Steinway Lines and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad photos, 1922 - 1945

File — Box: 3, Folder: 1

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

7 photos of the Steinway Lines and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines, likely taken during the 1930s, or possible the early 1940s for the latter. The Steinway Lines photos depict northwest Queens, likely Long Island City or Astoria. The Baltimore and Ohio lines were likely taken in New Jersey or Staten Island, near the terminus for the Baltimore and New York Railway.

Dates

1922 - 1945

Conditions Governing Access

Appointments to examine materials must be made in advance. Please e-mail QC.archives@qc.cuny.edu for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Biographical / Historical

Steinway Lines (prior to 1922 called Steinway Transit Corporation, and before that Steinway Railway Company) operated streetcars in northwest Queens that serviced from 59th Street in Manhattan through Long Island City out to Woodside, and up to North Beach (now the location of LaGuardia Airport). The company became Steinway Omnibus in 1938 and converted its streetcars to busses the following year, eventually folding into the city-run bus system. For more information, see Metro Wiki article.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) was the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first portion dating back to 1830. Spanning the Northeast and Midwest, B&O was a major player in the shipping and transit industry for many decades. Despite this, it struggled to compete in the New York City market, with no lines in Manhattan or further east. In the 1880s, B&O subsidiary Baltimore and New York Railway began expanding into Staten Island in order to access the New York Harbor. In time, B&O ceded more of its holdings in Staten Island, ending passenger service to New York in 1958 and eventually folding in 1986. For more information, see Britannica article and this column from Staten Island Live.