Author Topic: Hackensack Street Cars/Trolleys (Photos)  (Read 86462 times)

Offline Editor

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Re: Public Service trolley car "in the yard at Hackensack" 1934
« Reply #15 on: May 09, 2010, 08:48:20 PM »
Your description says Public Service Railway line car, but your subject says trolley.  I'm not sure "Railway" means "trolley".  I don't know the difference.

The map shows an area where the Susie Q and a trolley line virtually overlap.  That area is behind Villa De Columbia on Mercer.  I think the camera may be facing north, towards Banta.  I'll try to take a picture tomorrow.
« Last Edit: May 09, 2010, 08:51:51 PM by Editor »

Offline Homer Jones

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Re: Public Service trolley car "in the yard at Hackensack" 1934
« Reply #16 on: May 09, 2010, 09:46:45 PM »
Maybe we can look at the photo from another perspective. The face of the wall to the left of the tree is much brighter than the face of the wall to the right of the tree. That could mean that the brighter face would be the east or west facing wall and the wall to the right of the tree would then be either the north or south facing wall of the building. This theory would be rejected if the windows don't match the particular face of the building.

Offline BLeafe

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Re: Public Service trolley car "in the yard at Hackensack" 1934
« Reply #17 on: May 10, 2010, 01:20:24 AM »
Your description says Public Service Railway line car, but your subject says trolley.  I'm not sure "Railway" means "trolley".  I don't know the difference.

The map shows an area where the Susie Q and a trolley line virtually overlap.  That area is behind Villa De Columbia on Mercer.  I think the camera may be facing north, towards Banta.  I'll try to take a picture tomorrow.

They're both railways, but trolleys are much lighter than trains and don't require the heavier rails that trains need.

The area I'm guessing for the yard is EAST of River St and just north of the Susquehanna trestle over River St, perhaps between the Susie-Q tracks and the Midtown Bridge approach - wherever it is that gives you the bank angle that the picture shows.

This map is from Villa de Colombia's site. They show their location as west of Main St, the red arrow points to the bank and the green circle is my guess where the yard was. If that's correct, you'd be aiming in a north-northwest direction.
« Last Edit: September 02, 2010, 02:04:12 PM by BLeafe »
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Offline Editor

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Re: Public Service trolley car "in the yard at Hackensack" 1934
« Reply #18 on: May 10, 2010, 08:26:26 AM »
I think the picture below was taken in the mid-50's, but doesn't show a yard.  This may or may not be useful.


Offline itsme

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Re: Public Service trolley car "in the yard at Hackensack" 1934
« Reply #19 on: May 10, 2010, 09:44:38 AM »
I recall a discussion on this topic on this site back in 2006.  Maybe the Editor can link the 2 topics?

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Re: Hackensack Street Cars/Trolleys (Photos)
« Reply #20 on: May 10, 2010, 09:52:02 AM »
Here is the other trolley discussion.

Offline BLeafe

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Re: Hackensack Street Cars/Trolleys (Photos)
« Reply #21 on: May 10, 2010, 12:38:17 PM »
Hudson River Line Trolley in Hackensack:



(Thanks Bob)

So, while looking through this thread that itsme just revived, the above photo looked familiar. Sure enough, I posted something VERY similar last month on the Bergen County Historical Society board - a photo that claimed to be a trolley in Bogota.

Here's the link and the photo is below:

http://bergencountyhistory.org/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=62248823284d7d750beb476bd48e8b38&topic=1607.0

It's the same location - look at the windows on the houses in the background. Not only does it look more like Bogota (where Main St is elevated over the railroad tracks), but I recall having a discussion with the seller, who personally took the picture...........in Bogota.

Sorry, Editor - you may wanna delete your thanks.



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Offline BLeafe

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Re: Public Service trolley car "in the yard at Hackensack" 1934
« Reply #22 on: May 10, 2010, 07:53:11 PM »
Well, here's what I came up with. I'm on the sidewalk on the east side of River St, almost to the corner of the Midtown Bridge Approach.

When was this part of River St built? If it existed in this location in 1934, then the yard wasn't here.

OR

The yard was set back further east and the picture was taken with a telephoto lens that tends to compress things and make background things look bigger.

The number of windows per floor on the bank's back wall is about right.

I don't know about this..........I have my doubts.



