Denney: John D. Denney Jr. Railroad and Trolley Collection, Series 1 Trolleys, 1896-2006

Object ID:  MG0449_Ser01

1 box     26 folders     .5  cubic ft.

Repository:  LancasterHistory (Organization)

Shelving Location:  Archives South, Side 11

Description:  Series 1 contains the papers of train and trolley historian John D. Denney, Jr. The collection includes the articles Mr. Denny published on the Lancaster trolley lines, newspaper articles about trains and trolleys in Lancaster County, and correspondence with other trolley enthusiasts. Highlights of this series include an article on the 1896 Chickies Hill trolley wreck and images of trolley lines.

Creator:  Denney, John D. (1924- 2007)

Conditions for Access:  No restrictions.

Conditions Governing Reproductions:  Collection may not be photocopied. Please contact Research Staff or Archives Staff with questions.

Language:  English

Source of Acquisition:  Bequest of John D. Denney, Jr., 2008.

 

Administrative/Biographical History:  John D. Denney Jr. developed an interest in railroads and streetcars at an early age. His father taught him photography in his early teens, which paid off when the Denny family went on a trip to Erie and Mr. Denney photographed the dual gauge yard at Sheffield and other railroads in Northern Pennsylvania which most train historians had not recorded.

He attended Franklin & Marshall College in the early 1940s. As an adult, Mr. Denney became interested in the history of Colorado railroads, and the Iowa and Indiana interurban lines. He was also an avid collector and interpreter of railroad artifacts such as timetables, tickets, china, keys and books.

Mr. Denney joined the Lancaster Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society in 1942 and became the Assistant Editor of the “Bulletin” in 1943. He also contributed feature articles while serving as Research Editor and Chapter News Editor, and wrote several articles for the Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society.

-Richard M. Billings, NRHS Bulletin, Fall 2006.

 

Custodial History:  LancasterHistory.org has used the folder titles assigned by Mr. Denney and has retained the original contents of those folders.

 

Folder 1  “Care and Feeding of a Trolley Fan” and Related Correspondence

Insert 1  National Railway Bulletin, Vol. 69, no. 5, 2004. Contains John Denney’s article, “The Care and Feeding of a Trolley Fan.” National Railway Historical Society News, April 2006.

Insert 2  Letters from Jeffrey S. Smith, editor National Railway Bulletin, to Mr. Denney regarding Mr. Denney’s article, “Care and Feeding of a Trolley Fan.” Letterhead of National Railway Historical Society. With envelope. 31 December 2004, 16 May 2005, 22 April 2006.

Business card of Jeffrey S. Smith.

Insert 3  Letter from Wilson Bucher to John Denney, praising his article, “Care and Feeding of  a Trolley Fan.” Bucher says the article evoked happy memories of trolleys in his childhood and his father’s employment with the PRR. Letterhead of Wilson Bucher. (2 copies.) 15 November [2006.]

Insert 4  “The Care and Feeding of a Trolley Fan,” by John D. Denney.

Insert 5  Two notes from Benson W. Rohrbeck regarding “Garden Spot Trolleys” and the Westchester Street Railway Company. Letterhead of Ben Rohrbeck Traction Publications. 22 November 2004.

Insert 6  Letter to Mr. Denney from Gary E. Kleinedler regarding maps for “The Care and Feeding of a Trolley Fan.” Draft of map. 31 August  2005.

Insert 7  Letter to Mr. Denney from R. M. Billings regarding a roster from the 1946 National Railway Historical Society. Letterhead of R. M. Billings. 28 November 2006. Copy of roster.

 

Folder 2  “1946 Article on the Trolley Lines of Lancaster”

Typed and bound copy of Mr. Denney’s essay, “The Trolley Lines of Lancaster County,” with professor’s comments. 15 May 1946.

 

Folder 3  Correspondence with National Railway Historical Society

Insert 1  Prints related to the Conestoga Transportation Company from the John J. Bowman Collection. No date.

