UNPUNCHED - THREE PANEL LAYOUT - LOW FOUR DIGIT SERIAL NUMBER

Extremely rare vintage streetcar transfer specimen explicitly dated April 7, 1915, documenting the World War I era electric trolley operations of the Belt Line Railway Corporation in Manhattan.

This is a spectacular Progressive Era historical document issued under Company President F. W. Whitridge. This transfer serves as a primary source snapshot capturing the specialized transit connectivity deployed to carry passengers southbound through eastern riverfront and crosstown corridors during a peak era of municipal growth.

Ultimate Geographic Keyword Powerhouse

This specific transfer is an absolute goldmine for Manhattan history enthusiasts, explicitly detailing a premier layout of legendary transit crossroads and lines including East Belt Line South, Belt Line Railway Corporation, To West Belt line S at 42nd St, 28th St or Desbrosses St, To 3rd Ave S at 42nd St, 29th St or Grand St, To 42nd St Crosstown cars only W at 42nd St & 1st Ave, To 29th St line W at 1st Ave & 29th St, To Ave B line S at 14th St, and To Grand St line W at Corlears St.

Historic Line and Coupon Coverage

It documents the specialized East Belt Line southbound service patterns along the eastern edge of the island and its complex technical transferring options. The text outlines the conditional transit rules required for passengers moving seamlessly across major crosstown routes, featuring both the left and right intact transfer coupons labeled Not Good If Detached. The ticket indicates direct transferring options to core connecting transit lines heading toward lower Manhattan hubs and the Desbrosses Street corridors.

Backside Transit Regulation Message

The reverse side features a beautifully preserved, complete informational layout titled Notice to Passengers. The text explicitly outlines the strict corporate conditions of the transit fare, clarifying that no transfer is issued except on payment of cash fare and explaining the detailed rules for how conductors must detach coupons at intersections of issuing lines.

Condition and Provenance

This item is part of a substantial transit collection recently added to our store, featuring decades of curated New York transit history. The distinctive vibrant reddish-coral card stock shows expected uniform age toning and standard structural handling wear consistent with its century plus age. The physical grade is designated as Good condition, surviving completely unpunched across the hourly time grid matrix. The reverse face displays two light patches of localized adhesive tone residue near the left and right margins from historic scrapbook mounting, along with mild handling wear on the corners. Both sides retain exceptional typographic clarity with deeply inked red and black text, an appealing low four-digit serial number 01969, a bold red hand stamped date mark reading APR -7 1915 across all sections, and an explicit time window for AM hours.

Historical Context

The Belt Line Railway Corporation operated an important network of surface tracks across Manhattan, functioning as a vital component of early streetcar transit before modern bus systems fully unified the city. This April 1915 specimen illustrates the system at a fascinating historical moment under Frederick W. Whitridge's management, showcasing how high utility commuter systems were systematically organized using multi-coupon paper vouchers to manage heavy passenger traffic heading southbound along the waterfront to vital transfer junctions.

Please visit our store to see the rest of this newly listed collection, featuring many more rare transfers from this historic era.