Old New York

Pretty much any beer is good when having more than one!

More great pics everyone.

-Greg

Schaefer is the one beer to have when your having more than one. Schaefer pleasure doesn't fade even when your thirst is done.

My beer is rheingold the dry beer. Ask for rheingold wherever you buy beer

OOPS!

My beer is Reingold the dry beer. 

Think of Reingold whenever you by beer.

Its not bitter not sweet.

Extra dry flavor's Neat.

Won't you try extra dry Reingold beer?

 

Remember Mel Allan?

Broadcasting the Yankee games he would say,

Make the three ring sign and ask the man for Ballentine.

 

How about Bert and Harry Piel?

 

Cheers,

Nate

 

 

Baseball & Ballantine!

Pitchers and catchers report in a few weeks!

 

Peter

Where I learned about beer as a kid!

 

Ebbets Field:

 

 

Polo Grounds in different eras:

 

 

 

Yankee Stadium: (One of the most famous scoreboard photos )

 

Jim

Jim

 

great post

 

i had forgotten knicherbocher

 

one of the best overall threads I have seen

 

thanks all for the wonderful memories

 

what a great hobby we have

 

j

Great photos.

I remember Mel Allen pouring an ice cold bottle of Ballantine Ale into a pilsner glass on live TV while broadcasting Yankee games. No wonder he was slurring his words by the 7th inning.  

I never heard of Ballantine

 

bluelineC4,

Where did you get all of the Ballantine trucks?  You have a really impressive fleet!

Ben,

Mel Allen would be proud of you. Nice job!

Nate

 

Let's not forget:

 

Great pics!

 

Peter

Wow what a lot of memories.....it is amazing how many breweries there once were in the NYC area, how many beers were brewed here. It is funny, today we have the 'craft beer' movement, but many of the beers we are mentioning were still made the way they were back in Europe. My maternal great grandfather was from Germany and he worked for Schaefer here in NY (timeframe would be late 19th century I would guess, my grandfather was born in 1880 I believe), and both my mother's parents worked for schaefer, it is where they met around 1920 or so. Rheingold was still the beer of the NY Mets when I was a kid, I hear it may be making something of a comeback (though like a lot of once great beers, like Schaeffer, I suspect it was bought by a bulk bottler like Heillman, and will be swill). 

 

Miss Rheingold was interesting. A friend of my father where he worked had a sister who had been Miss Rheingold, she ended up married to the guy who founder Peterson publishing (Hot Rod magazine among others). 

 

And since we were speaking of the Polo grounds and the subway, had to bring up another piece of family history. My mother and father were dating in 1951, both lived in the Bronx and used to take the subway downtown together each day. On the day of the Dodger-Giants playoff, they dared each other from the time they got on the subway to play hooky and go to the game....and that is what they did, called in 'sick', got tickets (different era!), and were there for Thompson's famous shot heard around the world (my mom was ecstatic, since she was a Giants fan, my dad just smiled, figuring the Yankees were gonna win another one (I was the one of those sad children, brought up in a house divided, my dad grew up in the Bronx (used to sneak into Yankee stadium as a kid during the depression), my mom was a Giants fan

 

 

Who did you root for bigkid ? Now and Then.

    When I was a kid I asked my mother for a Yankee hat like the other kids had on the block. She smacked me and said my uncle(a Brooklyn Dodger fan) would kill me if he heard that. From that day on I was a Met fan for life.

  When I worked at Sperry Gyroscope I would hear all the stories of the Polo grounds and Ebbetts field from the WW2 guys.

  I loved those stories and this thread brings them back to life.

Kind of a weird one, I am one of those people who is sort of dual allegiance. I was born after the Dodgers and Giants moved to the west coast, so through my mom I was a Mets fan but with my dad a Yankees fan, kind of hard not to pick that up, too. I would describe myself as more a Mets fan (why, I don't know, I must love self abuse, it is why I do software testing for a living *lol*),but I also still follow the Yankees somewhat . On the other hand to her dying day my mom said rooting for the Yankees was like rooting for the phone company *lol*.  

Funny story how I became a Yankee fan  !963 Bordens milk had coupons on milk containers  Collect 10 coupons and you got a free ticket to Shea to see the mets.  We scoured the neighborhood garbage cans and collected coupons  Went to 42 Met games that year with Mom who was die hard Dodger fan who became Met fan after the dodgers left.  Wouldn't you know the Mets lost 41 of those 42 games.  I said how can I like this team they suck.  Yankee fan ever since

Ben

 

The Borden offer goes back to the Brooklyn Dodgers days at Ebbets field. The coupons wee on milk containers and other Bordens dairy products such as the ice cream containers. I remember going to Ebbets field a few times on these tickets .

 

I can also remember the mets from those early shea days. When I was a Manhattan College student, a bunch of us cut classes and went to the first Met Home game ever . We got in General admission along the 1st base line and we were up at second row from the top. Mets played the Pirates that day. They lost 8-2 and Willie Stargell hit the first homerun ever at Shea stadium.

