Pelham Park and City Island Railroad

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Exterior view of City Island Railroad car, believed to be c. 1910
Exterior view of City Island Railroad car, believed to be c. 1910
Interior view of car, believed to be c. 1910
Interior view of car, believed to be c. 1910

The Pelham Park & City Island Railroad was a short suburban railroad in the Bronx, New York City, which connected City Island with the mainland Bronx. For the majority of its existence it was a horse-drawn streetcar line; between 1910 and 1914, it operated as a monorail system, nicknamed The Flying Lady.[1] [2]

Prior to 1913, the system consisted of two constituent companies; the Pelham Park Railroad Company and the City Island Railroad; before merger, the City Island Railroad leased its tracks for the Pelham Park Railroad to use.[3]

In 1914, the system was sold to the Third Avenue Railway by its then owner, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company.[4] In 1919, the Third Avenue Railway petitioned the New York Public Service Commission to permit abandonment, on the grounds of insufficient funds to continue operation, the permission being granted.[5] Operation ceased on August 9, 1919.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ John R. Day (1960). More Unusual Railways. London: Frederick Muller Ltd.. 
  2. ^ Bill Twomey. The Bronx: In Bits and Pieces. Rooftop Publishing, p. 39. 
  3. ^ Editors of the Electric Railway Journal (1907). American Street Railway Investments. New York: McGraw Publishing Company, p. 217. 
  4. ^ "City Island Road Sold.", The New York Times, July 10, 1914.. 
  5. ^ State of New York Public Service Commission for the First District (1919). Thirteenth Annual Report. State of New York, pp. 264–265. 
  6. ^ State of New York Public Service Commission for the First District (1920). Fourteenth Annual Report. State of New York, p. 398.