Ari Bousbib trolley photographs
Scope and Contents
The Ari Bousbib Trolley Photograph Collection comprises 4 binders containing 1,715 mostly black-and-white prints, some in color, depicting revenue and work cars operative in Brooklyn and Queens from 1875 to 1991, with most items dating from 1900 to 1950. Images show trolleys in service on streets, at yards, and occasionally suffering damages or accidents. Most images are dated, and many present handwritten captions on the reverse denoting car specifications, locations, and photographers. Employees and passengers, while by no means the focus of the collection, may be observed in approximately one-quarter of the images. The collection also includes ephemeral material including color postcards, color prints, brochures, and some press releases and announcements documenting the preservation and restoration of certain cars at transit museums in the northeast region.
Among the photographers whose names appear in the collection are Edward B. Watson, E.P. Doyle, H.L. Goldsmith, Jr., G.B. Olsen, Tony Kozla, Alfred Seidel, W. Nesmond, and Steve Meyer.
The collection is divided into 4 series in function of subject matter:
Series 1: Revenue Cars, 1893-1991 (1369 images)
Series 2: Work Cars, 1885-1958 (260 images)
Series 3: Yards, Tracks & Elevated Structures, 1889-1958 (50 images)
Series 4: Early Railroads & Stock, 1875-1924 (36 images)
Dates
- 1875 - 1991
- Majority of material found within 1899 - 1958
Creator
- Bousbib, Ari (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions do not apply.
Biographical / Historical
The Brooklyn City Railroad (BCRR) inaugurated the trolley era in Brooklyn on July 3, 1854, when the first horsecar ran from Fulton Ferry to the coach stable at Marcy Avenue. Founded on December 17, 1853, BCRR initiated operations with four horsecar lines: the Myrtle Avenue Line, the Fulton Street Line, the Greenwood Line (later Court Street), and the City Line.
Horsepower was replaced by more sophisticated electrified modes in 1887, and in 1890, Coney Island & Brooklyn Railroad (CI&B) opened the borough’s first fully electrified route, powered by the Thomas-Houston Electric System. BCRR ushered in electricity on its 65th Street–Bay Ridge Avenue line (at that time known as the Second Avenue Line), and by 1895 nearly all routes had converted to electric power.
In 1893, Long Island Traction bought out BCRR and arranged for its operation by the Brooklyn Heights Railroad (BHRR) through a 999-year lease. Since BCRR had already taken over seven smaller operators, the BHRR system now included 27 total lines. The next year, Long Island Traction increased its domain, purchasing the Brooklyn Queens & Suburban Railroad (BCQ&SRR). Two years later, in 1895, it was forced to reorganize; thus was born the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT).
BRT added to its network in 1899 with the acquisition of Nassau Electric Railroad (NERR), which itself had eaten up five smaller companies. Later BRT buyouts included the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad (BUERR), Brooklyn & Rockaway Beach Railroad (B&RBRR) and the Coney Island & Brooklyn Railroad (CI&BRR).
By the turn of the century, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT) system was in full swing, operating a total of 122 surface and elevated lines throughout the borough, and providing service also into nearby Queens, as well as express, freight, and mail services. The company thrived in the early 20th century until less than two decades in, the Malbone Street wreck of November 1, 1918 destroyed the company, taking the lives of 97 passengers and the trust of the public. This disaster, coupled with the economic conditions brought on by US involvement in World War I, led to the company entering receivership, and reemerging in 1923 as the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), an entity whose heavy investment in underground rapid transit service was then at the forefront, in the wake of the Dual Contracts era.
To streamline surface operations, BMT formed the Brooklyn & Queens Transit Corp. (B&QT) in 1929, finally dissolving the smaller operators like BCRR which had operated independently since their initial takeover. Motorbus operations were introduced shortly thereafter, substantially spurred by municipal politicians of the era who saw trolley modes as old-fashioned and ineffective.
After system unification in 1940, whereby the city acquired BMT and its rival IRT, integrating them into its own IND system, streetcar operations were gradually phased out. By 1956, they had been supplanted totally by motorbus services under the control of the city’s Board of Transportation (BOT). Nostalgic trolley dodgers and avid rail fans have endeavored to preserve certain models at museums in the region, restoring them to their glory years and making them available for public enjoyment and education.
Extent
1.3 Linear Feet (1715 items within 4 binders)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Mostly black-and-white and some color photographs of various sizes depicting revenue and work trolley cars used by New York City streetcar companies in the early-to-mid 20th century, as well as a sparse selection of ephemera deriving from the preservation of certain cars.
System of Arrangement
The collection has been arranged in its original order, with minor adjustments effected to distinguish between identical trolley fleet numbers produced under different series. Therefore, folders are arranged in the order of fleet enumeration, repeating duplicate numerical ranges wherever cars were reconfigured and reissued, listed chronologically by the date of their manufacture. Whereas the collection had previously interleaved cars in numerical order without distinguishing between iterations, the present order has isolated each re-issue in deference to the overt physical changes made to the cars’ physical structure during sequential reconfigurations.
