Sub-series 6.4: Motor Buses by Model Number, 1940 - 1959
Scope and Contents
The Harvey Mordetsky Collection comprises approximately 5,000 photographs of street railway and trolley lines operative in the New York metropolitan area, including Long Island and Staten Island, as well as other areas of the United States, and select foreign locations. Approximately 1,700 35-mm color slides showing trolley lines in Canada, Europe, and the United States is an additional feature of the collection. Footage of these same services is additionally captured in a series of moving image artifacts. Non-photographic materials include 282 BMT and NYCT trolley and bus transfers, trolley and transit periodicals, and personal effects/memorabilia belonging to Mordetsky.
Dates
- 1940 - 1959
Creator
- Mordetsky, Harvey (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Extent
From the Series: 2.1 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Series Outline
Series 6: Photographs of Brooklyn Trolleys and Early Motor Buses
- 6.1: Trolleys by Line
- 6.2: Trolleys by Model/Car Number
- 6.3: PCC Trolleys and Trolley Coaches
- 6.4: Motor Buses by Model Number
- 6.5: Work Cars
- 6.6: Horsecars and Other Early Cars by Company
- 6.7: Trolley Yards and Depots
Series Description
Sub-series 6.4 contains images of the rubber-tired vehicles that replaced the trolleys in the 1940s and early 1950s. Mayor LaGuardia blocked the B&QT from buying additional PCC cars, determined to replace streetcars with “clean” buses. Photos in this series show buses on streets where trolley tracks are very prominent, a vestige of the infrastructure that bus service replaced. Many photos show bus number and route number, with vehicles in operation, and being serviced in garages. Most of the images are not labelled. Some, however, are labelled “ACF,” indicating the manufacturer American Car Foundry-Brill. Others are clearly GMs, recognizable by their two parallel aluminum bands across the front with a square insignia in the middle. Other models were manufactured by Twin Coach of Kent, Ohio, and may be identified by their signature open grillwork in the front, as well as a protruding windshield and dual rear windows. Also shown are Macks, generally indicated by an oval bulldog insignia or a pentagon-shaped insignia in the middle of the front of the bus. Most buses during this period were marked “New York City Transit System.” Further information on early motor buses in Brooklyn is available in James Clifford Greller’s New York City Transit System Bus & Trolley Coach Fleet, 1946-1958 (undated), available in the Archives’ reference collection.
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Reading Room Repository