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American Car & Foundry Co., Berwick PA Builders Brass Plaque from NYC Streetcar

$ 79.2

Availability: 100 in stock
  • Item must be returned within: 30 Days
  • All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
  • Refund will be given as: Money Back
  • Restocking Fee: No
  • Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer

    Description

    American Car & Foundry Co., Berwick PA Builders Brass Plaque from NYC Streetcar
    American Car & Foundry's Berwick, PA plant lasted from 1899-1961 and was responsible for producing much of the rolling stock for systems across America.
    This plaque is from my father's collection, and given his history is probably from a
    streetcar
    . As a teenage railfan from the Bronx, growing up a couple of blocks south of Fordham Road, Ray witnessed the demise of streetcars in New York and lower Westchester, and the last ones ran when he was sixteen.
    He was an adventurous kid and he and some other friends from the Cardinal Hayes Rail Fan Club trekked out to the eastern Bronx, where the red and cream trolleys had been piled up and scrapped in the tidal marshes that later became Freedomland and then Co-op City. He salvaged two roll signs and wrote on the white canvas, "Destination sign taken from car #354 at Pelham Manor, NY in 1952". (Signs were already sold or donated.)
    There is a good chance that this plaque comes from the same car: it was
    built in the 30s by the Brill Co. and ACF acquired them in 1926. I can't prove that, but I can assure you that it's a great sign, clean and intact, and a valuable souvenir of industrial Americana and mass transit.
    Sign is 22" long, 1 1/4" high, and weighs 1 lb. 4 oz. It will be shipped carefully wrapped and padded.