Insert 2  Letter to Mr. Denney from Richard M. Billings, Treasurer of the National Railway Historical Society, regarding photographs in the John J. Bowman Collection. Letterhead of the National Railway Historical Society. 5 December 2004.

 

Folder 4  Lancaster and Millersville Passenger Railway. Page of handwritten notes on the history of the Lancaster and Millersville Passenger Railway, established 1874. No date.

 

Folder 5  Motor Coach Age, Vol. 8, no. 2. March 1956.

 

Folder 6  Chickies Hill Trolley Wreck, 1896

Articles from The Columbia Daily News regarding the Chickies Hill accident. 10-13 August 1896.

 

Folder 7 1988 Article on the Last Trolley to Columbia

Letter from Mr. Denney to the editor of the Lancaster Sunday News regarding the 50th  anniversary of the last run of a trolley car from Lancaster to Columbia.  Letterhead of John D. Denney, Railroad and Trolley Historical Society. 24 January 1988.

Typed and published articles that Mr. Denney wrote on this subject, including photographs. No date, 30 March 1986.

 

Folder 8  C. T. Co. Columbia-Lancaster Line

Insert 1 Article from the Columbia News on the closure of the trolley service in 1938. 13 February [1963].

Insert 2 Excerpts from the Columbia Daily News of the testimony of the inquest held after the Chickies Hill Accident. 10-15, 18 August 1896.

Also a poem about the accident, “The Wreck,” by Cora Snyder. 11 August 1896.

The above were compiled by John D. Denney. 20 June 1946.

Insert 3 Columbia Bus Schedule. Conestoga Transportation Company. 3 November 1952.

 

Folder 9  Conestoga Transportation Company Lines Photos

Sunday News, 6 March 2005. Captioned image of a 1902 trolley car.

 

Folder 10  Conestoga Transportation Co.-County Lines Photos

Booklet of information on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania case, Zacharias Minnich vs. The Lancaster and Lititz Electric Railway Construction Company, The Pennsylvania Traction Company. January Term 1902. Number 32.

 

Folder 11  Articles on Columbia Trolleys

Papers Read Before the Lancaster County Historical Society. Contains Mr. Denney’s article, “Trolley Lines of Columbia.” Vol. 50, no. 4-5, 1946. This article is available  in the LancasterHistory.org Reading Room.

Conestoga Transportation Company Map of Bus and Rail Lines in Lancaster City. 1940.

Notes on Columbia trolleys from the scrap book of Mazie E. B. Given. 21 December 1892, 15 January 1936.

 

Folder 12  Conestoga Transportation Company: City Lines Photos

Insert 1  List of video programs on trolleys, maps of Fire Underwriters’ Electrical Bureau. Envelope from Ben Rohrbeck to John D. Denney, 31 December 2004.

 

Folder 13  Conestoga Transportation Company, Columbia. “Belt” Photos

Insert 1  Article by Mr. Denney, “Fifty Years Since Last Columbia Trolley.”

Insert 2  Article by Mr. Denney, “History of Trolley Service in Columbia and Vicinity.” April 1946.

Insert 3  Article, “The First Trolley Car Line.”

 

Folder 14  Conestoga Transportation Company History

Insert 1  Article by Constantine Mandros, “The Conestoga Traction Company 1874-1947.” Written May 1976.

Insert 2  Typed list of opening dates of Lancaster Country Suburban Trolley Lines.

Insert 3  Article by Gary R. Hovinen, “Lancaster’s Streetcar Suburbs, 1890-1920.”  Handwritten on the article is a note to Mr. Denney from Fred Alexdeche dated 25 June [1979].

 

Folder 15  Conestoga Transportation Company History

Insert 1  National Railway Bulletin.  Vol. 62, no. 1, 1997.

Insert 2  Certificate for one hundred dollars of stock shares for Womelsdorf, Meyerstown and Lititz Transit and Light Company.

