Sub-series 8.5: New York and Long Island Traction Company, 1903 - 1926
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
- 1903 - 1926
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 8.5 contains 46 images. This Company ran from Jamaica to myriad destinations in Nassau County, including the Belmont Race Track, Elmont, Bellerose, Creedmore, Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Mineola, Garden City, Hempstead, Freeport, Lynbrook, Valley Stream, Baldwin, Oceanside, Rosedale, and Rockville Center. Interestingly, this company used two trolley wires, one wire for each direction the trolley went. The Long Island Rail Road and Interborough Rapid Transit Company invested in the entity, considering it a valuable feeder of ridership to their own operations. However, those two players eventually withdrew their financial support and the company declared bankruptcy in February of 1924. By April of 1926, all its services were discontinued. See Series 2008.16.1.5 for a map of this company’s routes. These photos are divided into three folders with no set order, however, the third folder contains photos of trolley accidents.
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Reading Room Repository