el

The IRT Ninth Avenue Line, often called the Ninth Avenue El, was the first elevated railway in New York City. It opened in 1868 as the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, a cable-hauled line. It ceased operation in 1940. The last section in use, over the Harlem River, was known as the Polo Grounds Shuttle, and was closed in 1958. This portion used the now-removed Putnam Bridge swing bridge and went through a tunnel, complete with partially underground stations.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRT_Ninth_Avenue_Line

This is taken from the west side of 9th Avenue at 13th st. looking southeast toward Little West 12th St. . The white building across the tracks is still there:
maps.google.com/maps?q=9th+avenue,+13th+street+and+hudson...
In 1915, the line updated its express stops to a "hump express" configuration, where the center express track was elevated at the express stations. Wing and Son was a piano manufacturer located at between Hudson, 9th Ave and 13th St.
The 9th Ave. El was demolished in 1940.

I think the two men at left are in prison garb, and the man at right is in guard's or warder's uniform.

When looking at the associated photograph www.flickr.com/photos/nypl/3109284623/in/set-721576109675...

I wondered why they were flicking the dust onto the books carefully laid on the ground, but now I see that they are using a type of vacuum device with a brush head.

We can see the hose attached to the head, and extending behind the men at right.

Hi, this photo has been mentioned in a discussion thread in the Flickr Commons group, and we'd love to have this added to the group pool!

I seldom see dust in libraries. Is that mainly because of ventilation systems? Or do they still literally dust the shelves?

This image has been used in Rob Ketcherside's indicommons.org 'Across the Commons' post Clean Up Yer Mess. (When I worked in libraries, we read the shelves, but I don't think we every dusted them.)

Looking more closely at the sign (and knowing the geography of the Boston area), the description would be more accurate if it said "traveled to Malden via Broadway and Ferry Streets". This map of the Elevated system (found on Wikipedia) might be of interesting as it shows the line heading north from Charlestown up through Everett (on Broadway) and then on to Ferry St to Malden. -- Seen in a discussion of the group "Flickr Commons" (?)

This image has been used in the indicommons.org post: Delivering the Mail

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Die Erinnerungen, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

This is classic. But yes, it's TO the northern suburb of Malden by way of Broadway and Ferry Streets.

It's interesting to see how much the mail system has changed, but also how much it has stayed the same. Mail isn't typically sent via a train like this, but it still is transported across the states by large vehicles or planes. It just depends on if you are sending bulk mail or not; different services treat it differently. www.omsmail.com