Insert 3  Article by Barbara Dombach, “Buses Spelled the End for Trolleys.” Lists Mr. Denney as an assistant in compiling information for the article.

Article, “City Trolley Barn Being Torn Down.” 20 June 1995.

Insert 4  Article by Meredith Westgate on Lancaster history that discusses trolleys extensively. 23 February 1988.

Insert 5  Article by Barbara Dombach in The Local Ledger, “Trolley Rides Declined After Buses Became Popular.” 9 March 1994.

Insert 6  Article in the Public Ledger, “Trolleys Were the First to Promote Local Tourism.” 2 March 1994.

Insert 7  Article by Barbara Dombach, “Automobiles Caused the Demise of the Trolley.” 16 February 1994.

Insert 8  Article about Turniptown Bridge, “Did a Spook Vanish With Old Bridge?” 25 October 1992.

Article by Mary Ann Johnstone, “Restored Manheim Trolley Nears Running Stage.” [19 March 1992.]

Article on trolley history, “This 1925 Blizzard Forced a 36-Hour Stop in Lampeter.” 14 May 1989.

“Eras Past: This Week in Lancaster County.”

Insert 9  Map of the Bus and Rail Lines in Lancaster City, provided by the Conestoga Transportation Company. 1940.

Insert 10  Maps of Former Reading and Columbia Railroads.

 

Folder 16  Conestoga Transportation Company History

Insert 1  Notes on the Street Railway Journal. Letterhead of Hotel John Marshall in Richmond, Virginia.

Insert 2  Letter to Mr. Denney from Kerry Glenn regarding the Conestoga Traction Company Rotary Converter Stations. 9 July 1998.

Letter to Kerry Glenn from Mr. Denney regarding documents about the Philadelphia, Coatesville and Lancaster Street Railway. With envelope.18 July 1998.

Articles from the Parkesburg Post. 28 July 1955, 6 August 1959.

“Trolley Notes” from the Rotary Converter Station. This article has a hand-written note from Denney to Glenn.

Insert 3  Typed notes on the Lancaster and Lititz Street Railways.

Insert 4  Notes on the Ephrata and Lancaster Trolley Lines. Letterhead of the National Railway Historical Society, John D. Denney, Jr., Research Editor.

Express car information. 31 January 1914.

Insert 5  Notes from trolley conductor Jacob B. Heisey’s diary. 5 May 1892- 23 April 1927.

Insert 6  Letter from J. S. Graybill, secretary of the Lancaster and Eastern Street Railway Company to Lewis J. Kirk regarding increasing the company’s capital stock. Letterhead of Lancaster and Eastern Street Railway Company. With envelope. 1 June 1906.

Insert 7  Map of Lancaster County showing the lines of the Conestoga Traction Company.

Insert 8  Letter from William B. Given to George L. Crawford requesting missing reports. Letterhead of the Pennsylvania Traction Company. 25 June 1897.

Letter from John S. Graybill to George L. Crawford regarding changing the date for a meeting. 21 October 1897.

Notes on Lancaster and Millersville Street Railroad. No date.

Insert 9  Article on the “Philadelphia, Coatesville, and Lancaster Electric Railway: Conestoga Traction Company.”

Insert 10  Notes on Lancaster Country Trolley Lines schedules.

Insert 11  Typed list of quotations  from the Coatesville Times, 1904-1906, regarding the trolley system.

 

Folder 17  Maps of Conestoga Traction Company Lines

Insert 1  Letter to Mr. Denney from Gary E. Kleinedler regarding maps of Conestoga Traction lines. With envelope. 4 October 2005.

Insert 2  Maps of Conestoga Traction Company Lines.

 

Folder 18  Conestoga Traction Company History

Insert 1  Letter to Bill McFarlane to John D. Denny regarding the Conestoga Traction Company. 11 November [1969].

Letter to Denney from Bill McFarlen on local trolley news. Letterhead of William Maule McFarlen.3 November 1969.