 

A couple of years later they were still pretty bad. In 1966, my brother had a pair of tickets for a Cardinal Game on a Saturday night. It was about the 6th inning and Mets were ahead about 8-1 . It was a cold evening So my Brother and I decided to head on home and finish the game on TV. Jack Hamilton had just come on to relieve for the mets. WE kived in Middle Village which was nearby and only a 10 minute car ride . By the time we got home, the Cardinals were leading 9-8 and it was still the same inning we left in. Oh those mets. 

I became a Yankee fan in 1954 when I was kid growing up in Brooklyn. My dad was a Dodger fan and my Uncle Jim was a Yankee fan.  In October, my mom went to the A&S department store on Fulton Street in Brooklyn to buy me a Dodger Jacket for my 7th birthday.  Turns out they didn't have my size in a Dodger jacket but did have it in a Yankee jacket.  Mom, being Mom, didn't know the first thing about baseball but wanted to make sure I had a jacket that fit properly so she purchased the Yankee jacket.  You can imagine my dad's surprise when he came home from work that day and saw me wearing the Yankee jacket.  He laughed, took me by the hand, and we walked the two blocks to Uncle Jim's.  When we arrived at my uncle's apartment dad said to him, "look what you did to my son".  They both laughed and made that birthday something that I will never forget.  From that day on I was a Yankee fan.

 

 

 

A "Ballantine Blast" ......

 

 

Strolling on a Sunday afternoon

 

 

Cant't get away from that Rheingold beer

 

 

Imagine having these fans today  There would be all kinds of signs to keep your head away from the blades  Those tubular things are heaters

 

 

Ninth ave and 66th street

 

 

New Utrect ave construction

 

View from the Flatiron building at 23 st

 

 

1980's New York  Big changes since then

 

 

 

Great pictures, Ben. How dramatic the change between the last two. My question; what is it that the two gentlemen have their feet resting upon in this image?

 

This picture was originally posted by Jim Policastro.  It is really interesting and historic.  The shot is the final score, with the lineup of the Yanks and Dodgers, immediately after Don Larson's no hit victory over the Dodgers on October 8, 1956.

Ben,

The photo is a promotion by the IRT co. Introducing the experimental " noiseless and ventilated " cars being tried out. The LO-V cars were equipped with blower motor ventilated fans enclosed in squirrel cages as seen mounted in the roof. They also had rubber mats in the vestibules covering the steel diamond plate floors. The storm doors were modified with rubber end panels similar to the side doors. The gentleman in the center wearing the white suit is the infamous Frank Hedley. He was in charge of the operation of the IRT. There was a 10 car train refered to as the "Blower Cars". The experiment was a failure and the blowers and the mats were removed. The rubber storm door modification were left in place and the cars finished theit days in that configuration. As far as the question about what the men have their feet on covering the heaters i do not know. My guess is either a buffer to contain the noise coming from under the car through the heater vents or a foot rest. Certainly if used in the winter they would prevent heat from entering the car and would have to be removed in the winter. (not practical)  So, your guess is as good as mine.

 

 

Richie

The lineups shown was the starting lineup for both teams . For the dodgers, i recognize the numbers....Junior Gilliam at 2nd base, Pewee Reese at shortstop,Duke snider in centerfield, Jackie Robinson at 3rd base, Gil Hodges at 1st Base, Sandy Amoros in Left Field, Carl Furillo in Right field, Roy Campanella catching. Sal "the barber"  Maglie pitched a 5 hitter for the Dodgers. It was not good enough on that day.  Mantle " The Mick" gave the Yankees the only run needed. The last batter for the Dodgers was Dale Mitchell pinch hitting for Maglie. Larsen caught Mitchell for a third strike to end the game. It is the one perfect game in World Series history. 

 

Campanella was a Lionel guy having a train layout in his home.

 

I'll let a Yankee Fan fill us in on the Yankee Lineup

Richard. I meant to say " The first Met Home game ever at Shea Stadium" I still remember that day. 

The Yankee lineup that day was:

Bauer rf, Collins 1b, Mantle cf, Berra c, Slaughter lf, Martin 2b, McDougald ss, Carey 3b, Larsen p.

 

Fascinating, Nate. Thanks for the response.

Richard. I was recalling the early days at Shea.  I meant to say " The first Met Home game ever at Shea Stadium" I still remember that day. 

All the talk about baseball, in the 60's we would go to a Ranger Hockey game at the old garden (50th and 8th) and get nosebleed seats for $0.50. Round trip subway from Brooklyn, $.30, plus admission and a $.25 Coke, watching professional Hockey for $1.05 on a Friday night. I went to a Dallas Stars game last night, discount seat (they stink this year)

$35, Train from Bedford (on the Fort Worth side) $2.50, beer $8.00. Yes, the Stars lost.

