Sub-series 8.6: New York and Queens Railway Company, 1895 - 1939
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
- 1895 - 1939
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 8.6 contains 307 images primarily from 1929-1937. Images depict cars in operation, as well as the Woodside Car Barn, accidents, and work cars. The New York and Queens Railway Company was formed in 1922 upon the consolidation of the New York and Queens County Railways and the Steinway Railway. It ran through Long Island City, Woodside, Flushing, College Point, and Jamaica with a separate route going to Calvary Cemetery in Queens. The company had a car barn in Woodside, which burned down on June 24, 1930. Most of its cars were destroyed, except for 12 new ones which the company had just bought from New York State’s Auburn and Syracuse Railway. To replace the lost cars, the Company bought retired trolley cars from defunct companies. While business rebounded somewhat, it found another foe in the New York City government, which sought to build an automotive expressway along its route. By August 1937, the New York and Queens Railway Company relented and started trading in its trolleys for new buses.
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Reading Room Repository