Notes on the Conestoga Traction Company’s Trolleys, 1874-1947. No date.

Insert 2  Notes on Lancaster County Suburban Trolley Lines. No date.

Insert 3  Notes on Lancaster trolley cars. No date.

Insert 4  Cyrus Kline Splain’s application to be a motorman or conductor for the Conestoga Traction Company. He lists Joseph J. Rehlman, Mervin S. Rupp and Albert C. Swartz as references.  6 March 1929.

Insert 5  Letter to Mr. S. K. Fraser from J. S. Graybill, Jr. regarding payment for capital stock. Lancaster, Petersburg and Manheim Railway Company. 1 May 1907.

Insert 6  Notes on the history of the Trolley Station property. 12 March 1991.

Insert 7  Letter to John D. Denney from Warren G. Weiler regarding history of New Holland trolleys. With envelope. 17 December 1970.

Insert 8  Letter to John D. Denney from Elmer W. Fry regarding Denney’s article on the last trolley run. No date.

Insert 9  Receipts from the Conestoga Traction Company.

Reilly Brothers and Raub. 29 August 1911, 30 August 1911.

Insert 10  Sign regarding a change in route for the Marietta Avenue Division of the Conestoga Transportation Company. 12 June 1938.

Sign forbidding smoking on trolleys during wartime.

Insert 11  Letter to Mr. Denney from Jim McMullin regarding the Red Rose Coin Society’s Electric Trolley Centennial Coin. With envelope. 10 February [1990]. See objects collection for coin.

Insert 12  Bill regarding stock of Ephrata and Adamstown Railway Company.

 

Folder 19  “Lancaster County From a Trolley Window”

Two copies of “Lancaster County From a Trolley Window,” 1910. Reprinted from “The Pennsylvania -German.” Published by the Express Printing Company, Lititz.

 

Folder 20 Ephrata/Lancaster/Lebanon Railways

Insert 1  “Trolley Roads in Lebanon and Lancaster Counties” compiled by Harry David Lentz Jr.  Published Lebanon Pennsylvania, 1944.

Insert 2 Certificate of Capital Stock of the Ephrata and Lebanon Street Railway Company  issued to E.M. Gottenstein 28 March 1912.

Certificate of Preferred Stock of the Womelsdorf, Myerstown & Lititz Transit & Light Company. Issued  1933.

Insert 3 Ephrata and Lebanon Traction Company. “The South Mountain Route,” timetable from 1 November 1916.

Receipt from Lancaster and York Furnace Street Railway Company.

Map showing location of Ephrata an Lebanon Street Railway in May 1909.

Insert 4 Letter to Mr. Denney from Ted Prowell regarding archival material on the Ephrata-Lancaster railway line. [11 January 1994]. Letterhead of Copies Now.

Petition and hearing for the reorganization of the Ephrata and Lebanon Street Railway. Petition filed 20 February  1924, hearing 6 March 1924. The petition had five organizers.

Insert 5 Trolley Talk February 1985. Number 167. Contains article on the Ephrata and Lebanon Traction Company.

Article from the Intelligencer Journal/ Lancaster New Era, “Family Owned Businesses” 10 August 1999.Article contains a picture of Lancaster’s Engine Company Number 4.

 

Folder 21  Articles on Conestoga Traction History

Insert 1  Article on the last trolley in Columbia from The Columbia News. 13 February 1988.

Insert 2  Article on trolley bridge in Eden from The Intelligencer Journal.

Insert 3  Article on the nickel fare on trolleys by Percy Kopp.

Insert 4  Letter from Mr. Denney to Rebecca Miller regarding a picture of a Conestoga Traction Company Trolley in The Sunday News. Letterhead of John D. Denney.15 January 1978.

Insert 5  Envelope containing information related to the Ephrata Trolley Line. Letterhead of Parker House, School and Tremont Streets, Boston.

