Railroad Ephemera

For more information, see the full version of this photo:

"Pennsylvania Railroad. Centennial Excursion. Under the auspices of Putnam Circle, No. 113, B.U. (H.F.) of Pa. Columbia to Philadelphia and return. On Saturday, October 14, 1876 . Tickets, $2.00. 1." As Wikipedia explains, the Centennial Exposition "was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia." It was "the first official World's Fair in the United States." The organization sponsoring the rail excursion--"Putnam Circle, No. 113, B.U. (H.F.) of Pa."--was a local chapter of the Brotherhood of the Union (Holy Flame) of the Continent of America . Founded in 1850 by author and labor organizer George Lippard , the Brotherhood was "a secret benevolent society aiming to eliminate poverty and crime by removing the social ills causing them." Putnam Circle, No. 113, was organized in Columbia on February 10, 1875, and had sixty members by 1883, according to the History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania , by Franklin Ellis and Samuel Evans (Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1883), p. 581. Columbia is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, about ninety miles west of Philadelphia.

"Baltimore Steam Packet Co. Bay Line, 1911. Pass Mr. John F. Auch, Frt Traf. Mgr-–Philadelphia & Reading Rwy, until December 31st unless otherwise ordered. John R. Sherwood, president & general manager. No. 1726. Not valid unless countersigned by W. W. Erdman or myself. Florida." According to Wikipedia, "The Baltimore Steam Packet Company , nicknamed the Old Bay Line, was an American steamship line from 1840 to 1962 that provided overnight steamboat service on the Chesapeake Bay , primarily between Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia." The steamer Florida , which is pictured on the pass, was a propeller-driven, steel-hulled vessel built by the Maryland Steel Company in 1907. For another illustration of the ship, see Steam Packets on the Chesapeake: A History of the Old Bay Line since 1840 (Centreville, Md.: Tidewater Publishers, 1961), by Alexander Crosby Brown, p. 82. John F. Auch was a freight traffic manager for the Philadelphia and Reading Railway , which later changed its name to the Reading Railroad and was immortalized as one of the railroads featured on the Monopoly game board. Compare this pass with an Adirondack Steamboat Company Pass, 1897 :

"1891 - A Carload of Strawberries from ________." If you like these tall-tale postcards (above and below), then you may want to take a look at my other Edward H. Mitchell cards.

"1899 - A Carload of Corn from ________."

This early postcard nicely captures the hustle and bustle of trains, cars, and wagons at a railroad station in Des Moines, Iowa, during the early twentieth century. Building signs provide some additional details. Below the sign for the "Passenger Station, Chicago and North-Western Railway" is another one that indicates that the "American Express Co." was based there as well. Barely visible signs on the brick buildings on the other side of the railroad cars identify one as the factory for "Garr Scott & Co " which manufactured threshing machinery, and another--the tallest building in the distance--as the Grand Hotel.

Pass issued in 1935 by The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company (TMER&L. Co.), which operated streetcar lines in Milwaukee until the 1950s. "The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company. Within the single fare areas of Milwaukee and Racine only. Good from 5:00 a.m. Sunday until 5:00 a.m. the following Sunday. Not good on Wisconsin Motor Bus Lines. Pass must be shown on demand. 32273. July 4, 1776. 27. June 30 to July 6, 1935 incl. $1 weekly pass S. B. Way, president."

An unused real photo postcard, date and location unknown.

Caption on the front of this postcard: " C.V.R.R. Yards, Williams Grove, Pa." Printed on the back: "14546 - Pub. by A. M. Deichler, Lancaster, Pa., for J. Hurst Est., Mechanicsburg, Pa." Postmarked Mechanicsburg, Pa., Aug. 30, 1918, and addressed to Miss Grace Hoy, 730 S. Duke St., York, Pa. Handwritten message: "Dear Cousin, Expected to see you at the Grove but failed to see you there. Such a crowd of people I never seen as was there on Thursday. All well. Hope this will find you all the same. Emma." A photographic version of this scene appeared in " Grangers at the Grove: Annual Farmers Exhibition Ended Nearly a Century Ago ," a newpaper article by Joseph Cress, which was published in The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pa.), Sept. 5, 2015. "Engine Number 30 arrives in Williams Grove during the Grangers' Picnic in 1916" was the caption of the photographic version, which was provided by the Cumberland County Historical Society.

A lines/stripes photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard: "Gerald. Taking two at a time." I wish we could compare this photo with the one that Gerald was taking, but at least we have this single one of the two photos that were evidently being snapped at the same exact time. I like how the lines formed by the rails of the tracks converge to a vanishing point in the distance, and then the three legs of the tripod, of course, similarly converge upon the camera.

A postcard view of the miniature railroad and playground at Pen Mar Park , circa 1937.

"This card entitles Name: ________ to a day membership in the Mount Washington Club on the Top of New England, White Mountains, N.H. Date of ascent: Aug. 23, 1938." As Wikipedia reports, Mount Washington is the "highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288.2 ft (1,916.6 m)," which certainly qualifies it as the "Top of New England." The unnamed original owner of this card evidently visited the mountain on August 23, 1938, and may have taken a ride on the Mount Washington Cog Railway --depicted on the back of the card--to get to the top.

"2888 - Scenic Railway, Venice, California." An early "scenic railway" (roller coaster) constructed with peaks, walls, and tunnels--plus an elk statue on top--to simulate a ride through the mountains.

A linen postcard with colorful cars parked in front of Bethlehem Union Station , a railroad station in Bethlehem , Pennsylvania.

A looking at the camera photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Sign on the wall behind the train: "Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden, 17.9.62" ("Berchtesgaden Salt Mine, 9/17/62.") Twenty-four riders on a mine train are peering intently at the photographer's camera in this souvenir photo from the Berchtesgaden Salt Mine in Bavaria, Germany, on September 17, 1962. For a similar photo from a different mine, see Hallein Salt Mine Tour, near Salzburg, Austria, July 31, 1962

"Easter Greetings" postcard dating to the early twentieth century.

An unused postcard with no postmark or anything else to indic8 a d8. I do not hesist8 to st8 I'll see you at an early d8-- The day I can not indic8-- But even if the trains are l8, Or if they raise the railroad r8, Or I'm forced to go by fr8, I'll see you soon, as sure as f8.

"The Reading Depot, Landisville, Pa. Photo D.B.L., 1909." Printed on the back of this postcard: "D. B. Landis, publisher, Pluck Art Printery, Lancaster, Pa." David Bachman Landis, who was the owner and operator of Pluck Art Printery, photographed the train station in Landisville, Pennsylvania, in 1909, and published this postcard based on his photo.