 

Worked on my layout today and wished I could afford a good subway set. No school buses to High School, just the old GG line.

What school in Brooklyn, did you get off the GG at Fulton?

 

Richie

Sitting in the relay on a g train at church Ave right now.  The g line has changed drastically since I went to high school in the early 70"s. Hipsters have taken it over

Clinton-Washington stop from Nassau Ave. I grew up in Greenpoint.

 

More on the Westchester Ave station of the NYW&B.

 

This is a pic I copied from Ben some time ago looking at the 6 crossing the Bronx River over Westchester Avenue.  The view is from the Whitlock Avenue station

 

 

 

 

The next is an overhead from Google Maps......along the river the abandoned Transit Ready Mix concrete plant has been turned into a park.

 

 

 

 

The station is the building whose roof has the words "Westchester Ave" on top. The area to the right (east) is Concrete Plant Park which borders the river.

 

Peter

I went to Chelsea Voc High School  in lower Manhattan from 1957 to 1960. I would take the "E" or "F" train from Queens Plaza  to Spring St then walk a few blocks to school. The subway ride was great, especially in the morning when the trains were packed. I remember it well. I now have 7 sets of MTH subway cars. I love them all.

So you get to play with 1:1 scale trains and get paid to do it.

Isn't that the best thing ever!!!

Love that catalog , Bob!

 

Peter

For many years, a feature of Railroad Model Craftsman magazine was the "Collector Consist" column authored by Mr. Keith Wills. I always looked forward to his column as he discussed many different items in a variety of scales, some of which were quite unique and rare. One article in particular sticks in my mind. It told the story of the trip made by him and his Dad to sample the city's numerous railroading delights at Christmas time. It was published in the December 1983 issue. Evidently, it was a popular piece as RMC has seen fit to post it on its website to be enjoyed again. Here's the link:

 

http://rrmodelcraftsman.com/ex...cm_extra_dec1983.php

 

"For the Love of Trains".....I can't think of a more appropriate title for that article.

 

Enjoy,

Bob  

Bob,

 Nice article. Never saw that one before. Thanks for sharing it.

 

Tom

Bob.....thank you....that was a great article!

 

Peter

Thanks, Bob.

 

I remember that article when it was published. It pretty much described my annual Christmas trips with my father, too, with the exception that we traveled from the Bronx instead of LI.

 

I always looked forward to Keith's collector articles in RMC.

 

Jim

I, too, really enjoyed the article.  I lived in Queens Village for 36 years, not far from "Belleaire" station on the LIRR.

 

Richie

They had a 1:24 Slot car track on the upper floor that I used with my friends back in the 60's. I don't think there was a charge, bring your own cars and run them. Since they were so diverse, there wasn't a whole lot of O gauge stuff. Madison Hardware, 9 blocks south was the place to go for trains.

I don't know any of the area these pics are from. BUT, they are great.   I love the pics of the old trams, trolleys etc.  Keep them coming.

This is slightly amusing to me, because I "grew up" on 161st & Broadway and my buddy lived down the block on Ft. Washington Avenue.  We walked to many Giants and Mets games at the Polo Grounds without ever being hassled.  Walked across the bridge to Yankee Stadium too, lots of times, no problem.  To this day we still "discuss" the relative merits of Mantle vs. Mays, and Gilbert vs. Lionel. 

 

Pete

Pete,

 

I don't know what it was about Manhattan, but my parents gave me pretty much free rein to go where I wanted in the Bronx. But, I couldn't cross that river!!!

 

I'm sure Washington Heights and the Coogan's Bluff area were much friendlier places than some of the south Bronx neighborhoods I wandered through on a regular basis!

 

Jim

 

Jim,
As a kid we would ride our bikes from 167th St. Near Jerome Ave. Up the Edward L Grant Highway ( Boscobel Ave.) Across the (Martha) Washington Bridge to the George Washington Bridge to Rt 9 in Jersey. Then up to where you could ride down the Palisades on a winding road without pedaling at all to the bottom at the waters edge. Then cross the Hudson River on the Yonkers Ferry to Yonkers. The go South back to the Bronx and home. That took up most of the day.Life was good!
Nate

Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 12, 2015, at 12:06 PM, O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum <alerts@hoop.la> wrote:
>

Nate......that sounds like a real blast!

 

Peter

Nate,

 

Those were great days!

 

I should have crossed the river(s) more often!

 

Jim

Nate - You're freakin' me out here!  One of my favorite rides after I got my Peugeot ten speed (in my twenties during a temporary bounce back to the parents') was to cross the GW bridge and go down those switchbacks to Palisades Interstate Park, it was called, along the Hudson.  A great spot to watch the trains on the Hudson line across the river.  The Yonkers ferry was long gone by then but I'd keep pedaling North, making my way up the North end switchbacks to Route 9W, and from there go visit pals in Tappan and gals in Piermont.  Return trip usually was through Jersey on the West side of the Palisades.