Conestoga Transportation Company Time Table, Ephrata to Lancaster. (11 copies) 12 April 1945.

Insert 6  Article by Barbara Dombach on the decline of trolleys.

Insert 7  Article by Dick Wanner about the Boll family home in a Hessdale trolley station. Sunday News. 29 August 1982.

Insert 8  Article about trolley service in Lancaster County. The Post. 6 August 1959.

Insert 9  Articles on the last trolley lines in Lancaster, trolley movement from Hershey to Manheim, and the tracking crew for the Conestoga Traction Company.

Insert 10  Articles on trolleys going out of business in Lancaster and T. Glenn Horst’s trolley collections.

 

Folder 22  Columbia Trolleys

“Trolley Lines of Columbia,” by John D. Denney, Jr. Papers Read Before the Lancaster County Historical Society. Vol. 50, no. 4-5, 1946. This article is available  in the LancasterHistory.org Reading Room.

Insert 1  An ordinance offered by A. W. Rogers and S. P. Black allowing the Columbia, Ironville, and Mount Joy Street Railway Company to run trolleys through Columbia.

Insert 2  Articles on the last trolleys in Columbia. One by John D. Denney from The Columbia Ledger, 24 February 2005, and one from The Columbia News, 13 February 1988.

Insert 3  “Columbia Pioneer in Trolley Era,” by John D. Denney, Jr. 1946.

“Railroad man right on track in imitation of trolley conductor,” by Sylvester F. Devine. The Sunday News. No date.

Insert 4  Letter to Mr. Denney from Horace Menchey regarding Denney’s articles on the Lancaster- Columbia run. With envelope. 15 February 1988.

Insert 5  Captioned picture on the history of Chickies Rock. 24 March 1984.

Captioned picture on Lancaster trolleys. The Columbia News. 13 February 1963.

Insert 6  Article on William B. Given. “A Columbian Promoted Lancaster County’s Trolley Network.” No date.

“The Conestoga Traction Company, 1899-1931,” by Richard D. Shindle. Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society. Vol. 80, no 1. This article is available  in the LancasterHistory.org Reading Room.

Insert 7  Article on a picture of Conestoga Traction Company workers by John. D. Denney. The Sunday News, 8 February 2004.

Insert 8 Notes from newspaper clippings on Columbia trolleys from the scrapbook of Mazie E. B. Given.

 

Folder 23 Ephrata Line Photos and Articles

Insert 1 Article on the history of trolleys and trolley bridges. The Sunday News. 19 January 1947.

Insert 2 Letter to Mr. Denney from George L. Heiges regarding pictures of Ephrata trolleys. 30 April 1962.

Insert 3 Notice regarding discontinuation of Ephrata Division Trolley Service. 10 February 1947.

 

Folder 24 Photographic Images of the Lancaster and Quarryville Railroad with letter from Dale H. Kopp.

Seven Images with letter from Dale H. Kopp on the back requesting information on the Lancaster- Quarryville Railroad. No date.

Derailed Conestoga Traction Company’s freight car. No date.

Derailed Conestoga Traction Company freight car along the New Providence-Hessdale Road. No date.

Conestoga Traction Company Freight Car loaded with telegraph poles. No date.

Trolley line west of Old Road, with J. Frank Baldwin’s barn and house. No date

Conestoga Traction Company’s trolley at New Providence PA near a covered bridge. No date (before 1920).

Conestoga Traction Company’s freight car  on the New Providence-Hessdale line. No date.

Conestoga Traction Company’s Trolley at the Old Y, New Providence PA. No date.

 

Folder 25 Lancaster and York Furnaces

“The Pequea Scenic Route,” by John D. Denny, Jr. Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society. Vol. 99, no. 1, Spring 1997. This article is available  in the LancasterHistory.org Reading Room.

Insert 1  “Trolley Roads in Lebanon and Lancaster Counties,” compiled by Harry David Lentz, Jr., formerly a conductor with the Ephrata and Lebanon Traction Company. 1944.

