Mt. Lowe Railway, California

Just looking at this gives me vertigo.

You may remember Mt. Lowe from a previous post on Echo Mountain that showed a horse-drawn tram on a rather steep incline. You can read all about the Mt. Lowe Railway here. This card shows the upper part of the railway, above the Mt. Lowe Incline on the way to the Alpine Tavern.

The railway was plagued with problems, and there's little trace of it anymore, but it must have been a fun trip for people who lived close enough to Pasadena to take the ride. Here's a card showing the Great Incline and the funicular that transported passengers up Echo Mountain.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order. The first one was written on September 1, 1930 and mentions crossing 18 bridges besides this circular bridge.

Tram Tuesday - Binghamton, New York

I just discovered this glass negative in a box that belonged to my father-in-law. Some of the other glass negatives scanned better than this one did, but it's still nice to have a close up like this. The sign on the front of this car says The Depots. To see the previous Streetcar Sunday post for Binghamton, click here.

Here are a few more glass negative scans from the same box. The first one is a train wreck on the Delaware and Hudson line, but I'm not sure where or when. Was it near Binghamton?

The third negative shows a train depot somewhere, likely in upstate New York, but again I'm not sure where. There are numerous No Smoking signs and a sign that seems to indicate the door to a women's restroom. There's also a funny chalkboard sign near the clock that specifies how slow or fast the clock is, but nowhere is there a sign that tells us where we are. There is a dog ( a boxer?) sitting on one of the benches on the left, potted plants, and radiators in the middle of the room to warm the space.

Here's a closer view of the dog, the clock, and the door.

Train Disaster at Wellington

This doesn't look like a train disaster card, does it? It's a perfect example of a relatively plain card with a very poignant message. It hardly matters what's on the front. I was looking for cards to post for St. Patrick's Day when I came upon this one. The news is not very cheerful, so I thought I'd post it on a day other than the holiday.

Grace sent this card from Seattle to Miss Sara Clark in Dexter, New York on March 10, 1910.
The message reads:

Dear friend, - You had all better come west here to live. Although we have had a very bad winter. Suppose you have read of that awful avalanche on the Great Northern. It seems terrible here, for we are so close. They are bringing many of the bodies here. Love to all,

Grace.

It reminded me of the tragic Washington avalanche this last weekend that killed three skiers at Stevens Pass. The 1910 avalanche was also near Stevens Pass, but was much more severe and much deadlier. It swept away two Northern Pacific trains and claimed the lives of 96 victims. You can read more about the disaster at HistoryLink. You may also want to look at the Wellington Avalanche website.

Afterwards, the small railroad town of Wellington changed its name to Tye (after the Tye river) because of the negative association with the disaster. Tye became a ghost town after the second Cascade tunnel was opened in 1929.

Here's a photo of the aftermath of the avalanche, with blanket-wrapped bodies being prepared for transport. The photo is courtesy of Paul Dorpat, a historian who writes for the Seattle Times Sunday Magazine and has a superb website.

Source

Snowdon Railway

Every now and then when I'm reading other blogs I'm inspired to dig up a related card from my collection. In this case I was reading about Mt. Snowdon in North Wales on Sheila's blog, A Postcard A Day. I like her post because it not only tells about Mt. Snowdon, but also has a message from the sender recounting the experience of hiking to the top. Sheila also mentions that while many people seem determined to hike the summit, a train was  built in the 19th century. Here's that train.

There is a lot more information on the official railway website, although I couldn't seem to find information on how long the journey takes. I would probably want to hike up and take the train down, but the site warns that there is not always space available for one-way trips down.

Unfortunately, no message on the back.

Kyoto Station - Japan

This card shows the third incarnation of Kyoto Station. The first station was built in 1889 and replaced by a newer station 1n 1914. That station burned down in 1950 and was replaced by this one in 1952.

The current Kyoto Station doesn't look a bit like this one. It was built in 1997 and includes a shopping mall, hotel, and movie theater. It is one of Japan's largest buildings. Click here to see what it looks like now.

Here's the back of the card.

All Aboard!

You can board this train, but only if you weigh less than 50 pounds and can fit into a Speed Racer wagon. Oh, but wait...the cars seem to be occupied by wild animals in cages.

This is a children's parade from Jarvis School in Binghamton, New York's First Ward in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Although I can't be certain, I think this is John Korinek, my father-in-law, below.