 

Jim - The only place in New Yawk City that ever gave me pause about being there was East New York, in Brooklyn, at the New Lots Avenue station.  Had a guitar player lived out there and boy were my nerves wracked when we walked from the train to his dad's apartment in the projects.  Interestingly, Bernard is a waaaay better musician than I and does a lot of recording production and playing on records of various rap artists.  He tells me some of those guys ain't so easy to collect from.

 

Pete

These pictures are from Broad channel when the Long Island Railroad operated the line   This is now the A train to Far Rock and Rock park.

 

The most rewarding flavor in this man's world, for people who are having fun...

 

 

 

 

This is one of my all time favorite pics  Combines railroading and Ballantine beer.  That's the Jersey Central mainline in Newark ( Sounds something like New York)

 

Ben:

 

You probably know this already but the CNJ operated a fleet of cars in service for Ballantine. Pictured below is an HO model.

 

Bob 

 

Hi Bob

Yes I did know that Atlas did that car in their early O scale stuff in the 1980's

 

This is the Third ave car barn and on the opposite side it was the power house with the second ave el in front.

 

 

I love this thread! The architecture, and the use of steel and cast iron was amazing. I am always awe struck when visiting New York. The simplest things such as support beams in most buildings were so artfully embellished. If the construction industry was the same today as it was even thirty years ago, I would have considered staying in the masonry field. Simplistic styles and heavy and ugly building materials caused me to lose interest and physical ability to continue.

Don

Anthony.  Is that Cranford junction

Yes Ben Cranford Jct with the SIRT making his drop offs and pick ups. Here are a few more shots I came across. 

Does anyone know what the building is on the top left of the photo?  Looks like the sign says N.D.C.O

Judging by the cars and gas pumps, looks like it is part of a gas station. There is another sign. "Sunoco," to the extremely left. I think you have NOCO and the other letters are missing!

 Tom

Sunoco gas station. New drop lane. 

Thanks, didn't realize that S and U were missing from the SUNOCO sign.

M.D.,

  Still it is a nice picture. You have what looks like a crossing shanty/ gate house (see the nice stop sign). There is a signal on the pole. In the distance there is some sort of coaling facility.

 

Tom

Bob, 

   Looks like the studio for radio station WINS is upstairs in one of your photos. WINS still exists today. My father listened to it all the time.

 

Tom

1010 WINS RADIO...

 

 

 

 

 

Great History lesson - I have lived in NJ for over 50 year and learned more about the Tri-State Breweries reading these posts. So much for the Micro Brewery. Where is Rolling Rock? I know that is PA but............

Rolling Rock is brewed in Newark NJ now .....  Anheuser-Busch 

So much for brewed using the clear,rolling waters of latrobe,pa...
On Feb 15, 2015 7:52 PM, "O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum" <alerts@hoop.la>
wrote:

WINS Radio You tugged a string in my heart!

 

Ahh yes,

Now that we did all the beer commercial songs and sayings lets go to the Radio. Who can ever forget WINS Radio. Rock & Roll, teenage girls, Allan Freed, Jack Lacy, Murray the K. The Brooklyn Fox Theater, street corner singing, candy stores, juke boxes, 45 rpm records, portable radios and reel to reel tape recorders. How about guys singing in the subway trying to get the echo. The there was station number 2. WMGM with the curly headed kid in the 3rd row. WINS top competition. The whole thing is a blast from the past. Happy times indeed.

 

Listen to Lacy the man with the style.

The next time you won't have to guess.

Just set your dial to 1010 a while. To W- I- N -S

 

WMCA GOOD GUYS too...

 

 

So lets take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry before the WTC and the Verrazano Bridge. The ferry trip cost a nickel then. Its a better bargain today as it is free of charge. In this film, the boats carried aitomobiles . Only road routes wjere the three New Jersey Bridges. From Brooklyn and Manhattan it was by boat. Lots of Harbor traffic in this video . Also a couple of Ocean Liners including the SS France.

 

The Boat we are on is of the Mary Murray Class, There were three, Mary Murray, Gold Star Mother and Miss New Tork , Also in operation on the run where some twin stackers, perhaps Tompkinsville, Dongan Hills or Father Knickerbocker. Enjoy the ride.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja_KeCi9BPI

very cool video! As a young lad, my family and I would drive to long Island each summer for our vacation at our grandparents' home in Long Beach. We watched the progress of the Verrazano bridge. I don't remember how long it took, I just remember marveling at its massiveness. At the time, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Don

Only to find out later that some of it was just dumped like garbage in the Meadowlands.

It certainly is grand, but they put the real beauty underground, and not open to public view.

Don

The photos show the 3rd Ave el station at Grand Central. This was the original terminal of the El.
Later it became a shuttle from the el to GC. There were usually 2 cars assigned there. A motor car and a control trailer. The photo of the single car in the station is the laid up trailer. The white paper signs in the windows of the cars are the notice of the discontinuance of service of the spur.



Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 21, 2015, at 6:17 PM, O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum <alerts@hoop.la> wrote:
>

Wow, great shots. These should be compiled into a book or calendar

It was a remarkable achievement in that the complete terminal project was constructed while everyday railroad operations were maintained. In the middle off the project, electrification was introduced on regular scheduled trains on both the New York Central and the New Haven . Bens next to last photo shows you the scale of the excavation operation two place the tracks on two levels below grade. This photo was relatively early in the construction. Note the steam locomotives on the right hand side of the photo. Its before 1907.

Fantastic shots of GCT!

 

Thanks!

 

Peter

The clock inside the terminal, valued at about $30,000,000.00, is probably more then the cost of construction of the entire terminal. 

Don

Don

The original construction cost was almost 80 million dollars then  They estimate that constructing the same thing today would cost about 10 billion

I ran across a New York Times article  a few years ago that originally ran on Feb. 5, 1909 that was entitled, "Six Ground to Death on Central's Tracks." The article went on to tell the story of a track gang that was hit by an electric locomotive pulling its dirt train. I think from the date it would be likely that the dirt could easily have been excavated from the Grand Central Terminal construction. The foreman of the track gang, who lived in Yonkers, claimed that he never heard any bell or whistle. The quiet operation of the electric locomotive on a solid roadbed was mentioned as a possible factor for the accident. The engineer was held for homicide.

The article also goes on to talk about the track crew as being made up of all Italians. The police are mentioned as saying how unusual it was that the track workers actually went back to work surprisingly fast because they are usually "unfitted" for work once one of their own is killed.

Being Italian myself I thought that was a bit harsh, but I guess that was what people thought back then.

Similiar to that...I mentioned elsewhere that Fred Arone ran the Depot Attic railroadianna store in Dobbs Ferry. Fred worked as an Investigator for the New York Central and was proud that his father was one of the first Italian station agents for the Central, on the Putnam Division at Ardsley. If I recall correctly, a picture of Fred's father is at the back of the Dan Gallo book, The Putnam Division.

 

Tom

Trains Magazine has a great article on the work being done today and they reference that purchasing the land alone for what they are doing is going to be $10B, not to mention the money they have already spent. 

 

Excellent article - suggest you all buy it or download it.

 

Kevin

Here's something different I came across.

 

The train looks like a Union Pacific streamliner, but the location is the New York Central mainline in the south Bronx near 149 St.

 

Maybe before or after an appearance at the 1939 New York World's Fair???

 

 

And here's a photo of the monorail system that once ran in Pelham Bay Park in the City Island area in the Bronx.

 

Jim

http://www.1939nyworldsfair.co...zone-6/railroads.htm

 

Great website on the railroads at 1939 World's Fair.

Was talking to a friend of mine about the original South Brooklyn Railway   He believed it ran from Ave I on Mcdonald to Coney Island  It did run well past Ave I to Ditmas where it curved under the original Culver line tracks ( Later the Culver shuttle ) to the 9th ave station and 38 st yard continuing on to second ave for its connection with the Bush Terminal RR   The tracks can be seen below these Culver shuttle pics

 

 

 

This pic is the Culver line before the IND extension was completed  You can see the portal in the background leading to Church ave.

Long Island RR Bay Ridge branch

 

 

 

Great photos of Bay Ridge yd . The first and last phot show the yd under construction. These are quite early and you can make out the trolleys up on the el structure. El passengers would transfer yo the trolley to go further south in Bay Ridge. You can also make out on the right the right of way for the original manhattan and Sea Beach steam railroad before the 4th Ave. subway . 

 

The second photo dates to the early days of electrification. The original freight line over the Helgate bridge was not electrified until 1928. Those BB3's look prettying new.  Check out the street level to the right. That is a Peter Witt 8000 series car in the red and cream B&QT colors. 

 

The 4th photo has a LIRR camelback on the work train. Wonder if it was one of the three the PRR sent over . Looks like the LIRR didn't like them either.

 

Photo 5 is modern in the 1960's and is at Fremont tower in fresh pond on the LIRR. We se the ex Virginians on a train heading too the carfloats. For the first 10 k

years of service on this line, New Haven trains were steam powered usually by a mikado class locomotive. LIRR switched the float bridges with steam as well.  

 

Dont know about the wreck. Thinking it was up in Middle Village area. When I lived over there,there was always a lot of noise from the railroad at fresh pond. And I recall talk of a wreck in those days. 

 

 

Larry

That derailment occurred in 1966  Two mischievous boys threw a switch and caused the train to hit an abutment  It was a couple of blocks away from Brooklyn College

 I have been looking for a copy of a Ballantine Ale radio commercial which sang "who is the aleman?,  Who can he be?" It was from the late '60's or early '70's. If any one knows of this I would love to find a copy.

