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From: "Paul S DOT Luchter" luckyshow AT mindspring DOT com
Date: Sat, 2 Nov 2002 23:57:15 -0500
Subject: re: (rshsdepot) Slightly OT: CArteret Ferry
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Calvary Cemetery was needed because New York City outlawed cemeteries, at
least new ones in 1847....is it true that Long Island City incorporated to
prevent all the good land from becoming cemeteries?

The footings of the pilings for the last Penny Bridge still are there in a
garage across from the cemetery (The New Meeker Street Bridge is called the
Koskiusko, the busiest bridge in the world)...before the last Penny Bridge
went up in about 1898 (I do have this info somewhere) there was a temporary
wooden foot bridge replacing the deteriorated earlier (2nd) Penny Bridge.
One morning a tug hit the western portion of the bridge and workers fell in,
it was a big scandal, some of the missing never found maybe got stuck in the
bottom of Newtown Creek (until 1950 the 2nd busiest waterway in the world,
called the Little Mississippi, the Little Thames)....It was the 2nd Penny
Bridge that went up in the early 1870's on the Oyster Road, the turnpike
began charging a penny and there were protests but the penny extra charge
stood, and those workers had to pay it until the Turnpike ceased in 1890s
(turnpike name on request, it must be searched for)..
Going into this cemetery for the views is highly recommended, afterwards you
can drive down and climb up onto the Montauk Cut-Off and have a great view
of the massive 1891 iron swing bridge over Dutch Kills on the Montauk
Division (from the not-in-use south side of the Cut-Off bridge, I would call
it eastbound but this cut-off was once reverse direction, so..)
After the Penny Bridge opened the Maspeth Plank Road closed and their bridge
over Newtown Creek was abandoned..it collapsed in 1875..

But the pilings from the eastern approach in Maspeth and those of the toll
house on a former small island, these still stand somehow, 127 years later,
unable to rot or be eaten because Newtown Creek, the first dead waterway in
modern times, is still quite polluted...I am attaching a photo of it...in
the background are the Maspeth Holders, the smaller was the first solid tank
of its type in the world (1928), the other the largest and highest ever
(1946), both were imploded in 2001, I had been supposed to go to the top
once but the guy from BUG retired alas...

Paul
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Guthrie
To: rshsdepot@lists.railfan.net
Date: Saturday, November 02, 2002 8:00 PM
Subject: Re: (rshsdepot) Slightly OT: CArteret Ferry


>From: "Paul S. Luchter"
>
>
>> As an addendum to the Chemical Coast route:
>>
>> There was the Carteret Ferry (1916-1929) between Carteret and
>> Linoleumville on Staten Island.
>>
>> I know nothing else about it and have never seen a picture of it.
>>
>> [Linoleumville is a pretty good place name; my favorite is Copperopolis
>> in the Sierra foothills in California]
>
>Indeed -- but not even the first ferry on the route. It was once plied by
>the "New Blazing Star Ferry Company." back in colonial times. The Linoleum
>ferries replaced an employee Car-, er, Motorboat- pool. In any case I
>suppose one might have commuted on the CNJ to Carteret and then to work at
>American Linoleum by ferry. They used a variety of second-hand boats over
>the years.
>
>Stations like Petroleum (on the CNJ, IIRC), and the wonderful "Asbestos"
on
>the PRR White Marsh Branch similarly come to mind.
>
>Another interesting operation was 23rd Street to Penny Bridge, operated by
>the Trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral to bring passengers to Calvary
>Cemetery (1851-1853).
>
>Cheers,
>Jim Guthrie
>
>
>
>
>================================
>The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
>railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
>


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