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EXTENSIVE VINTAGE TROLLEY & STREETCAR PHOTOGRAPH ARCHIVE450+ Photographs | NJ, NY, PA & Beyond | 1910s–1970s
Offered for sale is an extensive historical collection of American trolley, streetcar, interurban railway and urban transit photography, assembled and documented over many decades.
The collection contains 450+ counted photographs across three principal groups: a large brown binder, a blue binder and additional loose album pages. Also included are selected supplementary trolley photographs, historical correspondence, newspaper clippings, maps, transit publications and related research material.
Numerous photographs are accompanied by carefully prepared typewritten or handwritten captions identifying railway companies, car numbers, locations, dates, routes and historical events.
NEW JERSEY — PUBLIC SERVICE RAILWAY & HISTORIC TROLLEY SYSTEMS
Extensive coverage of Newark City Subway, Public Service Railway, Public Service Coordinated Transport, Jersey City, Newark, Hoboken, Orange, East Orange, Union City, Passaic, Palisades, Edgewater and surrounding communities.
Highlights include historic Broad Street scenes in Newark, Bergenline Avenue in Union City, Palisade Station in Jersey City Heights, Hudson River Line operations, Hoboken Elevated, railway yards, maintenance equipment, early electric streetcars and PCC cars.
Some photographs and captions document operations dating to the 1910s, including early Westinghouse equipment, as well as final services and historic transit changes in later decades.
PENNSYLVANIA — RED ARROW, LEHIGH VALLEY TRANSIT & PHILADELPHIA
Substantial coverage of Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, Philadelphia & Western Railway, Norristown High Speed Line, Red Arrow Lines, Lehigh Valley Transit Company, Liberty Bell Route and Philadelphia-area trolley operations.
Includes an extensive sequence of color photographs dated December 28, 1965, documenting operations around Radnor, Villanova, Gulph Cut, Bryn Mawr and the Schuylkill River bridge. Additional photographs depict Liberty Liner equipment, historic stations, interurban cars, bridges and rights-of-way.
NEW YORK & OTHER NORTH AMERICAN SYSTEMS
Additional photographs and documentation include Queensborough Bridge Railway, Brooklyn Rapid Transit, Union Railway of the Bronx, Connecticut Company, Shore Line Trolley Museum, New Bedford Union Street Railway, Baltimore Transit, Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee, Montreal Tramways and other historic systems.
Subjects include passenger cars, PCC streetcars, work equipment, snowplows, crane cars, stations, terminals, bridges, elevated structures and historic urban streetscapes.
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION & EPHEMERA
The archive includes extensive typewritten and handwritten historical identification notes, dated captions, railway equipment information, maps, route documentation, newspaper clippings, transit publications and historical correspondence.
Supplementary material includes Garden State Trolley Pictures by Stephen D. Maguire, with New York State supplement, and correspondence associated with William C. Smith of Royersford, Pennsylvania, accompanied by trolley photographs and handwritten historical identifications.
Also included are SEPTA Safety Sense publications from 1979, transit newspaper articles, historical route information and other related material.
PHOTOGRAPHS & HISTORICAL PERIOD
457 photographs have been counted in the three principal album groups alone. Additional selected photographic material and historical ephemera accompany the collection. Newspaper clippings, maps and printed illustrations are not included in the 457-photograph count.
The subjects depicted span approximately the 1910s through the 1970s, with a particularly substantial concentration in the 1930s–1960s.
The collection contains photographic prints and historical reproductions of varying ages. The date a scene was photographed may differ from the date a particular print was produced. Individual photographic processes and printing dates have not been independently authenticated.
CONDITION
This is an accumulated historical photographic archive showing varying degrees of age and handling wear. Photographs, album pages, captions, publications and paper ephemera may exhibit toning, fading, discoloration, creases, edge wear, curling or other age-related imperfections.
Please examine the photographs carefully for the contents, organization and condition. The entire collection is offered together in its existing condition.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS — FULL COLLECTION GALLERY
Extensive additional photographs are provided below. Click any image to view it at its hosted size.
A SUBSTANTIAL HISTORICAL ELECTRIC RAILWAY ARCHIVE
This collection offers an extensive body of photographic and documentary material relating to the history of American electric railways, streetcars, interurbans and urban transportation.
Its particular appeal lies in the combination of hundreds of photographs, detailed historical identifications, original correspondence and supporting research material documenting transportation systems and operations that have largely disappeared.
Sold together as one complete three-part collection with the selected supplementary materials shown and described.
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