Supplement to “Trolley Roads” presented with the compliments of the author Harry D. Lentz, Jr. 1944.

Insert 2  “The Pequea Scenic Route,” by John D. Denney, Jr. Article on the Pequea trolley line. Type-written copy with edits.

Insert 3  Letter to Mr. Denny from Edwin Rineer regarding pictures of Pequea trolleys. 10 February 1968.

Handwritten notes on Bob Coley, Millersville Archivist. Letterhead of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Insert 4  “Rawlinsville Camp Meeting News,  August 12-21, 1913.” History of and schedule for this spiritual retreat.

Insert 5  Mr. Denney’s handwritten notes on Lancaster trolleys. No date.

Insert 6  Letter to Mr. Denney from [Harry D. Lentz] regarding the Lancaster and York Furnace trolleys. [4 April 1944].

Letter to Mr. Denny from Harry D. Lentz with a description of trolley cars in the Conestoga Traction Company. Letterhead of Harry D. Lentz. 13 April 1944.

Letter to Mr. Denney from Harry D. Lentz regarding  the Lancaster and York Furnace Street Railway and the McCall Ferry Power Company. Letterhead of Harry D. Lentz. 15 April 1944.

Letter to Mr. Denney from Harry D. Lentz regarding southern Pennsylvania trolley routes. Letterhead of Harry D. Lentz. 4 May 1944.

Letter to Mr. Denney from Harry D. Lentz regarding the Martic Forge-Pequea trolley route. Includes hand-drawn map. 15 May 1944.

Letter to Mr. Denney from Harry D. Lentz regarding the financial circumstances of the Lebanon and York Furnace Trolleys. 22 May 1944.

Letter to Mr. Denney from Harry D. Lentz regarding pictures of Lancaster railroads. 27 May 1944.

Letter to Mr. Denney from Harry D. Lentz regarding the history of the Lebanon and York Furnace trolleys. 31 May 1944.

Insert 7  Quotations regarding Lancaster Country Trolley Lines from the scrapbook of Fred Schoff, Jr. No date.

Insert 8  Letter to Mr. Denney from Paul B. Flory describing Flory’s memories of the Lancaster and York Furnace Trolley Line. Letterhead of Flory Brothers Merchant Millers. 14 May [1969].

Insert 9  Letter to Felix E. Reifscheider from Mr. Denney regarding the Pequea Trolley and the Lancaster and York Furnace Trolley Line. 20 October 1972.

Insert 10  “Hundred-Year Host Survived Changes.” Article regarding the Rawlinsville Hotel. The Sunday News. 23 September 1951.

Insert 11  Letter to Jack Loose from John D. Denney regarding an article on the Columbia trolleys and pictures of the Lancaster and York Furnace Trolley Line tracks. 1 December 1994.

Letter from Jack Loose to Mr. Denney regarding the death of Albert Einolf and Einolf’s pictures of the York Furnace Railway. Letterhead of Jack Loose. No date.

Ten photographic images. First one is labeled “Pequea Creek, near Colemanville, Pa.” The others are not labeled, but are probably also of the railway near Pequea Creek. None of these images are dated.

Insert 12  Photocopies of trolley related material to use as illustrations, including a map  of the Lancaster and York Furnace Railway Company, no date; a schedule for the Lancaster and York Furnace Street Railway Company, 1925; an advertisement for the Pequea Scenic Route to Tucquan Lake, 1911; and tickets from the Lancaster and York Furnace Street Railway Company, 1912, no date.

 

Folder 26  “The Pequea Scenic Route”

Insert 1  “The Pequea Scenic Route,” by John D. Denney, Jr. An earlier draft of the article, with revisions.

Insert 2  “The Pequea Scenic Route,” by John D. Denney, Jr. Final draft.

Insert 3  Picture captions for Denney’s article, “The Pequea Scenic Route.”