Within each folder, images are presented by and large chronologically, with frequent exceptions to provide for the most efficient utilization of materials and square footage, and to allow for unobstructed visibility of descriptive or authorship information wherever it appears on the verso.
The collection inventory includes numerous abbreviations in order to accommodate comprehensive but concise descriptions of the materials pictured. Please see appendices for details on the notations used in the inventory.
Other Finding Aids
PDF URL
Provenance
Donated by Ari and Hélène Bousbib in December 2018.
List of Acronyms
AAR Atlantic Avenue Railroad
BCRR Brooklyn City Railroad
BHRR Brooklyn Heights Railroad
BOT Board of Transportation
BMT Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit
BRT Brooklyn Rapid Transit
B&QT Brooklyn & Queens Transit
BQC&S(RR) Brooklyn Queens County & Suburban Railroad
BT(RR) Bush Terminal Railroad
CI&B(RR) Coney Island & Brooklyn Railroad
CI&G(RR) Coney Island & Gravesend Railroad
DT Double-truck
NERR Nassau Electric Railroad
PCC Presidents’ Conference Committee
PW Peter Witt
SBRy South Brooklyn Railway
ST Single-truck
Stnwy Steinway Lines
TDC(o.) Transit Development Corporation
WD Window
Appendix
Car Descriptions
The notation describing car types is expressed by the following formula:
ST- or DT- prefix + number + -WD or -Bench suffix
wherein:
ST- indicates single-truck composition
DT- indicates double-truck composition
number indicates the quantity of visible instances of the suffix
-WD stands for window and indicates that cars were fitted with unremovable window panes
-Bench indicates that cars were built without windows, leaving bench seating in plain sight
For example: DT-8-WD is a double-truck car with 8 windows.
The additional suffixes -Conv and -SemiC, indicating Convertible or Semi-convertible, respectively, are described below, as well as car types whose titles diverge from this formula.
Convertible
Convertible cars were designed to obviate the window/bench binary by allowing cars to assume either bench or window composition, as climate required. Side panels could be fitted with windows for winter service, and removed to leave bare bars during the summer months. Conversion made for more onerous maintenance and storage operations, but enhanced passenger safety.
Semi-Convertible
Semi-convertibles had a bit less fungibility than full-on convertibles, in that the windows removed were sashes, leaving the lower sides intact in summer months.
Single-End Cars
Single-end cars were equipped with turnstiles, deck roofs, and featured front entrances, with the conductor stationed in the center of the car to increase passenger flow. Some had electric “next car” signs on front side panel, and can be identified by the “pay as you enter” signage appearing on the front end. Also known as “Pass-i-Meter” cars.
Birney Safety Cars
Birney cars debuted in 1915, featuring interlocking emergency-stop features designed by Stone & Webster engineer Charles O. Birney. These one-man cars were equipped with safety mechanisms that prevented the car from moving until the front door was completely closed, and the fold-down steps fully retracted; an early iteration of the “deadman” control prevented the car from proceeding if pressure was suddenly released from the control handle. The operation of Birneys prompted the slogan “A Car in Sight at all Times.” Their light weight, however, caused frequent derailments.
PW Safety Cars
The Peter Witt car design was introduced by Cleveland Railway Commissioner Peter Witt in the 1920s. Operable as one-man or two-man cars, these models featured center exit-only folding doors and allowed passengers to pay the conductor either upon boarding or just before exiting, reducing trolley time and improving schedule efficiency. Many were later converted into “Pay as You Pass” cars.
PCC Cars
Presidents’ Conference Committee cars developed at Atlantic City by a body comprised of the heads of various traction companies and known as the Electric Railway Presidents Conference Committee (ERPCC). This advanced design included innovative mechanic features like foot pedals for braking and propulsion, virtually inaudible acceleration, and imperceptible friction. Art deco aesthetic was enhanced by silver exterior paint schemes and gold numbers, and stylistic touches like awnings over the front and back windows. They were also known as “Streamlined” cars.
- Atlantic Avenue Railroad Company
- Black-and-white photographs
- Brooklyn City Rail Road Company
- Brooklyn Heights Railroad
- Brooklyn Manhattan Transit Company
- Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company
- Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation
- Color photographs
- J. G. Brill Company
- John Stephenson Company
- Laconia Car Company
- Nassau Electric Railroad Company
- New York (N.Y.) Board of Transportation
- Pullman Car Company
- Railroad Museums
- St. Louis Car Company
- Street railroads
- Street railroads--Cars
- Street-railroads--Design and construction
- Street-railroads--Equipment and supplies
- Trolley cars
- Watson, Edward B.
- Title
- Finding aid for the Ari Bousbib trolley photographs
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Emily Toder
- Date
- 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Revision Statements
- 2022: Edited and reformatted by Elise Winks
- 2023: Manually entered into ArchivesSpace by Joanna Satalof
Repository Details
Part of the Archives and Reading Room Repository