Shocked that the switch was not locked/

Bob

 

The van Nest shops were acquired by Con Edison. They use it as a machine shop for generation plant equipment. I believe it stil may be used for that purpose. When I was there back in the late 80's early 90's there no vestiges of. The railroad visible in the building.

Near the Van Ness shops, along Tremont Avenue, across from Parchester, was a small New Haven yard, group of team tracks.....every December I would go with my family there and buy Christmas trees off of a boxcar. The cars usually had Christmas lights strung up on 2X4s and a roaring fire in a 55 gallon drum. The yard was gone by the mid 60s and replaced by the Bronx DMV.

 

Peter

On occasion New York Westchester and Back cars were serviced at Van Ness shop for Heavy repairs and modifications. New Haven equipment was loaned to the NYW&B at that time To make service.

The connection between the Dyre ave line and the NH at 174th St. remained well into the 60's. It was used for new car deliveries, coal and ballast hoppers and BMT el cars from Brooklyn for scrapping. Many cars were scrapped at the site between the  Colosium bus garage and the 174th St. Bridge along the Bronx River.

Great pictures and history lesson. Someone needs to document this in a digital book

This thread is so large, not sure if this has been included yet, but I stumbled upon this collection of "oldest video of NYC" which I thought you'd all like.

 

Best...Rich

Cool Video   Lots of Erie stuff on the West side of manhattan   And I never knew the NY Aquarium was originally in Battery Park

Very cool video,

When I was a young boy growing up in NYC, my grand father and father took me to FAO Schwarz and Madison Hardware regularly. Always a treat. Santa also left some really nice items that I still have. 

Some Freight

 

 

Nice photos.

Don

In the photo with the Erie Boxcab, does it look like the auto the autos and flatbed truck have their headlights blacked out? Hard to tell for sure. If it is, then it would date the picture as being during WWII, from Dec. 1941 to 1945.

 Tom 

Bob,

  Great photos...I noticed what looks like some sort of double poling pocket on each corner of the pilot, I guess to give the crew more options (dangerous as they may be), depending on the angle/position of cars on adjacent tracks. Never noticed that on any other locomotive before.

  Tom

 

great photos. wonderful history here.

Does any one make  a steeplecab, like this?

Over the years, there have been a number of steeplecab electrics offered in brass and/or kit form. I don't believe anything specific for the 4001 has been introduced. A steeplecab is in the ETS line but it is a model of a different prototype and utilizes tinplate construction. I've included pictures of a few of the available options below. The ETS locomotive is in the third picture.

 

Bob

 

SOmething to add to my York list!!  Thanks Bob

Bob I remember getting stuck on West street while the Pennsy moved cars across the street to the floats  Car floats always amazed me.

 

BTW  I have one of those ETS boxcabs   Cool little engine that runs pretty good.

Some Jay Street Connecting RR. Located in Brooklyn between the Brooklun Bridge and Manhattan Bridge and to the North .Operated from around 1900 to 1959.  They had two yards and two float locations. The two yards were connected by street trackage .Two steam tank engines were used until 1931. There were a variety of small locomotives used over the years including Jay street No 4 which was thought to be the first diesel locomotive built by GE in 1918. Iy only lasted a short time on the Jay street line, being returned to GE in 1919. Iy looked a lot ike that ETS engine except no pantographs. The Jay st  Connecting had two tigs for floating operations. The John McCormack was thought to be the largest RR Tug operated in NY harbor in Float service. 

 

 No 3 doing some street running

 

 

 No 4 Posing when new

 

 

 No 300 an Alco  box cab

 

 

 No 5 an Alco- GE HH600

 

 

 Np 7511  a Vukcan product

 

 The John McCormack underway in NY Upper bay. She was very colorful

 

 

 The John McCornack working a car float

 

I remember as a boy in the 1950s, seeing the car floats going up and down the East River, under the Williamsburg Bridge.

 

Richie

Rich

 

We could have been neighbors in those days. I lived on S Second street.

I lived at 253 Rutledge, between Marcy and Harrison Aves.  I used to walk up to the Hewes St. station and travel into Union Square(changed at Canal St. for uptown Bway local), pretty bold for an 8 year old.

 

Richie

Hi Richie

 

See you liked he BMT . Standards running in the 1950s. I made the same trip at times. Would get on at Marcy Ave and change at Canal but would take the express trans from Canal up to Union Square or Herald Square. Sometimes we would walk up  to North 7th street and take the Canarsie to Union Square . The Multi's ran in those days. At Union Square you could take the Broadway Local up to 28th street and walk back to Lionel at 26th street and American Flyer at 25th street.

 

I can remember riding the trolley car across the Williamsburg Bridge to get to Manhattan and Delancey street . The Trolley fare was normally 5 cents but you could board the trolley on the Bridge at Bedford Ave and ride to Delancey for a mere 2 cents . When Buses replaced the trolleys on the Bridge, this service from Bedford ave was eliminated.

