newyorknewhavenhartfordrailroad

wonderful photograph!

Wonderfully composed image as well as being of historical interest.

It's one of my all-time favorite photos. Glad you enjoy it! --Helena

"As one approached Boston Terminal (South Station) from the South on the former Old Colony Mainline, all inbound and outbound trains had to cross one of the 3 Rolling Lift Bridges that spanned the South Bay Channel. These bridges, which took 2 years to build carried untold amount of passengers & trains during their 87 year lifetime.

"The driving force to build Boston Terminal (South Station's Real Name) back in 1894 required the co-operation & consolidation of 4 Railroads: The New England Railroad (NY&NE), The Boston & Providence Railroad (B&P), the Old Colony Railroad (OCRR), and the Boston & Albany Railroad (B&A) to all share 1 common railroad terminal instead of being spread out all over Boston. In order to do this, the planners needed to accommodate the approach tracks for these 4 railroads & funnel them all into the South Station yards & platforms."

Read more about this bridge in this fascinating blog, The Rolling Lift Bridge by John Sheridan.

The Library of Congress has a collection of 47 amazing photographs of the Fort Point Channel Rolling Lift Bridge in their collection, including several detail views that no ordinary person would ever have the chance to see in person.

Tower bridges – Then and Now (100+ Years Later)

"Tower bridges" 1904 by Detroit Publishing Company



"Old Colony Railroad Bridge" 2010 by Penny Camberville

"When the bridges were torn-down in the 1980s, plans were created to preserve the memory of the bridges that kept traffic moving for over 85 years. If you are coming to South Station on any of the Old Colony tracks, look to the right as the train is crossing the remains of Fort Point Channel. There you will see, painted bright red is a piece of the original bridge - still watching passengers cross the channel." – John Sheridan, "The Rolling Lift Bridge"

www.flickr.com/photos/pixelwrangler/: Thank you for this historical context! From railroad bridge to public art--100 years of change.

John T. Pratt  (John Teele Pratt) (1873-1927) was a son of Charles Pratt (1830-1891) and his second wife Helen Richardson (Mary Helen Richardson) (1839-1907).  He graduated from Amherst College and Harvard Law School.

He was an industrialist with Standard Oil Co. and a philanthropist. In 1917, perhaps the time this photo was in the news, Mr. Pratt went to Washington and established the National Budget Commission. He urged a national budget system before the House Appropriations Committee who adopted it.
During the later part of 1918, he served as a Major in the American Red Cross at Paris.

He married Ruth Sears Baker (1877-1965). Mrs. Ruth Baker Pratt was the first woman to represent New York City on the Board of Alderman and later the first woman to represent New York in Congress (17th Congressional District 1929-33.)

They had three daughters and two sons: Mrs. Virginia Thayer (1905-1979),  Mrs. Sally Jackson (Sally Sears Pratt) (1908-1973),  Mrs. Phyllis Nitze (1912-1987),  Edwin Baker Pratt (Edwin Howard Baker Pratt) (1913-1975), and John T. Pratt, Jr. (John Teele Pratt, Jr.) (1903-1969)   [1] [2] [3] [4]

                Major John T. Pratt (4th from left) with the staff of the Army and Navy Department, American Red Cross, in front of the Gambetta statue, Paris, Nov. 1918.  LOC

The photographer of John T. Pratt's portrait, Joseph G. Gessford (Joseph Gaylord Gessford) (1866-1942) began his career at age seventeen with the Prince Studios in Washington, DC.  He came to New York in 1892 and established a studio in Union Square, and later moved to Fifth Avenue at Thirty-fifth Street. Gessford photographed New York's elite, and had a branch studio in the Berkshires (Lee, Massachusetts) where he photographed the elite at play. He took well-known photographs of Andrew Carnegie, George Westinghouse, Mark Twain, Buffalo Bill (Cody) and Theodore Roosevelt (view Roosevelt at The Library of Congress here.) There's an interesting back story about Mark Twain not wanting to pay the photographer as, after all, Twain had allowed Gessford to photograph him. (sigh) some things never change ;)   [1] [2]     LOC - add Gessford as creator/contributor?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Teele_Pratt

Vice President of the New York Central Lines I started a Wikipedia biography: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Humphrey_Hustis,_Sr. James Humphrey Hustis, Sr. (1864 - September 18, 1942) was president of the New Haven Railroad and vice president of the New York Central Lines.