The kids have constructed cages for each wagon to hold various wild animals. A giraffe helps them to pull the train.

Here are some additional close-ups.

Be sure to check out Sepia Saturday for more old pictures and great stories.

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.

Berlin, Germany - Railway Station

Often the area surrounding the railway station in any given city is gritty and unpleasant. However, in this view it looks like the ideal spot, clean, with plants on the balconies, and surrounded by thriving businesses and busy streets.

The railway station is, of course, the domed building on the left, which was constructed in the late 1870s. The building and underground tracks were expanded to accommodate S-Bahn and U-Bahn in later years.

At the beginning of the Cold War, this station was the hole in the Iron Curtain that allowed people from the east to escape to the west, at least until the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. At that time, the East German government also stopped the long-distance train connections. I arrived into this station from the west in 1980, and the surroundings were dismal.  In fact, most of East Berlin was fairly grim at that time. The stores, if they had anything, would have a lot of one or two things and nothing else. Many items in limited supply, such as toilet seats, could only be bought with western currency.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the west and east stations were connected again, and traffic resumed, however there had been very little maintenance on the east side. Between 1991 and 1999, the station was completely overhauled, at a cost of many millions of Deutsch Marks. In 2008, a memorial to the 10,000 Jewish children who were saved by the Refugee Children Movement and left through this station, was unveiled.

Here's the back of the postcard.

The Swabian Train

Swabia is a part of southwestern Germany that includes Ulm and Stuttgart. Like the Bavarians, the Swabians are proud of their regional customs and dialect. At the same time, they don't mind poking a little fun at themselves. This postcard from circa 1920 was illustrated by Hans Boettcher.

The rhyme at the bottom of the card is written in  Swabian dialect. Here's my best effort at making it rhyme in English:

A farmer made the choice one day

To take a trip on the Swabian train;

Goes to the counter and tips his hat:

"A ticket, please - thank you for that!"

He'd bought himself a goat that day,

And so he wouldn't run away;

He tied him with a piece of rope

To the back of the railway coach.

Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited

This was the way to travel. The North Coast Limited was one of the first named trains in the United States, and it had a reputation for elegance and impeccable service. It started service in 1900 and operated between Chicago and Seattle until the day before Amtrak started service in 1971. The trip took approximately 45 hours.

The train even provided postcards such as this one, which you could mail from the on-board post office on your way to the on-board barber shop. You can find out much more about the history of the North Coast Limited at American-Rails.com.

Here's the back of the card.

Ala Moana Center - Honolulu, Hawaii

Is this your vision of tropical paradise?

Well, it may not be, but in 1966 when this photo was taken, this shopping mall was a very big deal.  Remember that Joni Mitchell song, Big Yellow Taxi, with lyrics that included: "they paved paradise, put up a parking lot?" The song was inspired by a 1970 trip to Hawaii, when Mitchell woke up in the morning and looked out of her hotel window to see a huge parking lot, quite possibly this very one.

Today, with lots of other options for shopping, Ala Moana Center is still a very important shopping destination. When I lived in Hawaii many years ago (but not as early as 1966!), this is where I went to buy groceries. I also had my ears pierced at a jewelry store in the mall. Strange as it may seem, this is also where I bought my first Christmas tree as an adult. For a long time, this mall was scruffy and not a very pleasant place to be. Now it's actually quite elegant - as malls go. It still has a big ugly parking lot.

But, there is something else in the works here right now - an elevated rapid-transit system that will connect a planned new University of Hawaii campus, residential areas, the Honolulu airport, and end at Ala Moana Center.  The first part of the system is scheduled to open in 2012, but it won't connect to Ala Moana center until 2019. There are also some planned extensions, including one to the University of Hawaii Manoa campus and to Waikiki. Currently, if you don't take a taxi, shuttle, or rental car from the airport to Waikiki, your only other choice is the bus, which doesn't theoretically allow luggage.
Here's a link to find out more about Honolulu Rail Transit.

Oh, by the way, Streetcar Sunday will return next week. And here's the back of the card.

Streetcar Sunday - Edinburgh, Scotland

In many ways, Edinburgh's tram system was similar to systems in other cities. The city started out with horse-drawn cars in 1871. But then, instead of switching to electric overhead wires, they switched to a cable-drawn system. There were other cities around the world that did this, but few had them for very long. It wasn't until the 1922 that the cable system in Edinburgh was switched over to an electric traction system. Here are several pictures from the James Valentine views that I introduced last week. You can see the line between the tracks, indicating the location of the cable (and later the electric traction.)

