I received another letter from my dad today. He's been going through old papers (the way good parents should so that 'later on' their kids won't have to). This one is from the Hudson River Day Line, West 42nd Street Pier, New York, N.Y.A little research in the New York State Library, and I found out that "of the many Hudson River steamboat lines, the one which became the best known in this country and abroad was the Hudson River Day Line. Its 'white flyers' were famous for their elegance and speed, and provided the most enjoyable way to travel the Hudson River. No one could claim to have seen America without seeing the Hudson River, and the only way to properly see the Hudson River was from the deck of a Day Liner. Important foreign guests were taken for steamboat rides soon after their arrival in New York."
Apparently, September 13, 1948 saw the last Day Line steamboat on its run from Albany to New York City, so that dates the envelop.
On the back is an emblem for the Baltimore & Ohio R.R. All Trains Via Washington with Stop-Over Privileges.
There is something ever so romantic about the way people got around back then. Not so primitive as horse and buggy, but slow enough to actually enjoy the ride.
I agree. And this is a keeper! I still love to take the train. It's just seldom an option.
ReplyDeleteI used to take the train every morning--the Long Island Rail Road, into NYC--hated it, though I suspect that's a whole lot different than a train ride cross country, or even to a different city. That, I would like to try some day...
DeleteThis would be a lovely way to take a trip! We are lucky at least that we live where ferry boats are an option...although for the most part, they are high speed. You get some lovely views in the inner harbors though, where they are required to go slowly.
ReplyDeleteThe closest thing we have to a ferry up here is the boat--I suppose it's a ferry--that fishtails passengers to Mackinaw Island. It's not the best ride (and expensive), but I just love being on the water, so it's fun...in a disappointing sort of way...okay, I guess what I mean to say is that it's tolerable.
DeleteOne of these days, I'm going to do the train thing, just like in the movies. The sleeper car is calling me.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly how I picture myself on a long train ride, Charlie--and being served tea on china! :)
DeleteIt's no coincidence that the decline of the North began in earnest in the 1950s. Once the Erie Canal and its attached waterways were rendered obsolete the commercial viability of Upstate New York and so many other areas was doomed.
ReplyDeleteEthan, you sound like a regular history buff! Or transportation buff--maybe both.
DeleteThere is something kind of sad, though, about traveling back out east and passing through small towns that had obviously been thriving centers of business back in the day...the grand old buildings and squares...thinking of a setting like that makes me want to use it in a novel.
More of a history buff, to be sure, but mundane things such as transportation have played key roles throughout all historical eras--our own included.
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