The Bowery, NYC, Elevated Railroad, 1897

I collected this image of a stereoview in 2002, but didn't keep a trail as to its source. It can stand on its own. Click = bigger.

The Elevated Railway and Civic Beauty

In February of 1907, Ernest C. Moses, in an article of that title in the monthly magazine THE WORLD TODAY, claimed that the new elevated railroad system in Berlin was "The most artistic and most thoroughly constructed roadway of its kind in the world to-day." I scanned the article a few years ago, and have now taken the time to clean up the scans of the half-tone photos that were printed to illustrate the text. The captions of the photos do a good job of summarizing the points the author was making.

Here are the pictures: from Berlin, from Chicago, and a two-page spread (combined back into one by the magic of Photoshop) from New York. If you're desperate to read the text, and can't find it on Google or the Internet Archive of the Hathi Trust, send a note and I'll see if I can put it online somewhere. As always, click to see a bigger version.

Trolley Diner

Sui generis example from Falmouth, Kentucky, in a photo postcard. Click to big.

From a recent listing for sale by

Balloon Route Excursion, Los Angeles, 1907

eBay seller had this booklet for sale last year, and his listing showed lots of the pages (not much rail hardware, sorry). If I'd been on the ball I'd have posted it then. Click for slightly larger versions.

C&NW 40th St. Yard, Chicago, 1942

Another one from the Library of Congress set of color transparencies. As always, click for a larger version.

Source data, from their Flickr stream (lots more images of different kinds, at the Library of Congress website!):

"Locomotives lined up for coal, sand and water at the coaling station in the 40th Street yard of the C & NW RR., Chicago, Ill. Jack Delano, photographer. December, 1942."

Boston Public Library and Boylston Street Car 1896

From an article in the January, 1896 issue of SCRIBNERS MAGAZINE:




Click to see full-size version of the picture. Click here to see the full article, "The New building of the Boston Public Library."

Train in Desolation, Tennessee, 1939

"A train bringing copper ore out of the mines, Ducktown, Tenn. Fumes from smelting copper for sulfuric acid have destroyed all vegetation and eroded the land (LOC)"

Wolcott, Marion Post,, 1910-1990, photographer. September 1939"


From the LoC Flickr set of color photos, "1930s-40s in color".

Click to see larger version. I have photoshopped this shot for level adjustment to display better on computer monitors.