I wish we could see the trams more clearly, but we can certainly see that they're double deck and open on the top. Another striking feature in this photo is the North British Station Hotel with the gardens in front. Yes, there's a railway station under those gardens (Waverley Station.)  It's such an elegant design approach. Here's another view looking out from the hotel.

The Hotel is now known as the Balmoral Hotel. According to Wikipedia, JK Rowling finished the last book in her Harry Potter series at the hotel. She lost her deposit and was sent a bill,  because she commemorated the occasion by writing in black marker pen on a marble bust of Hermes in her room: "JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11th Jan 2007".

Anyway, back to the trams. The Edinburgh electric trams continued to operate until they were replaced with buses in 1956. Fast forward to 2007, when work began on bringing trams back to Edinburgh with a system that would link Leith with Edinburgh City and the airport. The project was scheduled for completion in 2011, but has been plagued by problems including delays and cost overruns. The snarled traffic and loss of revenue to local businesses has made the project fairly unpopular even among former supporters.  For more information on current happenings surrounding the Edinburgh tram system, visit Trams Stop Here!

And here's another view from this series showing a tram in Edinburgh.

Your Train Will Leave at...

Isn't this a handy reminder! You could even draw the hands on the clock to help you remember.

Union Terminal - Cincinnati, Ohio

The Union Terminal was built in 1933 and declared an historic landmark in 1977. It was renovated and reopened as the Cincinnati Museum Center in 1990. I haven't seen the exterior of the building, but the pictures I have seen are striking, and it has been named one of the top 50 architecturally significant buildings in the United States. Although the terminal is still there, the concourse area you see on the card was demolished in the early 1970s.  This may have been the impetus to declare the terminal an historic landmark. The 20-foot glass mosaics on the walls were moved to the airport.

The architect who steals my covers just returned from the annual Frank Lloyd Wright conference, which was held in Cincinnati this year.  He visited the terminal and brought me back this lovely souvenir - a pair of Union Terminal socks! Not only are they stylish and comfy, but I think I may be the only one on my block with a pair.

Here's the back of the postcard:

The message to John J. Marshall reads:

Johnny:

Sorry I didn't get to say so 'long but hear I am in the terminal building at Cincinnati (what a joint you ought to see it) and headed for Fort Knox.

JM

Time 4:30 P.S. Get Ida's address and say hello

You can find out more about the history of the Union Terminal here.

Union Station - Washington, D.C.

For some reason I love this card - the perspective, the sign, the columns, and mostly just the space.

The card was sent to Merton Chapin in 1923. The message reads:

 Washington, January 19, 1923

Dear Cousins.

Am spending a part of my vacation in N.Y., Phil, Baltimore and Washington and having the time of my life. I expect to be in Ohio very soon and spend a few days with my folks.  I am seeing the most wonderful things imaginable. Expect to go out to see the president tomorrow. Also intend to do the Engraving Dept. and the Treasury.  N.L.C.

Union Depot - Portland, Oregon

Then...

And now...

View Portland Oregon Architecture: An Architectural Map in a larger map

Streetcar Sunday - Robbery in Troy, New York

Troy seems like such a nice peaceful place. But on July 1, 1878,  Thomas Buckley, Treasurer of the Troy Hosiery Mills was garotted and robbed of $3,000 while riding the Troy and Albia horse-drawn streetcar. He survived though, and according to the New York Times, $1,484 of the money was recovered.  Within days, several people were arrested, James Finn of Troy, John Fellows of Newark, New Jersey, and John Donohue, who refused to say where he was from. The victim was able to positively identify both Donohue and Fellows. Three other suspects were still at large.

One of the suspects, Thomas Monahon, had been taken into custody several days later, but escaped by jumping out a window. The next day, a conductor on an eastbound train of the Boston and Albany Railroad, spotted a passenger who matched the description of Monahon. The conductor telegraphed ahead to North Adams, Massachusetts for two officers to meet the train and arrest Thomas Monahon, who was traveling with his brother.  They arrested the two and handcuffed them together, but somehow the suspects had gotten guns and Thomas was able to shoot Officer Quinn fatally before he and his brother were stomped into unconsciousness by fellow passengers.