I don't think anybody mentioned this already...do people remember Bob Diamond who used to give underground subway tours in Brooklyn and thought there was an abandoned steam locomotive buried down there??? If yes, anyone actually take one of the tours?

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/new...dy-article-1.1227820

 

Tom  

Bob Diamond was certainly a character.  I took the tour of the Atlantic ave tunnel before the locomotive was "found"  ( Still don't think any was found ) It was basically like walking in a sewer.  Nothing spectacular.   Mr Diamond had a plan to reinstitute trolley service in the Red Hook and Boerum hill neighborhoods  He had a number of PCC cars ready to go but the city shot it down

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/...ed_hook_trolleys.php

https://www.facebook.com/photo...635718751&type=1

This is a facebook link, there is one picture. I'm not able to copy the image.

Don

It worked this time.

Don

Here is one from the nytimes paper this weekend. The car jumped the tracks in Brooklyn at Nostrand and Putnam in 1931. They are digitizing old police photos.

I found this one of the Ninth Ave El in Manhattan from September 11, 1905 which resulted in 13 deaths.

 

Tom

Here is another from the paper. The 1955 Pennsylvania Station bombing. Linked to the "Mad Bomber".
I'd never heard of a bombing at Penn Station.

http://unclelew.tripod.com/id9.html

Eight foot law explained.

More on the Eight Foot Law from the NY Supreme Court, Bronx County, relating to vehicles:

 

…This gave rise to the so-called “eight-foot” law applicable to street-cars and which might at the same time have equally been made applicable to other public conveyances.

   The following is from the prevailing opinion…178 App. Div…Second Department, 1917, after the enactment of the eight-foot law.

   The plaintiff left the sidewalk with the intention of boarding a trolley car which had stopped for the purpose of taking on passengers and when within eight feet of the car was run down by the defendant’s automobile. The defendant’s car was in that place in violation of an ordinance of the City of New York and the question is whether under these circumstances, the plaintiff exercised due care in guarding against injury from the defendant’s car entering the prohibited zone. The ordinance forbidding vehicles to move within eight feet of a trolley car standing for the purpose of receiving or discharging passengers, was enacted for the very purpose of preventing such accidents as the one under consideration.

  The question came up whether the injured party should have been more careful…The plaintiff relied on the assurance of safety in the eight feet zone which the law gave, and that reliance is not negligence as matter of law.”  

 

Tom

 

This looks surprisingly similar.

This picture is of the St Johns building  This was the southern terminus of the High Line.  After the High Line was abandoned Merrill Lynch purchased this building.  It was used solely for computer operations  The second floor was entirely a computer room that housed six mainframe computers, 31 large laser printers and a gaggle of disk drives and tape drives.  The raised floor was 4 feet high to accommodate all the bus and tag cables.   Funny thing was that the railroad tracks were still under that floor.  I worked in that building for about a year while I was with IBM. 

Ben,

 

You need to write a book. All the items you know about the history of the NYC Subway system is amazing.

 

K

Before there was an A train to Far Rock or Rock Pk

 

 

The Rockaway line was considered by the LIRR an important operation. When the railroad began its electrification program, this Branch was the first to be electrified in 1905. Electric trains operated from The Flatbush Ave terminal in Brooklyn ro Woodhaven Junction and then South through Ozone Park across Jamaica Bay to the wye at Hammels dividing to go either east to Far Rockaway or West to Rockaway park or Beach 116th street. In the summer, this was the beach resort to be at . There was also a connection north of Woodhaven Junction to the Railroads Montauk Branch. Eventually a line was constructed North to the present LIRR main to join at Rego Park. The LIRR was a six track main in this area.

 

The railroad operated a round robin type of service between Penn station , Flatbush Avenue and the Rockaways. Some trains went via Jamaica, Valley Stream  and the present Far Rockaway LIRR Branch while others operated over the Jamaica Bay trestle. At Ozone park, there were very long platforms and there was a "Change at Ozone Park"  ritual depending on which which Rockaway you were going to . a Brooklyn Train would arrive followed by a New York Train on the same platform. Passengers could change from one train to the other. The same procedure was on the Northbound side as well when heading to Flatbush ave or Pennsylvania station.

 

Before the electrification, the LIRR built a connection to the BRT's Jamaica Elevated near Cleveland street in East New York. The LIRR could access the Broadway Ferry for passengers to cross the East  River . BRT trains used the connection as well to reach the Rockaways. When the Williamsburg Bridge opened at the  BRT extended accross the Bridge the electric LIRR trains also crossed the Bridge to arrive at Essex Street in Manjattan in 1908. The line and service was quickly extended South to Chambers Street and City Hall area . This was LIRR's first access to Manhattan and it preceded the Pennsylvania station route. For those of you who are familiar with the platform layout at Chambers street, there is a center platform between the center tracks which connect to the lay up tail spur. That Platform was used by the LIRR in those days. The service lated until 1917. There were trolleys operated to the Rockaways over these lines as well.

