article online:

http://tcaetrain.org/articles/...s/madison/index.html

Tom

Very interesting info regarding Madison hardware. I went there as a young boy and looked up at the Lionel Madison set on display above. All I could do I stare at it. No $. One day I found a Lionel Hell Gate Bridge in the garbage room. I took it to my apartment. When my mother came home and saw it and I told her where I got it  she told me to get rid of it and told me not to take people's trash. If only she was alive today and could check out EBay. Well I took it on the subway downtown to Madison Hardware. I explained my situation to one of the two old men.  and asked if they would trade me for anything. They asked me what I wanted and I looked up at the Madison cars. After the good laugh he offered me an RM PCC kit which was defective. As I could not take the bridge home I accepted it. I got screwed. Why would a Bronx boy get excited over a PCC anyway?

Another hobby shop I remember was my first. It was called the Friendy Shop. It was located on 167th Street just south of River Avenue at the foot of the Northwest staircase to the Jerme line (4 line today). They did not have many trains but all kinds of neat things including scratch building material. On day they moved to Jerome Ave south of 170th Street. It was next door to Aragoni's bus depot which later evolved into New York Bus Service. After a while the hobby shop went out of business. 

As I got older I found Ma Webster's Model Railroad Supply Co. On 45th  street in Manhattan, but that is another interesting story. I am sure there are many people out there that remember  Ma Webster.

Never knew Ma Webster, but there was a whole other thread that mentioned Ma Webster's store recently:

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...ed-caboose-nyc-on-tv

Tom

Nate,

That shop is where I got my first HO train set...a Penn Line Midget diesel switcher and a few cars.

There was also The Bronx Hobby Center on the east side of Jerome almost directly across from the bus depot. They had mostly HO as well as the usual hobby shop supplies. I began scratchbuilding in the early 1960s as a teenager and they were my source of supplies.

I too began heading down to Webster's Model RR Equipment Corp. very frequently as soon as I could ride the subways by myself.

Since those were my HO years, I can imagine what neat Lionel items I missed out on. I didn't return to 3-rail until the early 1980s. 

Another shop I've never heard much about was located on Fordham Rd just east of 3rd Avenue across the street from Fordham University. I credit them (or is it blame them ) for getting me to switch from Lionel to HO. They had an in-store layout, and there was something about those shiny brass rails and neat little trains that drew me in.

Jim

When my wife and I went down to the Grand Concourse get our marriage license in 1985, we stumbled upon a variety store which had an extensive train department. Much of the stock was very expensive European equipment. The store was right on the Concourse and, for the life of me, I can't remember the name of it. I was shocked to find a store with such an extensive selection of equipment in that neighborhood by that late date. I meant to go back but never did.

Bob

If you mean White Plains and Allerton under the 2 train, it is mostly bodegas, spanish restaurants and a couple of dollar store like things, the only good news is very few empty stores, but most of them are typical inner city kinds of stores with a bank or two. 

The only other hobby store I remember was a place over on Broadway in Riverdale, Brown's Hobby or Brown's hardware (I don't recall)....

I think the place you're talking about was a block or two north of the 242nd Street terminal. When I started dating my wife in '83, she lived on 238th Street. There was still an advertisement for the hobby store on the side of the building but it was long gone by that time.

Bob   

Brown's Hobby Center is the name I recall, a block or two North of the 242nd St. IRT station.  I got a lot of model plane stuff there in the fifties.  Dad and I used to take the Broadway Local (now the 1 train) from 157th street (four blocks from where we lived) but don't remember seeing much of model trains there.  A lot of model plane guys flew in the huge meadow at Van Cortlandt park across the street from Brown's.

Pete

Honig's had 2 locations.....the other was on Webster Ave.....

Peter

Speaking of the NYW&B.....in the South Bronx the line parallels the New Haven. Here are some pics of the Westchester Avenue station. Both the NH and the NYW&B shared this station (the NH ran passenger service on the river line until the early 30s).

This station can be seen from the Sheridan Expy and from Amtrak.....but you have to look quick. It is in danger of disintegration if something isn't done for it soon.

Peter

That's also the number 6 train pulling in or out of the Whitlock Avenue station.

Peter

Jim,

There  was a great pickle store on the east side of Jerome Ave. south of  170th  St. Do you remember it?

I would sit by my bedroom window and work on my trains On the sill. While doing that I would watch the trains go by. I could see the el from Yankee Stadium up till the south end of 167th St. station with the exception of the Polo Grounds Shuttle there wer LO-V's running 24 hours a day. Occasionally a work train came by. In 1957 when the ramp opened into Concourse yard all that changed. Everything went by. My window then. I was able to tell the type of cars by sound while laying in bed. On fond memory was in January or February when it was real cold they would send a full train of cars with flat wheels to Concourse barn to the wheel trying machine. This was usually done about 3:00 AM. The noise was so loud as the steel was so cold that the glass in the windows would rattle. It woke up everyone in the apartment houses.  Then the shuttle would make it up the ramp and find the signal Red because the tower man was asleep and the switch was set for Jerome trains. Then the Motorman started blowing his whistle. He would wake up everyone in that area except the  Towerman. If I needed supplies I would go downstairs get on the train, go down  to 42nd St. Walk up to 45 th St. Get my stuff and get back home and be sitting back at my window in about 25 Minutes. I used my school train pass so the trips were free

That all ended when I left for the Air Force in 1959. When I returned nothing was ever the same again.