Detectives were still on the hunt for two additional suspects, William "Mush" Riley, a notorious criminal from New York City and Will Tompkins, who planned the robbery.  Unlike Mush Riley, Tompkins was from high society. He was married and was a partner in the Simmons and Tomkins firm, a knit goods manufacturer. The police had been informed that Tompkins might be recovering from the robbery at a particular residence in Richmond, Massachusetts.  Since there wasn't any regular train service at the time, they hopped a freight train and told the conductor that they would like to arrive in Richmond before the express train from Pittsfield, which was carrying several of the detectives who had just left Monahon. The conductor increased the speed of the freight train and managed to arrive five minutes before the express.

The officers went to the house and tried to gain admittance by saying they were there to visit the sick man (Will Tompkins), because they didn't have any legal authority to force their way in. When that didn't work, they went to see the doctor across the street, assuming correctly that he had treated the suspect. As soon as they told him that Tompkins was wanted in connection with the death of Officer Quinn, he agreed to help them. Tompkins was sick in bed with a revolver under his pillow, but he surrendered without incident. Although requisition papers were filed to move Tompkins back, the New York Times reported on July 14th that Tompkins was sick with brain fever and could not be moved. An officer remained with him during his recovery.

Source: New York Times, July 2, 3, 9, 11, 14, and 16, 1878

And if that's not enough mystery and intrigue for you, what about the message on the back of this card, sent in 1925?

The message from Billy Hannam reads:

Dear daddy

This is where we change cars (care?)

Rick went to work this morning has a job in Alex's office

love from

Billy

Why is Billy writing a postcard to his own father? Was he spending the summer in Troy?

Union Pacific Train - The City of Portland

This card shows the interior of Union Pacific's City of Portland train, which was put into service in 1935. Besides looking very inviting,  City of Portland was important for two reasons:

1. It was the first streamlined transcontinental passenger train.
2. It was the first to offer a dining car and sleeping cars.

The train was elegant and popular, providing a high level of service. However, with the advent of Amtrak in 1971, service was discontinued for the City of Portland and the other high-end trains (City of Salina, City of Los Angeles, City of San Francisco, and City of Denver.)

Here's the text of the card. (Both the Hotel White Plaza and the Titche-Goettinger store mentioned here are now registered historic landmarks.)

Room #317 - Hotel White Plaza Main + Harwood Streets, Dallas 1, Texas - Jan. 8th 1958

My darling daughter Lana J.

It was nice to see you at Xmas-New Years time and enjoyed being with you sweet. The trip to Dallas was okay with friends from Denver and Colorado Springs meeting me at the depots. Honey-child, the Titche-Goettinger Store in Dallas is right alongside of this fine hotel on Main Street side, the hotel taking up corner. Will ship you the dress when new supply comes in. More later. Lots of Love (?)

The Fadgl Auto Train

Fadgl is a catchy name, don't you agree? Well, it turns out that the contraption (aka the auto train) was manufactured by the Fageol brothers from California. Someone thought their name was hard to pronounce and that Fadgl would be easier. Really! Perhaps they should have just removed that last pesky vowel and left it as Fdgl.

Anyway, the auto train was not so much a train as a tractor pulling a bunch of open cars. The brothers owned the Flageol Motor Co. in Oakland, CA, where they manufactured tractors, trucks, and automobiles. They made this train for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, but when the exposition was over, the train was shipped to Chicago to be used in Lincoln Park.

I'm not sure how long the train lasted, but the Flageol Motor Co. ran into financial difficulties in 1930, went into receivership, and was eventually bought from the bank by T.A. Peterman, a logger and plywood manufacturer from Tacoma, WA, who needed logging trucks for his business. That was the beginning of Peterbilt trucks, but that's another story.

Duty's Call

This card was sent to Miss Helen Lihr, who worked for New York Air Brake Co. in Watertown, New York.  Although the company had previously focused its efforts on manufacturing brakes for locomotives, the emphasis shifted during World War I.  At that time they started making horse-drawn cannons and other war equipment. At the end of WWI, the focus shifted back to locomotive brakes.

The message on the cards reads:

Dear Helen,

I haven't any news, so I can't write. I am in hopes of seeing you Thurs. then for a time. Hope I can (illegible) and make any kind of train connections. I'll arrive at 7:15 am on sleeper from N.Y. City. If I can come I will telegraph and if I do meet me at the train. I won't write again until I know for sure whether I am coming or not. Lovingly MJB