[Date Prev][Date Next]
[Chronological]
[Thread]
[Top]
Re: (rshsdepot) B&O Royal Blue Line at Whitehall Ferry
rshsdepot
Seth asks:
> Two Questions/Comments here: I have one or two badges from the
"Electric
> Ferries." I knew they ran 69th St., Bay Ridge to S. I., but where
does the name
> come from? And were these boats operated by the City of NY, ala the
Whitehall
> or South Ferry to Staten Island boats?
>
There were a number of "Electric Ferries" -- the Yonkers Alpine, 69th
St-SI, and 39th-St-SI and Whitehall, Poughkeepsie-Highland and others
were all "Electric Ferries."
The term comes from the idea of a modern fast boat, where each screw
is powered separately by electric engines -- in the case of the first
such boats in 1923 -- powered by a steam-powered generator, and later
(1926) Diesel-electric when Diesel was still considered a proper noun
<g>.
The idea of powering both screws on a double-ended ferry was not new,
ofcourse -- the idea had been in use since 1888; but the reversing
screws at each end of the boat made the operation less-than-efficient.
Putting them on separate engines took care of the problem.
The 69th St Pier is visible outside my window as a write this.
BTW -- in andswer to another question -- the Hamilton St. Ferry ran to
Hamilton Avenue, and was replaced by the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. The
39th St boats went away as the trolleys that ran to that point were
"bustituted." The West End and Culver railroads (the latter also a
part of the LIRR for a time) operated for short periods from the SBK
station at 39th, but mostly connected with the El at 5th Avenue -- or
in the case of Culver -- over the Bay Ridge Branch as an alternate to
going up to the depot at Greenwood.
Manhattan Beach Juntion is several miles from Manhattan Junction --
the former is located where the Manhattan Beach Branch left the
current Bay Ridge Line; the other on the BRT where the Fulton,
Broadway, and Canarsie lines came together (with tenant LIRR).
For those interested, the TA is finally tearing down the remaining
extra platforms and el structure at Atlantic Avenue -- so the last
remnants of the Fulton St El are fast going to the scrapheap --
including several of the former platforms.
Cheers,
Jim
------------------------------