Sub-series 8.1: Long Island Electric and Jamaica Central, 1924 - 1935
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
- 1924 - 1935
Creator
- Mordetsky, Harvey (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Extent
From the Series: 0.7 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Series Outline
Series 8: Photographs of Long Island and Queens Trolleys
- 8.1: Long Island Electric and Jamaica Central
- 8.2: Manhattan and Queens Traction Co.
- 8.3: Nassau County Companies
- 8.4: New York and North Shore Traction Co.
- 8.5: New York and Long Island Traction Co.
- 8.6: New York and Queens Railway Co.
- 8.7: Ocean Electric Railway Co.
- 8.8: Suffolk County Companies
- 8.9: Steinway Trolley Lines
Series Description
Sub-series 8.1 contains 46 images of revenue and work cars shown in passenger service and at the Woodside trolley barn. The Long Island Electric Railway was incorporated March 4, 1894 and made most of its money carrying beachgoers to and from the Rockaways in the summer months. The company had financial problems, however, because it served an area that was growing and needed to have roads straightened and paved—a cost in which the company shared. The low 5-cent fare required by the City of New York was also a burden, and by the mid-1920s, the company was in serious financial distress. Chase Manhattan Bank, the company’s principal underwriter, assumed its debt, cut Nassau County service, and reorganized it as Jamaica Central Railways in 1926. That entity would turn out to be short-lived, however, because in 1933, owing to actions on the part of the City of New York, the trolley lines were replaced by motor buses operated by Jamaica Central’s subsidiary Jamaica Buses, Inc. This subseries is primarily comprised of images from Jamaica Central Railways in service and at the Woodside Surface Car House. See Series 2008.16.1.5 for a map of this company’s routes.
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Reading Room Repository