POTW: Electrification of Long Island Rail Road

Tess Colwell

[Electrification of Long Island Rail Road at Washington Avenue], 1903, v1984.1463.3; Long Island Rail Road construction photographs, V1984.1463; Brooklyn Historical Society. [Electrification of Long Island Rail Road at Washington Avenue], 1903, v1984.1463.3; Long Island Rail Road construction photographs, V1984.1463; Brooklyn Historical Society.
The photo of the week depicts the excavation during the electrification of the Long Island Rail Road on Washington Avenue in Brooklyn in 1903. A crew of men can be seen using shovels and picks to manually complete the arduous excavation work during winter. This photograph sticks out to because of the view of men and women and horse-drawn carriages at street level contrasting with the view of the men working in the tunnel below. Can you image how hard this job must have been during the winter and entirely by hand?

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) began offering passenger service in 1836, and expanded to Kings, Queens, Suffolk, and Nassau counties. It was a steam-powered train service up until 1905 when electrification began due to public outcry from the pollution produced by the steam-engines. The Brooklyn portion of the Long Island Rail Road was the first part to be electrified, and continued east to Belmont Park. The Long Island Rail Road is one of the oldest railroads in the country. To learn more about this fascinating history, check out The Long Island Rail Road: a comprehensive history by Vincent F. Seyfried, available at the Othmer Library.

This photograph comes from the Long Island Rail Road construction photographs collection comprised of Long Island Rail Road construction photographs dating from 1903 to 1910. The photographs document the construction of LIRR tracks from Brooklyn to Nassau and Suffolk Counties to Long Island. This collection is not digitized, but we’d love for you to visit the Othmer Library to see them in person.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. library@brooklynhistory.org

 

This blog post reflects the opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Brooklyn Public Library.

 

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