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1920s Boston Elevated Railway Train Wreck Forest Hills MA Glass Negative OOAK
Original antique gelatin silver glass plate camera negative taken by Boston Herald-Traveler staff photographer Leslie Jones, capturing a heart-stopping derailment on the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) at the Forest Hills Elevated Terminal in Jamaica Plain, Boston.
Preserved directly within the historic press morgue of the Boston Herald-Traveler, this striking elevated perspective documents a steel rapid transit car teetering precariously over the edge of the high elevated structure, miraculously suspended above the ground below.
The Original Morgue Sleeve Inscription:
Accompanied by the original vintage pale green linen newspaper darkroom filing sleeve inscribed in period newsroom script:
Historical & Visual Content:
The Hanging Rapid Transit Car: A heavy riveted steel Boston Elevated Railway passenger coach sits jackknifed and tilted at a steep 45-degree angle off the rails, its trucks displaced and its underbody caught on the structural steel girders of the elevated mainline.
The Structural Engineering: Framed from an adjacent track catwalk, the exposure reveals the immense riveted plate girders, arched supporting bents, pipe railings, and massive track timbers that formed the landmark elevated line running above Washington Street.
Recovery & Clearance Rigging: Heavy wire rope cables and pulley tackle from Boston Elevated recovery wrecking cranes are visible strung taut across the composition to stabilize the dangling coach and prevent it from plummeting into the street or streetcar concourse below.
Urban Context: Forest Hills Station served as the grand southern terminal of Boston\'s Main Line Elevated (predecessor to the modern MBTA Orange Line), where hundreds of daily trains transferred commuters to surface streetcars and the Arborway.
Specifications:
Format: Antique silver gelatin glass plate original camera negative.
Dimensions: Standard 4 x 5 inches.
Archive Ephemera Included: Accompanied by the original vintage pale green linen darkroom filing sleeve.
Please Note: This listing is for the single (1) physical antique glass plate negative and its original inscribed filing envelope only. Any positive photographic images shown in this listing are modern inverted digital scans provided solely as a visual reference to demonstrate how the negative prints. No physical paper photograph, modern print, or reproduction print is included.
Condition:Very Good antique condition. The heavy glass plate is complete, flat, and structurally sound with no cracks, fractures, or perimeter chips. The gelatin silver emulsion is remarkably sharp and clear, capturing intense clarity across the riveted steel plates, window frames, cables, and distant street-level stonework. Expected honest newsroom handling wear is confined strictly to the outermost clear rebate margins. Accompanied by its original inscribed newsroom sleeve.
The glass plate negative measures 4 x 5In.
If you collect glass negatives, please check out our collection in our store. We are currently listing thousands of original glass photo negatives from this DJD collection through the remainder of the year. Follow our store, and feel free to reach out about any questions about the negatives in this collection.
Ships with extreme care in archival materials to ensure safe transit. Feel free to reach out with any requests or questions).
Combined shipping is available (with other glass negatives)
