Friday, July 8, 2011

Manhattan Beach Railway

Wouldn't it be nice to head out to the Manhattan Beach Hotel for a nice cool dip in the Atlantic? According to this website on Coney Island's history, the hotel, designed by J. Pickering Putnam,  was opened in 1877. Austin Corbin, who founded the resort and built the hotel, also built the railroad to bring people out from Manhattan.  Today's post is a train schedule, not a postcard. Note the hot-air balloon between 'Manhattan' and 'Beach'.


The train would take you out to Manhattan Beach in less than an hour for the price of 25 cents. Here's the route map.


According to Bob Anderson, this schedule was printed just a few years after the hotel opened. Here's what he has to say:

I think the timetable is from 1879. There are a couple of clues: Only the Third Ave. El (opened 1878) and not the Second Ave. El (1880) is shown on Manhattan Island on the map. The timetable says the line is now doubled-tracked over its entire length, which was completed after the 1878 season. And the Kings County Central branch, which ran in 1878 only, is not shown.  By the way, at this time the entire MB Ry. was a narrow gauged line (3’). It was not converted to standard gauge (4’ 8.5”) until 1882.

Bob Anderson runs the Long Island Rail Road History website, where you can find just about anything you would want to know about the New York and Manhattan Beach Railway.  According to Anderson, the Manhattan Beach Hotel was razed in 1907.


If you disembark at the Sepia Saturday stop  this weekend, you can see all sort of other interesting photos, some of which may relate to trains.
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22 comments:

  1. LynetteJuly 8, 2011 at 6:19 AM

    Fantastic post today. I always like looking at this sort because I enjoy seeing resorts of yesteryear. The hotel seems like a resort to me, and the trip there must have seemed like an excursion.

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  2. Cappuccinoandartjournal.blogspot.comJuly 8, 2011 at 7:43 AM

    Fascinating! (looks a lot like the old boardwalk in Santa Cruz, CA today). Bet it was great fun to visit back in the (hot) day.

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  3. dakotabooJuly 8, 2011 at 9:08 AM

    Love these old train maps. You've reminded me that I have several of these in old guide books which perhaps I could have used in my post ... maybe another time.

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  4. Bob ScotneyJuly 8, 2011 at 2:10 PM

    It's the beach that fascinated me. Where the people so regimented that they came down to the beach in such lines.

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  5. PostcardyJuly 8, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    I wish it were still possible to get on a train in the city and visit a nearby resort.

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  6. Postcard RoundupJuly 8, 2011 at 3:35 PM

    That map is just awesome!

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  7. HowardJuly 8, 2011 at 5:22 PM

    Amazing! this really does not fit in with my mental picture of Manhattan.

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  8. Christine H.July 8, 2011 at 8:51 PM

    I should clarify that Manhattan Beach is not in Manhattan; it's on Coney Island (which is now a peninsula, not an island - thanks to landfill.) Back in the mid 1800s, it used to be a half-day trip from Manhattan, but by the turn of the century it was reduced to about an hour.

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  9. Archie TechtJuly 8, 2011 at 9:02 PM

    I agree with Bob, the people look like ants leaving the hotel! Not sure I would stay at the hotel or any of the other buildings in the scene though, as it appears to me that they could be washed away at any minute by a few rogue waves...

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  10. white rabbitJuly 9, 2011 at 3:26 AM

    I just found this site via Tiony. Quality. I link!

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  11. white rabbitJuly 9, 2011 at 3:27 AM

    Tony that was. Always edit.

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  12. Alan BurnettJuly 9, 2011 at 3:36 AM

    Fascinating. I have just finished reading "New York" by Edward Rutherfurd and the railway is mentioned in at least one chapter. I didn't get chance to explore this part of New York during my short stay ... but high on my list for when I return.

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  13. UnknownJuly 9, 2011 at 5:41 AM

    Great post. I love the really old photos and then if you were to look at today it is just mystical . Kind of spooky to me. Why I don't know.
    QMM

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  14. Sheila @ A Postcard a DayJuly 9, 2011 at 9:15 AM

    I love that top picture with the streams of people coming from the hotel doorways down to the beach. In their best clothes of course. Then miraculously they must jump into the water and their clothes are transformed into bathing costumes.

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  15. NancyJuly 9, 2011 at 1:31 PM

    Other posts show 1942-era train stations, and you've taken us back many more years and to another location. I try to imagine what the people were wearing and carrying who travelled on the train from NYC to Manhattan Beach. I wonder if they travelled heavier than we do today. Thanks for sharing, Christine.

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  16. AnonymousJuly 9, 2011 at 4:47 PM

    Real interesting post. Funny how some big structures had such a short lifespan, while others are still standing. Thirty years seems like a short time unless there was a fire involved.

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  17. Mike BrubakerJuly 10, 2011 at 7:28 AM

    Wonderful history and ephemera. I like the hook in the timetable for "see the immense Paris Balloon". You can just see the tether line in the postcard. For this time, going up in a balloon must have been a thrill.

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  18. Christine WallaceJuly 10, 2011 at 8:27 AM

    Hi Christine,
    All of the extra research you do for your postcards is quite amazing!!! I applaud you for that detail and thank you it makes them that much more interesting. Have a great week!

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  19. Martin LowerJuly 11, 2011 at 3:16 AM

    I'd love to take a ride in a hot air balloon! Nearest I've managed so far, is a glider. Enjoyed this post, I cannot believe that anything similar was available in the UK at the time.

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  20. PatJuly 11, 2011 at 11:27 AM

    The map, the beach, the train ride, so many fun ideas here with this very informative post.

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  21. Karen S.July 11, 2011 at 9:25 PM

    Yes it would be fun, I agree! Two of my favorite words, Manhattan and Beach! Thanks for your post!

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  22. Little NellJuly 14, 2011 at 5:45 AM

    That looks like a very crowded beach ...as you would expect!

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