Offered here is an unusual collection of 14 vintage photographic prints and photo postcards relating to the Berkshire Street Railway, the historic electric trolley and interurban system serving western Massachusetts and surrounding areas.
The photographs depict a wide variety of Berkshire Street Railway equipment, facilities, infrastructure, and locations. Many of the backs retain handwritten, typed, or stamped identifying information, giving the group especially good historical and collector interest.
Identified subjects in the collection include the “Berkshire Hills” parlor car, noted as Wason 1903; the East Street car house in Pittsfield; Berkshire Street Railway cars including Nos. 94, 98, 136 and 155; the Bennington Line; Ashley Falls; a Pittsfield substation; a Berkshire car and snowplow at Lee, Massachusetts; a North Adams scene dated 1909; an underpass at Housatonic, Massachusetts; and additional trolley, bridge, track, car-house, right-of-way, and railway infrastructure scenes.
One photograph is identified on the reverse as showing Berkshire Street Railway No. 155 on the scrap track at Berkshire Park in 1933, making it an especially interesting image from the final period of trolley operation.
Several photographs bear J.W.M. Barnes, Southbridge, Massachusetts markings, along with Berkshire Street Railway identification stamps, inventory numbers, and additional collector or archive notations.
Please note that the dates written on the photographs primarily identify the dates of the scenes or equipment depicted. The collection contains a mixture of photographic papers and postcard stocks, and some appear to be later vintage photographic prints made from earlier negatives rather than prints necessarily produced at the time the original photograph was taken. They are being sold as a historical photographic collection exactly as shown.
Condition: Vintage condition with age-related wear throughout. The photographs and postcards may show curling, toning, edge and corner wear, creasing, staining, handling marks, surface wear, and handwritten or stamped collector/archive notations. Some prints may show evidence of past moisture exposure, including staining, waviness, discoloration, or surface disturbance. Several photographs have noticeable curvature from storage. Image quality, contrast, and photographic paper vary from print to print. Please examine all photographs closely, as they are an important part of the condition description and show the exact items included.
A strong collector group for anyone interested in Berkshire Street Railway, Massachusetts trolley history, interurban railways, Pittsfield, North Adams, Berkshire County, Bennington-area traction, or early New England transportation history.
Lot includes all 14 photographs shown.
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