Also some of the guy have mentioned Hoenigs. (Hope I spelled it correctly)I recall that there was a company with that name that supplied delivery bikes to stores all over the Bronx. The were tricycles with a large basket in front. I worked for a fruit store on River Ave. & McClellan St. It was horrible trying to get up the hills with a load. The worst was delivering an order on Shakespere Ave. Hoenigs main building was located on Park Ave on the bridge over the Railroad on the west side around 170th St. If I am not mistaken.

Hope I did not bore you guys,

Nate

Nate,

I'm not sure about that pickle store, but we did practically all our shopping in the 170th St area. We lived on College Ave between 169th and 170th. The deli just below Elsmere Hall had a great pickle vat too!

Even though we were closer to the Concourse D train, we'd take the Jerome El just to ride the Lo-Vs with their neat vestibules. I wished I lived closer to the El, but had a friend who lived on 3rd Ave at Claremont Parkway. I'd watch and listen to the 3rd Ave El all night when I stayed over.

Played ball in the fields just below the Polo Grounds shuttle, walked to Yankee Stadium, and had the New Haven and NYC electrics to watch along Park Ave and at Mott Haven.

It was a great area of the Bronx to grow up in.

Jim

Nate,

  Good story about the Towerman sleeping! Don't think that would last too long if that happened in the present day.

Jim,

  Was it easy back then to walk from the Polo Grounds to Yankee Stadium and vice versa?

  Tom

Thanks to all who contributed to this posting....   I just bumped into it....  Brought back an awful lot of memories.   My dad who passed away last summer, always used to tell me about the Polo Grounds and the center field that never ended...  I never got to actually see it, I was born the year it was being torn down.  His parent's last apartment was up o the Concourse about 3 to 4 blocks from the old Yankee Stadium.  Needless to say my dad was an unbelievable baseball guy who took me in to the Bronx every weekend to play ball up at Van Cortland Park and he started taking me to Yankee stadium probably around 1962, 1963...   Anyway, it was great to read through this posting and see all great old photos.    I love the forum, thanks to all for sharing.   

Tom,

It was very easy to walk to and fro between the two ballparks. When  the stadium was crowded and the parking lots were full at the Yankee stadium you would be able to park at the Polo Grounds parking lot and walk over to Yankee Stadium. If you wanted to you could take the Polo Grounds shuttle to 167th St. Go downstairs to the downtown side and take a Jerome line to 161st. St. Then on your way out pick up a free transfer to the IND subway and when the game was over use the transfer to go to 155th St. Station and get off at the parking lot at the Polo Grounds and get your car.

Nate

As kids we had a lot of freedom, but we were discouraged from walking into that part of Manhattan on our own to get to a ball game.  Plus, it was a chance to ride the shuttle or the subway to the Polo Grounds.

Toward the end, the shuttle became a little confusing as they went to one train operation, and it would sometimes pick up on the northbound side at 167th instead of the southbound platform as before. Even the guy in the token booth had no idea sometimes. Some days we'd give up and take the IRT the one stop to 161st and transfer to the D to get to 155th.

We were a National League family so my father always preferred a trip to the Polo Grounds over one to the Stadium. OK, I'll admit - we were Dodger fans despite living about 10 blocks from the Stadium....made for a tough childhood in many ways (except for that one day in 1955!!!).

But, I did get to see some Giant - Dodger games in the Polo Grounds during the mid 1950s....an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. It was an amazing rivalry with some incredible fans on both sides.

It was only after they deserted the city in '58 that we became regulars at the Stadium by default.

But, speaking of hobby shops, once I became "mobile on my own" by way of subways, it wasn't worth walking or taking buses around the Bronx for train supplies when a 30 min. subway ride would get me down to the Model RR Equipment Corp. on W 45th where they had it all.

Jim

Peter found this great picture of the CNJ Freight House. I was wondering about that Ruppert sign in the left of the picture, which I then figured out had to do with Ruppert Beer, another beer once manufactured here which has since disappeared from the New York City. I found this on Wikipedia:

 Haffen Brewery, later J&M Haffen Brewing Company, and incorporaterd as Haffen Brewing Company in 1900,^[1] operated in Bronx, New York from 1856 until 1917. Owned by Matthias Haffen, (1814 - 1891),^[1] who came to the United States From Bavaria in 1831, it was a "landmark" on old Melrose Avenue between 151st Street and 152nd Street.^[2][3] The Haffen Building, a seven-story Beaux-Arts architecture style office building by architect Michael J. Garvin was built for him in 1901 to 1902.

The brewery business was sold to Jacob Ruppert, Sr. (1842–1915) in 1914 for $700,000. Ruppert died soon after and left the business to Jacob Ruppert, Jr. The plan was to close the brewery down and develop the property; it was in a rapidly growing area known as The Hub, Bronx.

There is another picture that shows a slightly different angle of the freight house and brewery.

Then as a  bonus, if you are interested in some other breweries I found this: http://munchies.vice.com/artic...-new-yorks-breweries

Tom

Breweries are one of my other hobbies  I have a ton of memorabilia from closed New York and New Jersey breweries

My father should have been appointed an honorary stockholder in Schaefer.

   Tom

Rheingold, is the, one beer to have, when you're having , more than, one!

I believe that was Schaefer is the one beer to have when your having more than one !

Schaefer flavor doesn't fade after your thirst is won ?