The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-31
NEW YORK's STAGE LINES.
The Passenger Traffic in the Metropolis
Some Thirty Years Ago.

some Inlrty 1ears ago.
The surface horse cars in New York are dis
appearing rapidly. being replaced by electric
and cable lines. They are following after and
in the sam path as the New York city stages.
which thirty years ago were the chief agencies
OF communication between uptown and
| downtown " as il then existed between Fulton
| and Fifty-ninth streets. A urinary of what
| the stage coaches did in the line of serving the
! public convenience, where, how. and how often
| they ran, and when, in the evening, they
stopped running. seems TOW to be a rather
| timely contribution to improved transit /" in
New York.
The Albany Legislature in 1854 passed what
was called An act to regulate stage routes in
the city Of New York and to provide for the for
nation OF companies TO operate the same At
the beginning OF the civil war there were 800
| stages licensed to be in use in New York and
conducted by private individuals. One route.
for instance. which afterward became the
Wall street line" starting from Crystal Palace.
the present site OF the Forty-second street res
| ervoir. went through Fortieth street to Madi-
| son avenue. down Madison avenue TO Broad
way. DOWN Broadway to John street, thence to
Nassau and through Nassau to the Wall Street
Ferry. Another was the South Ferry line. run
ming from Forty-sixth street and Sixth avenue.
through Sixth avenue to Ninth street. thence
W bTOuuNuy anu uOWH DIoduWuJ pouIH
Ferry. 1t had in commission thirty-three
stages. The Wall street line had forty-fve.
What was known az the Cortlandt street line
ran from Cortlandt Street Ferry to Cortlandt
street. to Broadway. through Broadway to
Blocker street. through Blocker street, to
what was then Houston Street Forty. What
was known as the Fuiton, Ferry line started at
Fulton Ferry and went through Fulton street
70 Broadgay and thence to Eeysnth street
University place to Thirteenth street. through
Thirteenth, to Fifth avenue and through Fifth
avenue NHn Ss to FTTTHt }Es %Ns nhe ST sfr fGs s gs1H1GI Inss 'f fo
endure longest and the only one Of them all
which may be said to have left a lineal CONNER
The licensed New York stage coaches. upon
each of which there was q tax OF, $50 paid to
% cents for each stage driver. had their origin,
so far as what was then the city OF New York
history. when they ran from the ~taverns on tho
lower Iart of, the Island over the Old, Boston
R0 0mle rGs on G tho n SnT p'of B]ct 'WSSa' is5 54n and d 1853 sBs
s 9 p Kew YORK, ard n a ftSSgSSsh %nd
t hey 81 should s%id fbsaF run on H. Bbrosd%sy a tks chi,sti
meet railways with ferry stations.
The Hudson River station at Ninth Avenue 9He
south Ferry by the line running through West
Twcnty-third street. The Fourth avenue line,
IS It was called ran from south Ferry through
street, passing the Harlem Railroad. After
1863 the horse car system began 10 be deyel-
oped more actively ana the stages began TO lose
part Of their profitable patronage. BY the
original franchise Of tho Third avenue horse car
linOl they were authorized 10 run n car every
-four minutes until & In the evening and after i
every fifteen minutes until midnight, when
they stopped until the next day. A bulletin
from the company. issued about the time that
the charter was granted. pointed out the great
public benefits accruing from a ride from the
Aston House to the northern terminus. Sixty
1.-THE rate of fare on this road per eight miles
Is about six cents, which 5 the lowest. for SC
great a distance. In the world"
Thirty years ago the, Third Avenue Railroad
had 25O cars, 1000 horses. and LOCO en-
ployees, and i was ANNOUNCED with great par,
grain. % tons hay are consumed daily, IBy
bulletin did not say. but il certainly was not by
the directors OF the road. At that time there
were six important stage lines. five OF whtcf
charged the uniform price Of ten cents q ride
The sixth. which went no further north thar
Second street, WAS more progressive. ant
charged eight cents. =,
Nocturnal travel by stage was not popular IL
New York, thirty years ago. On the Filth ave
nue. line the last stage going downtown lett q
il O'Clock and the last stage from the ferry a
IL. There were no stages. at the Hudson Rive
Railroad terminus after lO:56, when the las
one left. From the Harlem STATION the las
stage could be taken at IL. For the aecommo
dalton. OF belated New Yorkers returning iron
Brooklyn the last sthge" left Wall Street FerT,
at IL 80.