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« Last Edit: May 10, 2010, 07:55:24 PM by BLeafe »
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Offline Editor

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Re: Public Service trolley car "in the yard at Hackensack" 1934
« Reply #23 on: May 10, 2010, 08:46:00 PM »
The other topic is here. I leave it to Bob to merge.

Sorry I didn't get a chance to take that picture but I will.  I think Bob's comparison is close but the building is multi-dimensional and it's hard to peg the side photographed. I see why Bob has his doubts. Fun stuff. 

I think River Street was constructed in the 1950's. In the picture I included above, we may be looking at backs of the homes in Bob's pictures, if his angle is right.
« Last Edit: May 10, 2010, 08:54:34 PM by Editor »

Offline BLeafe

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Re: Public Service trolley car "in the yard at Hackensack" 1934
« Reply #24 on: May 10, 2010, 09:50:59 PM »
The other topic is here. I leave it to Bob to merge.

 I think Bob's comparison is close but the building is multi-dimensional

(Topics merged w/subjects unchanged)


Actually, I cropped the picture because of that (the full version is below). The original doesn't show the full side, so you only need to show what that picture shows. You really have to take the picture at the right time of day because of the sun/shadows. Maybe when the sun's directly overhead the side might look more uniform.

The original picture doesn't seem to show any shadows, so maybe other atmospheric conditions were in play that day...................OR MAYBE IT'S THE WRONG DAMN PLACE.

But the fact that River St wasn't there in 1934 works in our favor and Editor's 1950s image DOES show houses there, so just maybe..................



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Offline Homer Jones

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Re: Hackensack Street Cars/Trolleys (Photos)
« Reply #25 on: May 10, 2010, 10:05:03 PM »
Just an idea. If either Bob or the Editor knows former councilman / Bd. of Ed. member Mark Stein, you might want to ask him. Many years ago Mark told me that his family used to live in that neighborhood and were forced to move because that area was in the City's first "urban renewal project." He might be able to provide insight on those houses and even the trolley area if, in fact, it was located in that general area.

Offline BLeafe

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Re: Hackensack Street Cars/Trolleys (Photos)
« Reply #26 on: May 13, 2010, 04:23:55 PM »
How's this? With the sun more directly overhead, there are no vertical shadows on the side of the building. The building walls look somewhat comparable to that of the 1934 photo.



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Offline just watching

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Re: Hackensack Street Cars/Trolleys (Photos)
« Reply #27 on: May 18, 2010, 02:44:18 PM »

I think BLeafe has the trolley yard location correct. That's the back of the big bank building, and the houses are probably those on the west side of River Street.  The east side must have had no houses.

As for "picture #3", that's a bigger mystery.  There's a house close to the street, so it's likely an older part of Hackensack, in the immediate vicinity of the downtown. There's no hint of hill or incline. There's open space or a park on the right.  And the trolley track is making a bend to the left of 90 degrees, or close to 90 degrees.  And the street it is turning onto is only about 2 blocks long. That's the tough part, I've gone back to the map 10 times to look for that configuration.  I'm having difficulty with that one, but if I had to guess I'd say it's somewhere around Mercer Street. 

Picture #4 is also a big mystery, the trolley through the woods with one building in the distance.  Must be what is now Summit Ave, looking north. Somewhere south of the Susquehanna Line.

Offline BLeafe

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Re: Hackensack Street Cars/Trolleys (Photos)
« Reply #28 on: August 30, 2010, 12:36:25 AM »
Photo: The Public Service "yard" by River St?

Description:

Public Service of New Jersey,  Trackage:  Main Street Line Terminal and Storage yard between Hudson River Line (PROW), looking East toward Mercer and State Streets, Hackensack,  New Jersey.



Another picture has popped up on eBay that I think brings us back to that "yard" that was in the River St/Mercer St vicinity......minus one possible mistake in the above description.

That description mentions Public Service, the Hudson River Line, and the yard, but it says it's "looking East toward Mercer and State Streets". It would have to be looking west.



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Offline just watching

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Re: Hackensack Street Cars/Trolleys (Photos)
« Reply #29 on: August 30, 2010, 03:40:31 PM »
I don't think it is looking west towards Mercer and State STreets.  That would mean the picture is taken near Main Street, or just west of Main Street, and looking further west.  I doubt that.

If it is looking east towards Mercer and State Streets, that might mean it was taken near Union Street.  And the trolley yard on the right is now a large parking lot and Islamic center (former Knights of Columbus).  Maybe the house in the photo is on the north side of Trinity Place.

I am just wondering that the caption is correct, in terms of description.