 

The city had long been interested in acquiring the LIRR's Rockaway line as an extension of the city's rapid transit system. Trestle Fires were a common problem plaguing the LIRR and the 1951 fire did it in. The LIRR continued operations on the line to Hamilton Beach and to Rockaway Park via Far Rockaway. This lasted to 1954-55 when the route was acquired for the extension of the 8th avenue subway line. The LIRR continued to serve Far Rockaway from Brooklyn and Penn station as it does today . Service was continued to Ozone Park until the early 1960s . The Right of way owned by New York City remains and is unused. The first 8th avenue trains started service in 1956 and it was a shuttle service from Euclid Avenue. A second fare was collected making this line a two fare line at the time.

 

I can remember riding the LIRR to the Rockaways when I was a kid. Rockaway Playland was a great attraction and remained so after the subway took over.  

Live Steamer and Everyone! Here's my website on the Rockaway Line: http://www.trainsarefun.com/li...arrockawaybranch.htm

 

I was lucky to catch the French Connection tonight and then found some details as to where it was filmed...

Here are some of the details on the subway/car chase footage:

 

"He requisitions a passing car and begins the movie’s famous chase sequence atBay 50th Street Station. The car chase filmed (over five weeks) beneath theBensonhurst Elevated Railway – 26 blocks (count ’em) of Brooklyn’s Stillwell Linefrom Bay 50th Street Station along Stillwell Avenue, into 86th Street and finally right into New Utrecht Avenue, ending at 62nd Street Station..."

 

Details from:

http://www.movie-locations.com...nn.html#.VRyoyJDD9Dt

 

Tom

Wow!!!   Great stuff

This picture is dated 1921.

I hope it follows the content of this picture perfect thread?

 

 

Thank for the cool pics and videos...Everyone

 

K.C.

KC,
I love the roach coach on the lower right!  Who knew that they were around in 1908.

Heres another shot of the same building a little further back  That's the sixth ave el on the right with Forney steam engines.  Not too many people know why they call it Herald Square!!

 

The New York Herald and the New York Times were arch rivals in the Newspaper business in New York around the turn of the century. The Herald was at 34th street and the times at 42nd street. So the intersects with Broadway which runs sort of on a diagonal in Manhattan and the avenues 6th and 7th aves at 34th street  and 42nd street respectively were named after the newspapers whose locations were at those squares. These two newspapers were among the most influential corporations in New York City at the time.

 

The Herald was owned by the Bennett family . The also owned the Telegram and in later years would acquire the NY Sun and Joseph Pulitzer.s NY World . Two well known newspapers evolved from this combination, the Herald Tribune and the World Telegram and Sun. 

 

Note in the photp there are no automobiles to speak but horse drawn cabs and plenty of streetcars. Thinking the Streetcars were electrically powered . The 5th Ave El had to be converted to electric power shortly after this photo was taken. 

Here is another shot of Herald Square with its namesake building and a little store most have heard of

 

 

interesting. Still little traffic on Broadway. Busses have replaced the streetcars.

I can't really tell the year, I am assuming this might be late 30's or so. It shows how much cars are a post WWII phenomenon, that it took a while before you would see the heavy vehicle traffic in the city. 

OK.  What the heck are these?  Steam cars?

 

 

These are hansom electric taxicabs.  They hit the streets of New York City around 1900. At the time, Manhattan’s  streets and avenues were largely overrun by horse-drawn carriages. These new, small, electric cabs  were able to easily maneuver around corners and squeeze in between the carriages.

 

 

Ben,

 

You are a walking / talking / google machine. Great shot and information

The street cars on Broadway were operated by the Metropolitan Street Railway, a predecessor of the Fifth Avenue Coach Company. The service goes back into the civil war era operating as Horse cars. In the 1889's , it was converted to a cable car operation and electrified in the early 1900's , about 10 years later. The line was acquired by the NY Omnibus company which was affiliated with the 5th ave Coach company. In 1936, the company replaced the streetcars with buses.

 

Iinterestingly, this companys competitor Third Ave Railway system chose to build a new fleet of street cars which it operated on its routes in manhattan. By the end of the second world war, these new streetcars were being sent to European cities to replace cars destroyed during the war.

 

The two photos we have seen posted so far show the company at an interesting time in its history. Most likely, the earlier photo showing the streetcar operation dates from when the cars were electrified using the original cable car conduit in the street for a power source.. The later photo is probably about 1937 as the 6th ave. el is still in operation in the photo.

 

Here is one more photo at this location with its focus on the streetcar line. We see lady shoppers of the day getting on the car, most likely to head to a residence down toward Gramercy Park and Washington Square. Mote the mother with child in arms getting ready to board. There is a conductor in the view and he was likely helping with the ladies getting on the car. And its likely a spring or early summer day in New York City.